Sunday, November 13, 2011

Systems Thinking in Trauma Response

"Systems thinking brings an overt sensitivity to both intrapersonal and interpersonal family processes that are related to increased stress in the contexts of disaster and trauma, and this fosters and elicits positive individual, relational and family growth in both the acute and long-term phases of support.  It promotes an appreciation for respective family members' unique perceptions of meaning, and facilitates members' co-creation of new meanings in the evolution of healing and post-trauma growth.  It pushes us to consider our own role in the helping process and how the contribution of our training and background fits withing the larger efforts of our team's mission.  Finally, systems thinking commands attention to our own functioning, and highlights our obligation to self-care."

Mendenhall, T.J., & Berge, J.M. (2010).  Family therapists in trauma-response teams:  bringing systems thinking into interdisciplinary fieldwork.  Journal of Family Therapy, 32, 43-57. 

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