Positive Progress

In times of conflict and disaster we can mobilise effectively to support children and young people, the situation in Gaza and our inability to mobilise our aid systems has further compounded the crushing sense of hopelessness so many of us have felt. We know that when we can finally mobilise our support, we need to support the whole family system in order to support the recovery of the most vulnerable children. Within Ukraine, Gaza and the Congo children and young people are enduring horrendous levels of psychological trauma, we know from studies such as Ming et al (2012) that child trauma is positively correlated with reduced life outcomes, higher risk of suicide, substance misuse and psychiatric illness. In order to make a return to psychological safety, children need a safe and attuned wider family system. We know that when we support parents, we can become more effective at supporting the child. Studies by Measham (2010), Sloane (2016) and Lambert (2014) all found significant correlations between maternal distress and trauma levels and psychological functioning within their children. With the advances in systemic working - especially therapeutic parenting programmes and dyadic work, including the wider family in our recovery programmes for traumatised populations is essential. If you would like to know more about our programmes or to talk to us to see if we can help, please do get in touch. #mhpss #Ukraine #Gaza #aid #childmentalhealth

A common misconception- and an understandable one, is the notion that once a displaced person has found settlement the healing can and will begin. For some this will be true, however for others the resettlement process brings with it post migration stressors such as poverty, under/ unemployment, loss of belonging, loss of cultural identity and individual narratives of loss. Once settled, acquired traumatic psychological injury often doesn't resolve on its own. A study by Javenbakt ( 2018) with Syrian refugees found a PTSD prevalence rate of 30 % amongst adults who had been resettled for two years or more. The take home message for agencies and the wider public is that the impacts of psychological trauma can last for years- decades past their origin and settled populations can have significant ongoing mental, social and emotional health needs. Helping people make a recovery needs a multilayered approach combining social, emotional and mental health factors - utilising resources within the community groups ensures empowerment and longevity. #ukraine #mhpss #refugeementalhealth #gaza

A common misconception- and an understandable one, is the notion that once a displaced person has found settlement the healing can and will begin. For some this will be true, however for others the resettlement process brings with it post migration stressors such as poverty, under/ unemployment, loss of belonging, loss of cultural identity and individual narratives of loss. Once settled, acquired traumatic psychological injury often doesn't resolve on its own. A study by Javenbakt ( 2018) with Syrian refugees found a PTSD prevalence rate of 30 % amongst adults who had been resettled for two years or more. The take home message for agencies and the wider public is that the impacts of psychological trauma can last for years- decades past their origin and settled populations can have significant ongoing mental, social and emotional health needs. Helping people make a recovery needs a multilayered approach combining social, emotional and mental health factors - utilising resources within the community groups ensures empowerment and longevity. #ukraine #mhpss #refugeementalhealth #gaza

We have been fortunate to work in a number of conflict and disaster zones- and at home, we've responded to critical incidents including the deaths of children. It's heavy rewarding work and moments of connection and lightness are treasured. I want to tell you about one of those moments that you know really helped the children in front of you. It was on the Ukrainian border with a group of children, all primary age, all had suffered significant loss and all had stopped speaking. This can happen when children have experienced psychological trauma and it's called Psychogenic mutism, the DSM specifies that the symptom must be present for one month and not be explained by any other condition. Often referred to as Selective mutism, the term has brought some misconception from parents and professionals alike- believing there to be an oppositional or defiant element to the "refusal" to speak. Today we consider Psychogeneic mutism to be a facet of a number of different presentations, of which, trauma is one- and rather than a refusal, we say there is an inability. It's important to not punish a child who has stopped speaking - or to use shame, putting pressure on them to speak is unlikely to result in the changes you seek. As professionals and parents we must look to potential causal factors and seek support for those underlying issues. Helping your child to find other ways to communicate can be helpful- normalising it for a child can also be supportive, helping them find ways to access routines and familiar places with ease, paying attention to things that might bring shame - such as asking to go to the toilet- all of these should be included in your planning. The story I wanted to use to highlight the power of play - and the magic of surprise comes from our time working on the Ukrainian border. Teachers were struggling with how to connect and support a group of children who had stopped speaking. For me personally, there was a moment where I was thinking theoretically about the best support- thinking about the science - what might be most useful here? The teachers have endured their own trauma, a pyramid of support is needed to allow practitioners to offer the co-regulation the children needed and my thoughts had moved to how best support the full system... It's wonderful being part of our team - Peter, our Education Director got onto the floor instantly and performed an impromptu magic show, the children laughed, their faces lit up in delight, they walked around him to find where the cards had been hidden- they looked to the adults to see if they knew how it was done. To hear their laughter amidst all the loss was emotional. For all our theory, our knowledge, sometimes the best thing to do is to get on the floor and play. Play is after all a universal language. #ukraineconflict #MHPSS #childmentalhealth

Let me introduce you to our Director of Education and all round good egg Peter Breckon. Peter leads our training team, supporting schools and other child facing organisations with world class training and support. Rated as outstanding by OFSTED for (cough) 25 years, Pete now specialises in challenging behaviour and neuro-developmental needs. Pete has a reputation in the field for his relational superpowers, able to connect with children and young people displaying extreme challenging behaviours and deliver our training packages with added dashes of audience amazement, enjoyment and understanding. You can find Pete delivering our core training offer within the UK and also supporting the delivery of MHPSS programmes across the globe. If you do see him, be sure to ask him to show you one of his magic tricks ( they're actually quite good!)

We've been very busy! Whilst our bread and butter business has always been designing world class training for our schools, colleges and child facing organisations, we were humbled in 2022 to be asked to develop training for refugee populations and displaced persons within Ukraine. Over the last two years we have been spending time outside of the UK working with some incredibly dedicated professionals, supporting young people and adults who have fled the Ukraine war. This is an area of work we are passionate about- we are able to combine our passion for safe, evidence based trauma response with a dedication to ensuring cultural competency within our training offer. Working alongside the devastation conflict brings only strengthens our hopeful ethos that there will be a return to peace for all those areas currently suffering.