Please come join my friend and colleague, Dr. Jenni Frumer, and I on Tuesday February 25, for a half-day workshop intended for providers caring for Holocaust survivors and their families. The workshop is sponsored by Morselife Health System Holocaust Learning Experience, and will take place at MorseLife Friedman Hall in West Palm Beach. FLA. 3 CEU’s are available for licensed clinical social workers, therapists, and mental health counselors.
While most Holocaust survivors succeeded in rebuilding their lives after the Holocaust, research has demonstrated that the pain of traumatic memories persisted for decades, and is often amplified by new losses and challenges of old age. To ensure good care for older survivors, it is imperative to understand the possible impacts of trauma when planning and providing care. The triggers for trauma might be invisible to the care provider; the meanings of ‘small’ details might not be understood yet be re-traumatizing for the survivor. Subsequently, clients might exhibit difficult behaviors which can alienate providers. Understanding the context for clients’ sensitivities and defenses is critical, and needs to be explicitly articulated to healthcare providers in order to assist in managing countertransference reactions, sub-optimal care of patients, and staff burnout.
Research has also shown that trauma in the survivor parents has led to the development of unique family dynamics, as well as to latent vulnerabilities in the children of Holocaust survivors, which are specifically related to reminders of the trauma narrative and of life-threatening triggers. The legacy of trauma thus impacts how children of survivors respond as carers of their aged parents, as well as how they respond as care recipients themselves.
Survivors of genocide represent a unique group of aged care recipients, and training for staff serving this population and their families should extend beyond general cultural competence and cultural sensitivity training.
More information about the workshop, and the registration page for professional wishing to participate, can be found by clicking on the image below.
Jenni and I are looking forward to seeing you with us!
Irit Felsen
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