Introduction to Transformational Resilience for Climate Traumas, Toxic Stresses, and Other Emergencies
Date: Thursday, April 30 from 12 noon--1 pm Pacific Time (3-4 pm Eastern Time)
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The Coronavirus pandemic is causing significant stress and disorientation. The adversities provide a glimpse of the personal mental health and collective psycho-social-spiritual problems that will emerge as the climate emergency worsens. Although it is difficult to accept, humanity is in the midst of a civilization-altering event. The more frequent and extreme disasters and toxic stresses generated by human-induced climate disruption are aggravating many of the existing traumatic stresses people experience, and adding many new and surprising forms as well. In addition, as seen in locations worldwide impacted earliest by major climate impacts, single-event disasters that end and give people time to recover are increasingly shifting to continuous repetitive, intense, intersectional, and cumulative traumas. Left unaddressed, the climate emergency will trigger fear-based reactions that cause large numbers of individuals and groups to harm themselves, their children, other people, and the natural environment. Not only will this undermine everyone's health, safety, and wellbeing--it also threatens to delay or derail efforts to cut emissions and reduce the climate crisis to manageable levels. Research and experience, on the other hand, shows that with good personal and collective resilience skills, tools, and policies, many of the harmful reactions can be prevented and when they occur people can more easily heal. In addition, good resilience skills can catalyze profoundly important shifts in thinking and behaviors that motivate people to increase social and ecological wellbeing as a way to increase their own sense of wellbeing.
In specific, this one-hour introductory webinar will:
- Explain how a warming planet can affect both personal mental health and collective psycho-social-spiritual wellbeing and the urgency of building community-based or population-level Transformational Resilience to prevent widespread harm.
- Illustrate how professionals in the mental health, human services, education, disaster response, climate change, faith, and other fields can prepare people for these impacts by building universal capacity for Transformational Resilience.
- Clarify how the expanded awareness of self and context that often results from enhanced resilience skills motivates people to care for others and the natural environment as a way to increase their own sense of wellbeing.
The Resilient Growth ModelTMfor Building Transformational Resilience for Climate Traumas, Toxic Stresses, and Other Emergencies
Date: Thursday, May 7, from 12 noon--1 pm Pacific Time (3-4 pm Eastern Time)
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Many factors determine the ability of individuals and groups to successfully cope with and use the traumas and toxic stresses generated by the climate emergency and other crisis like the Coronavirus pandemic as transformational catalysts to learn, grow, and increase personal, collective, and ecological wellbeing. Some of the most important are the knowledge people have about how trauma and toxic stress can affect their mind and body, and the thinking and behaviors of groups, their personal and collective resilience skills, the strength of their social support networks, and the capacity to clarify their purpose and fine meaning, direction and hope in the midst of adversity. This webinar will describe the principles and methods of building these capacities using the Resilient GrowthTM model developed by ITRC Coordinator Bob Doppelt and described in his book Transformational Resilience: How Building Human Resilience for Climate Disruption Can Safeguard Society and Increase Wellbeing (Greenleaf Publishing 2016).
In specific, this one-hour webinar will describe:
- The urgency of ensuring that all adults and youths (not just human services professionals) become "trauma informed," meaning they have a basic understanding of how traumatic stresses can affect them and others and can spot the symptoms in their own body and in group behavior.
- The importance of, methods, and many benefits of building the capacity for "Presencing" (or self-regulation) to regulate and calm the nervous system when distressed.
- The importance of, methods, and many benefits of building capacity for "Purposing" (or adversity-based growth) to use climate adversities to find new sources of meaning, direction, and hope in the midst of adversity in ways that increase wellbeing.
- The basic principles involved with applying these skills at the personal, group, and community levels.
Building a Culture of Transformational Resilience Within Communities for Climate Traumas, Toxic Stresses, and Other Emergencies
Date: Thursday, May 14 from 12 noon--1 pm Pacific Time (3-4 pm Eastern Time)
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The neighborhoods, towns, and cities where people live, work, and recreate significantly influence their capacity to successfully cope with and use the climate emergency and other crisis like the Coronavirus pandemic as transformational catalysts to learn, grow, and increase personal, collective, and ecological wellbeing. When acute disasters or persistent overwhelming (toxic) stresses severely strain or fracture social support networks, overwhelm public support systems, or breakdown other vital protective factors, individuals and groups can be pushed to a boiling point causing entire factions, neighborhoods, and communities to become “trauma-organized.” This means they retreat into a self-protective survival mode that, rather than providing trust, safety, and cohesion, further traumatizes them, others, and often the natural environment as well, while amplifying racial, gender, and other inequalities and injustices. When this happens the ability to identify and implement positive solutions and enhance wellbeing are greatly diminished. This webinar will describe how neighborhoods, towns, and cities can proactively transition from trauma-organized to trauma-informed resilience-enhancing communities by building a culture of Transformational Resilience.
In specific, the webinar will:
- The many ways in which groups, neighborhoods, and entire communities can become traumatized and stressed by climate change-generated and many other types of adversities.
- How groups, neighborhoods, and communities can spot symptoms of becoming trauma-organized.
- How Transformational Resilience principles, methods, and policies can help groups, neighborhoods, and communities transition to resilience-enhancing social systems.
- How to use the "Wheel of Change" to build a culture Transformational Resilience in groups, neighborhoods, and cities.
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