Many children survivors struggle in adulthood as they endeavor to recovery/heal from the aftermath effects that manifest in an array of ‘psycho-neuro-immunological’ disorders, i.e. C-PTSD, substance ‘sensitivities’ with personality traits perceived as borderline or borderland [1]. It is time for us to honor the children’s wounds containing stark terror moments bound by speechless terror in the core.
These heroic childhood survivors are stymied across the decades on many levels in various arenas for the fact remains: the leaders [politics] continue to resist and disavow the legitimacy of Judith Herman’s 1992 proposal for the category of C-PTSD [4]. Receiving essential health care services remains is essential care for any deeply inflicted wound upon a naïve innocent and dependent being and the recovery: mending and healing from deep-seated [primitive] core wounds require the help of empathic others.
Deficient funding is a major money factor that crosses all cultures, socio-political boundaries in lands, developed and undeveloped countries, all over the planet for when it comes to ‘who gets what’ kind of health care service, especially mental health care services – only God knows and money talks. During my five decade career, I have witnessed major shifts from government run/controlled ‘institutional’ care models with staff in salaried positions into our current 21st Century ‘regulated’ helping professionals care model where private practice and “contractual” funding agreements for all kinds of community ‘care centers’ operations [profit + non-profit] health care services and businesses exist. Slowly and surely, all the helping professionals will be ‘regulated’ where members operate private practices consumers have coverage for or are willing to pay out-of-pocket for. Regulated members will receive a ‘health care provider number’ that ought to assure the public the services are bona fide, claimable and within the approved scope/practice that is insured and supervised?
The important fact for lead, senior or in-charge regulated professionals to be clear about is the fact that it is your regulated professional status that allows a community team approaches of care to occur in the first place. It is also important to note that all the care provided by allied [non-regulated] team members, union members working ‘under the wing’ of a regulated professional also caries implied responsibility, accountable and culpable that does not fall back onto the ‘contractual agency,’ the unit or particular case manager. Inevitable this will force all regulated professionals in private practices to incorporate their business to protect personal assets. Professional care is big corporate business.
I humbly remain serving in the trauma trenches and no longer an underground counsellor. At entry level into the helping professions I was licensed and able to testified in a Winnipeg courtroom in a domestic violence case for the sake of dependent children.
Then, I became a regulated professional and worked in both the public [acute +long-term care facilities], while simultaneously operating a small private practice where I was perceived as eccentric and fringe by colleagues operating within the system.
For me, neither being regulated or in private practice has elevated me to any kind of credible professional status within the health care system and I never did receive a bona fide health care provider number. Despite achieving a doctorate [5] and fellowship credentials, the next time I appeared was in a Calgary courtroom to testify on the behalf of children. I had my assessment report in hand, however, my credentials and area of expertise was challenged and the judge deemed I was a novel scientist in a novel field. My report was submitted, reviewed and utilized by a psychiatrist during further testimony.
The last time I appeared in a Vancouver courtroom, pre-trail, my formal report containing a duty-to-warn of impending harm concerning children and I was received and maligned as “bizarre” both in and out of a provincial court room settings [unprofessional conduct][2], by attorneys working in what I have witnessed as the ‘divorce mill’ business for it reminds me of the tragedy inherent in puppy mills. When I did appear in court to testify, believe it or not – I was gagged, hence unable to testimony on a dependent child’s behalf. In my opinion and in relation to my helping professions career – the status of ‘a helping professional’ has regressed, we are going down a slippery slope for experts are a commodity that supports another business and law is big corporate business too. The helping professionals are all now volleying for and wearing the Emperor clothes and professional respect across the disciplines is at an all time low, in my opinion.
Nevertheless, I shall remain in my now, unregulated and small counselling private practice serving people with C-PTSD who fall through the cracks of our big corporate businesses as long as I am helpful and retire from counselling too. They are neither borderline nor ‘borderland’ [1] traits when it comes to unprocessed and contained childhood wounds. All heroic childhood survivors of domestic violence and abuse ought to have posttrauma care established and readily available in a community, out-patient team approach of care that is paid for by the amazing health care system with all the regulated helping professionals in place to do their bottom-line duty: to serve and do no harm. Heroic survivors deserve this much.
Our personal/professional self-development/ governance continues to rise out of the ashes and into the hailed science-practitioner medical model of health care based on dis-ease and statistical evidence. The 1930’s proposed human ecology and human engineering movements run by the government have been very practical and lucrative in the our goods and human services economy, but are we providing humane posttraumatic care to our children at risk and in need? For the heroic survivors I serve were not sheltered and who cares if they ever heal their childhood wounds resulting from negligence and abuse? Why are we surprised when our vulnerable battlefield survivors, at home or abroad – our children and our veterans, kill themselves or another?
Author: Dr. Linda AK Thompson, PsyD, CCC, FAAETS
Owner, Matrix of Trauma (© MOT ™): Research, Advocacy, Healing
References:
Bernstein, J.S. [2005]. Living in the Borderland – The Evolution of Consciousness and the Challenge of Healing Trauma. London: Routledge.
Lifton, R.J. (1961). Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism. New York: Norton
CFTRE (2002 – 2004). SRT – Foundation + Advanced Certificate Courses http://www.cftre.com
Herman, J. L. (1992). Trauma and Recovery: the aftermath of violence – from domestic abuse to political terror. New York: Basic Books.
Thompson, Linda A.K. (1996). The Matrix of Trauma: A dissertation – partial fulfilment for requirements for degree of doctor of psychological traumatology in psychological assessments and etymology. © Unpublished/Sealed. Summit University of Louisiana, New Orleans: Louisiana.
*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA