Dissertation Proposal Title

Love, Culture, Stories & Resilience:  The relationship between open family communication about traumatic memories and posttraumatic resilience

Love = The only reason you would withstand the pain of talking about it

Culture = What our grandmothers and ancestors taught us to do in order to heal

Stories = An organizing narrative takes the fragments of our trauma memories and puts them into a whole, coherent story

Resilience = Not only reduced PTSD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, but also Hope, Trust, Love and Growth.

PTSD

Robjant, K. & Fazel, M. (2010).  The emerging evidence for Narrative Exposure Therapy:  A review.  Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 1030-1039.

"The three core symptoms of PTSD are:

• Firstly the re-experiencing of intrusive vivid memories of traumatic events both during sleep and in the day, when the individual often has a sense they are re-living the event.
• Secondly, the active avoidance of anything that may trigger these memories, with associated emotional numbing, derealisation and depersonalisation.
• The final symptom is persistent hyperarousal and an exaggerated startle response, reflecting the readiness of the body's fight or flight response."

Not a Pimp, Not a Ho

Everyone seems to call dating and relationships a game.

Being an inveterate dork, I was advised to read the urban classic, Pimp by Iceberg Slim.  Amazon is shipping it as I write.

In the meantime, I watched the documentary, American Pimp by the Hughes brothers.  I took five pages of notes (soo dorky, right?).

One definition of naive is "lacking information or experience."  Imma tackle this nonsense with the same rigor and intensity that I bring to everything.

At first blush, a pimp is a classic con artist - a sociopath, a narcissist.  And a ho is a classic borderline (personality disorder).  Both survivors of trauma, abuse and attachment problems.  Ironically, in (non-business) romantic relationships, narcissists and borderlines seem to gravitate to each other too.

I wanna write the book, Not a Pimp, Not a Ho:  the How & What of Healthy Relationships.  Everybody has got a bit of pimp and a bit of ho in 'em.  I wanna learn all I can so as not to be so dorky and naive and then I wanna share the wealth of info - I want it to be a classic best-seller.  Not a pimp, not a ho, but wise to the game.  Not cynical or bitter, but wiser.

Send me your Pimp/Ho stories, you know you got 'em.  Write the coherent narrative (it's healing) and then send it to me.  I'll look for the patterns and report back.  Taking one for the team.

ABD

I am nearly ABD (All But Dissertation).  I have completed all required coursework and passed all comprehensive and written exams.  Now, I am assembling the dissertation proposal for defense.

My adviser said that you don't get a PhD by taking classes - you get it by completing the dissertation.

Wikipedia says:

Indeed, in most scholarly fields, the dissertation is the most important part of the doctoral degree, because successful completion and defense demonstrates that the candidate has sufficient expertise, self-discipline, and originality to advance the field of inquiry.

I like that story :)

Letter of Application

The time has come.

I began this journey in the Fall of 2009 (but really, it began long before that even).

Now I am submitting my letter of application for an Assistant Professor position.

I am so glad that my leap of faith back then and there has lead me to where I am in the here and now.

Here is my first draft of the letter:

October 8, 2012

Dear Dr. Weaver:

I am writing to apply for the position of Assistant Professor, Tenure Track in the School of Social Work. I am a doctoral student at UCLA working on a dissertation proposal under the direction of Dr. Stuart Kirk. I am currently assembling the proposal in preparation for defense by December. I expect to complete all work for the Ph.D. by June of 2012. I believe that my teaching experience combined with my course work and research background make me a strong candidate for the position outlined in your notice.

As my curriculum vitae shows, I have had excellent opportunities to teach a variety of social work courses, including Social Work in the Schools, Child Welfare, Women’s Issues in Social Work, Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Empowerment and Recovery in Mental Health and the Advanced Practice series for the Children, Youth, Women and Families concentration. Among the most satisfying experiences for me as a teacher has been working as a field instructor for undergraduate and graduate students, earning several awards.

My work in the schools has provided me with the inspiration as well as a kind of laboratory for my dissertation research. My project, Families, Stories, Love & Resilience: The Relationship between Family Communication and Post-Traumatic Resilience, examines the association between the nature of family communication about traumatic memories – as a form of narrative exposure therapy – and variability of PTSD development among low income urban families. I hypothesize that families that engage in open communication about traumatic events and memories are more likely to exhibit posttraumatic resilience than families who tend to engage in avoidant coping. The purpose of this study is to lay the foundation for a social marketing campaign as mental health intervention among low-income urban families with chronic exposure to multiple traumatic events, an underserved and vulnerable population. Ultimately, I am interested in bridging the divide between research and practice in my own practice, research and teaching.

In my career as a profession social worker and in the health and human services field in general, I have worked at all levels of practice – micro, meso and macro – primarily with diverse children, youth, women and families. This clinical experience informs my teaching practices. I am able to integrate the current literature with numerous case examples and experiences, which I believe bring theories and concepts to life, making them easier to understand and remember. I am interested in employment at CSULA based on my satisfying teaching experience here since 2001. One of the strengths of CSULA is the diversity of the student body. My impression is that the best students from the surrounding urban neighborhoods come to CSULA. It is also my impression that strong students who are interested in an affordable quality education are also drawn to CSULA. This mix translates into rigorous and rich classroom discussions. I am also a product of the surrounding urban neighborhoods and most of my career has been working with the same. It is truly an honor to prepare the best and the brightest students from my old neighborhoods to give back to the same neighborhoods and contribute to their progress and well being.

Sincerely,

Alejandra Acuña, LCSW, PhD Candidate

The Coherent Story of the Memory Heals

ABSTRACT of what I like to call a "mother-effin smoking gun" article:

Individuals who have experienced multiple traumatic events over long periods as a result of war, conflict and organised violence, may represent a unique group amongst PTSD patients (sic) in terms of psychological and neurobiological sequelae.  

Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) is a short-term therapy for individuals who have PTSD symptoms as a result of these types of traumatic experiences.  

Originally developed for use in low-income countries, it has since been used to treat asylum seekers and refugees in high-income settings.  

The treatment involves emotional exposure to the memories of traumatic events and the reorganisation of these memories into a coherent chronological narrative.

This review of all the currently available literature investigates the effectiveness of NET in treatment trials of adults and also of KIDNET, an adapted version for children.

Results from treatment trials in adults have demonstrated the superiority of NET in reducing PTSD symptoms compared to other therapeutic approaches.

Most trials demonstrated that further improvements had been made at follow-up suggesting sustained change.

Treatment trials of KIDNET have shown its effectiveness in reducing PTSD amongst children.  

Emerging evidence suggests NET is an effective treatment for PTSD in individuals who have been traumatised by conflict and organised violence, even in settings that remain volatile and insecure.

BAM!

Robjant, K. & Fazel, M. (2010).  The emerging evidence for Narrative Exposure Therapy:  A review.  Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 1030-1039.

Secrets, Truth & Freedom

Iyanla Vanzant is back on Oprah - thank God for reconciliations and reunions.  I recommend her book, In The Meantime, to all single folks wondering what to do (self-work) while we are between love partners.

I watched one of her show's last night about family secrets and it resonated with my research interest on open family communication.  Here are highlights of some of the insights:

• No family secret is worth the shame, sadness & energy it brings into the world.
• I had a hard time telling my family my secret because it caused so much pain for me and I didn't know how to tell them.
• Family, please forgive me for believing you couldn't handle the truth.
• Family, please forgive me for withholding the truth.  I didn't know how to heal myself.
• By keeping my secret, I betrayed their trust.  
• Sometimes, parents teach their children how to lie by hiding what they believe is shameful - which is what makes it so shameful.
• Secrecy and lies create a crazy-making and toxic environment.

• It is time to be free!
• Release the secret and be free!
• Come clean.
• Make a behavior change request of your loved one with a consequence and then move forward.
• Tell the truth - step out into the unknown and dare to be loved as we are.  Don't be more concerned about how they will respond initially.  Principled speaking means we tell the truth despite the cost and trust that the truth will win out.

Amen and Thank You, Yesus.  All this truth-telling at the risk of ostracism and shunning is already paying off.  All I gotta be is myself. sigh.

Are we human or are we dancer?
--The Killers