Podcasters: Matthew Bennett, Curt Mower, & Dr. Jerry Yager

Matt has been busy working on another analogy! On this episode he tests drives it with Jerry and Curt to discover if it can help guide our thinking about wellness in the recovery and treatment process. Check out this episode and see what it can teach us about how some of our traditional approaches might be improved by focusing on wellness first.

Discussion questions:

1. How do you or your program currently assess wellness?
2. Are there lessons from your efforts to improve your own wellness that you can use in your work?
3. How might improving wellness help your clients on their healing journey?

Learn more about the 4th Annual Colorado Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Conference where we’ll be doing a keynote and workshop!

Podcasters: Matt  Bennett, Curt Mower, & Dr. Jerry Yager

Matt, Curt, and Jerry reflect back on the last year of podcasting. What did we learn? What do we hope you learned? We take this milestone to take a deeper look at the trauma-informed paradigm and our own work. Thanks for listening and supporting us!

Discussion Questions:

1. What are some things you’ve learned from past episodes that challenged your thinking and peaked your curiosity?
2. How does thinking about trauma change the way you see your work, those you serve, and yourself?
3. What do you wish Matt, Curt, and Jerry would talk about next and why? – Send us your answers too!

Podcasters: Dr. Olga Vera, Matthew Bennett, Curt Mower, & Dr. Jerry Yager

Reconnecting to spirit, God, faith or a higher power is central to many people’s post-traumatic growth experience. While crucial, spirituality is sometimes difficult to define and even more challenging for helpers to discuss in a way that promotes healing. Psychologist Olga Vera joins Matt, Curt, and Jerry to address this important and exciting topic helping all of us integrate spiritual discussion into our work of helping people heal and thrive.

Information on Dr. Olga Vera

Discussion questions:

1. What role have you seen spirituality play in the lives of those you serve?
2. How have you integrated spiritual discussions into your work in the past?
3. Could you adjust programming in a way that addresses the spiritual health of those you serve?

Podcasters: Matthew Bennett, Curt Mower, & Dr. Jerry Yager

Trauma makes everything about surviving the situation and resulting pain and suffering. While some recover from trauma quickly, others struggle for years and even decades with hopelessness and depression. For most people finding hope is a crucial part of their journey to post-traumatic growth. In this episode, Matt, Curt, and Jerry explore the importance of helping people find hope and the science behind the power of hope to transform lives.

Discussion questions:

1. When have you seen the power of hope manifest in your work or your own life?
2. How have you helped people find hope for a better future after experiencing trauma?
3. Does anything in the podcast help you identify how you, or your program, can help people find hope in their lives?

Podcasters: Matthew Bennett, Curt Mower, & Dr. Jerry Yager

A wide range of technologies are evolving that will make it possible to remove traumatic memories. At first glance, these advancements hold great promise for those suffering from PTSD and other difficulties associated with trauma. However, the possible elimination does bring up several ethical dilemmas, therapeutic questions, and challenges what it means to be human!

Discussion Questions:

1. What are some benefits you could see for those you work with if we could eliminate their traumatic memories?
2. What potential negative consequences do you see for those you work with if we could just eliminate their traumatic memories?
3. What does this discussion teach us about trauma treatments, resiliency, and the historical role of trauma in human learning?

Podcasters: Matt Bennett, Curt Mower, & Dr. Jerry Yager

In earlier episodes, we introduced the concept of serve and return communication. This week Matt, Curt, and Jerry take a deeper dive into this concept from a scientific and practical standpoint. Serve and return communication strengthens neural connections that support emotional regulations and social engagement. Many people growing up in chaotic home environment did not get the opportunity to engage with their parents in this critical developmental activity. We explore the concept and how integrating serve and return communication is an important aspect of trauma-informed services.

Discussion questions:

1. How do you currently use serve and return in our communication with those you work with?
2. Are there structural changes you could implement to increase opportunity for serve and return interactions?
3. How could you use the concepts presented in this podcast to improve your communication style?

Podcasters: Matthew Bennett, Curt Mower, & Dr. Allison Sampson-Jackson

We are excited to welcome Dr. Allison Sampson-Jackson to the show! In past episodes, we discussed the complex relationship between trauma, resiliency, and post-traumatic growth. We’ll continue this exploration with Dr. Sampson-Jackson and find out what her expertise and personal experience taught her about trauma and the role of resiliency in individuals and communities.

 

 

 

 

Discussion Questions:

1. How do you help those you work with build resiliency in the face of past/current hardships?
2. When thinking about your program/service structure, can the research on resiliency help you identify any areas for improvement?
3. How can our discussion about supervision inform your program design?
4. Personally, what events or people in your life helped you become more resilient?

Information on Matt’s Training with the Human Services Network of Colorado

Learn more about Dr. Allison Sampson-Jackson’s work at Integration Solutions

Podcasters: Matthew Bennett, Curt Mower, & Dr. Jerry Yager

Following up last week’s discussion on fixed and victim thinking, this week’s episode explores the power of shifting mindsets. Too often trauma leaves people with a negative view of self and world. Identifying fixed mindsets and replacing it with a growth mindset is critical to establishing hope and the overall healing process. In this episode, Matt, Curt, and Jerry explore the growth mindset and how we can position it as part of our overall approach to care and self-care.

Discussion Questions:

1. Can you identify how you can shift any fixed thinking into growth mindset?
2. How could you teach the growth mindset to those you work with?
3. How could your team adapt growth mindset thinking?

Here is that article Curt mentioned that will explain all human behavior in a mathematical formula!! 

Podcasters: Matthew Bennett, Curt Mower, & Dr. Jerry Yager

Carol Dweck’s groundbreaking research on Growth Mindsets provides a powerful framework for helping those we work with shift from a fix or victim mindset to what Dweck calls a growth mindset. In this episode, Matt, Curt, and Jerry introduce the concept of growth and fixed mindsets and what they tell us about the victim mentality that often results from repeated trauma. Dweck’s ideas help us understand this thinking and how shifting it is an integral part of the healing experience.

Discussion Questions:

1. Can you identify any fixed mindset thinking in your own life?
2. Do you have any fixed mindset thinking in your group?
3. How do you see the fixed mindset manifest in the thinking of those you serve?
4. Can you identify the connection between fixed thinking and trauma in those you work with?

The article that changed Curt’s life: Effects of Uninstructed Verbal Behavior on Nonverbal Responding

 

Podcasters: Matthew Bennett, Curt Mower, & Dr. Jerry Yager

Trauma’s impact goes well beyond the brain. Trauma affects all systems in the body. With the evolution of technology, we now can measure heart rate and see how specific stimulus affects bodily reactions. Curt and Jerry discuss an innovative approach to measuring heart rate of those in treatment to gain insight, help clients manage stress, and drive quality initiatives.

Discussion Questions:

1. How could this information about heart rate drive how we look at our services?
2. Would getting clients more information on their biological response help them gain insights to their own trauma and behaviors?
3. How could heart rate data help drive
4. Could we utilize technology to improve our services and get important quality data?