Understanding the Trauma Recovery Process: An International Viewpoint

Gender Based Violence (GBV) is a serious and pervasive social problem, disproportionately affecting women around the world. While people can heal after the experience of trauma, the road to healing can be challenging, but the process of trauma recovery has received surprisingly little scholarly attention. The EU Fundamental Rights Agency found that help seeking rates for GBV range from 4 - 27% depending on the level of violence and the country studied. Help seeking after GBV is influenced by social and cultural barriers to help seeking, including beliefs about the nature of violence, beliefs about womanhood and motherhood, beliefs and values related to strength, the internalization of stigma and shame, and social mistrust. This project which is part of a larger investigation was carried out by an international consortium of researchers from Ireland, Italy, Israel, Romania, Spain, Greece, Japan, Iceland and the US (MiStory). We used the Clinical Ethnographic Narrative Interview (CENI) within a feminist framework to empower women to understand their recovery journey, while also gathering data about sociocultural barriers and facilitators of trauma recovery. This study compares American (N=21) and Irish (N=12) women’s narratives to illuminate how help seeking is a cultural phenomenon. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.

Denise Saint Arnault, PhD, RN, FAAN is an Associate Professor of Nursing at University of Michigan. Her recent research focuses on the use of narrative methods to empower women to tell their story in a safe manner, which promotes self-awareness and trauma recovery. Other research includes studies that examine the personal, cultural and social influences on help seeking for mental health distress. Laura Sinko, RN, CCTP is a PhD Candidate at University of Michigan. Her research focuses on trauma healing after unwanted sexual experiences on college campuses. She is interested in the application of positive psychology in trauma recovery and developing a Trauma Informed Practice training model for Nursing.

The lecture will be delivered in English. 

The Social Science Forum will be in room N101 and is open and free for public attendance.

Nánari upplýsingar: Hermann Óskarsson prófessor, Háskólinn á Akureyri, Hug- og félagsvísindasvið, Sólborg v/Norðurslóð, IS-Akureyri, GSM 862-0475.