Systemic Trauma

Abstract

Substantial theoretical, empirical, and clinical work examines trauma as it relates to individual victims and perpetrators. As trauma professionals, it is necessary to acknowledge facets of institutions, cultures, and communities that contribute to trauma and subsequent outcomes. Systemic trauma-contextual features of environments and institutions that give rise to trauma, maintain it, and impact posttraumatic responses-provides a framework for considering the full range of traumatic phenomena. The current issue of the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation is composed of articles that incorporate systemic approaches to trauma. This perspective extends conceptualizations of trauma to consider the influence of environments such as schools and universities, churches and other religious institutions, the military, workplace settings, hospitals, jails, and prisons; agencies and systems such as police, foster care, immigration, federal assistance, disaster management, and the media; conflicts involving war, torture, terrorism, and refugees; dynamics of racism, sexism, discrimination, bullying, and homophobia; and issues pertaining to conceptualizations, measurement, methodology, teaching, and intervention. Although it may be challenging to expand psychological and psychiatric paradigms of trauma, a systemic trauma perspective is necessary on both scientific and ethical grounds. Furthermore, a systemic trauma perspective reflects current approaches in the fields of global health, nursing, social work, and human rights. Empirical investigations and intervention science informed by this paradigm have the potential to advance scientific inquiry, lower the incidence of a broader range of traumatic experiences, and help to alleviate personal and societal suffering.

Advancing a national cradle-to-grave-to-cradle public health agenda

“…Such farreaching organizational change requires change in the organizational culture, and this necessitates an extensive commitment of resources in terms of people, time, and money. According to the organizational development literature, this kind of change in organizations and in systems is known to take years and must be embraced throughout the organizational hierarchy and modeled by leadership commitment (Bloom & Farragher, 2010Goldsmith, Martin, & Smith, 2014). Too often, however, there appears to exist within some people, organizations, and systems a belief that simply expecting staff to attend a training about trauma or about adverse childhood experiences means that programs are now trauma informed.…”

Being Through Doing: The Self-Immolation of an Asylum Seeker in Switzerland

“…As noted by Finklestein and Solomon ( 13 ) and others, there has been an increasing awareness of the traumotogenic nature of the refugee experience. This includes a focus on the “systemic trauma” ( 14 ) related to the “experiences of systematic oppression, loss, displacement, and exposure to violence” ( 15 ) faced by displaced populations. There is therefore a “double” rupture—one related to traumatic events experienced in the country of origin, the second related to issues of displacement and social isolation experienced by displaced populations.…”

Still the last great open secret: Sexual harassment as systemic trauma

“…In 2014, Rachel Goldsmith and her colleagues (Goldsmith, Martin, & Smith, 2014) coedited an issue of this journal devoted to what they termed systemic trauma. According to these authors: "As trauma professionals, it is necessary to acknowledge facets of institutions, cultures, and communities that contribute to trauma and subsequent outcomes.…”