Retired Physician Sue Stephenson shares her recent experience at the Dr. Macy workshop offered by Hanna Boys Center.
As I am becoming more involved in ACEs work, I realize that trauma-informed care and resilience begin at home. We were treated to an interactive seminar with Robert Macy, pioneer in the field of psychological trauma, psycho-social recovery and resiliency, on February 10 at Hanna Boys Center entitled "Can You Control Your Children?" The short answer was "No".
We discussed possible effective attitude and behavior shifts for parents and those working with children. We learned about American attitudes toward children and discipline over US history (children were seen as "little adults" and were expected to be psychologically mature and severely disciplined from the beginning), and discussed our own discipline history in small groups. I was amazed at the number of adults present who had suffered what I would call traumatic parenting.
For me the take-home message was about how true caring and involvement of parents/adults can help foster children's open, involved, responsible attitudes, and bypass adversarial and ineffective "traditional" methods of discipline. We discussed new ways of dealing with some specific parent-child tensions around attitudes and behavior.
It was great to experience outreach to the community increasing ACEs awareness!
The next seminar is scheduled for March 30, 6:30 at Hanna Boys Center. Robert Macy will be discussing "The Role of Anxiety in Teen-Parent Relationships." Again the workshop is free and open to anyone. Easy registration at www.hannacenter.org or call 707-996-6767.
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