Healing After Trauma

Bradley Stolbach, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine and Project Director of La Rabida’s Chicago Child Trauma Center, was a keynote speaker at this year’s Naomi Ruth Cohen 12^th Annual Mental Health Health Conference, “Help, Hope, Healing After Trauma.”

He spoke on the issue of complex trauma, the impact of trauma upon human development and recovery from PTSD.

Dr. Stolbach said that effective treatment for post-traumatic disorders should include:

• Learning how to establish a sense of safety
• Developing self regulation skills
• Encouraging self reflective information processing
• Integrating the trauma experience into the larger context of the person’s life
• Relational engagement
• Positive emotional experiences

Key messages for recovery:

• It’s not happening now
• You are safe
• Your trauma has not made you toxic/what is inside you cannot hurt others
• You are good
• You have a future
• Exploring pain finds courage
• Facing shame creates empathy for self and others
• Defying fear leads to hope

David Hamilton, MD, Associate Medical Director at Yellowbrick led a discussion group at the Cohen Conference on “Impact of Trauma on the Brain.” David Daskovsky, PhD, Yellowbrick’s Senior Psychologist, led a group on the “Impact of Trauma on Social Relationships.”

Yellowbrick, located in Evanston, Illinois, is a psychiatric healthcare organization whose mission is to provide a full-spectrum, specialized approach to the emotional, psychological and developmental challenges of emerging adults. Yellowbrick is a proud sponsor of the Naomi Ruth Cohen Mental Health Conference.