Discussion Board Forum Instructions

Discussion Board Forum Instructions

You will participate in four discussion board forums, each divided between two modules. For each forum, you must respond to the threads of at least two classmates with 250–300-word1.Blackmon,2.Alvira-Ocasioreplies. The original thread must fully address the assigned topic, incorporate relevant ideas from the course texts as directed, and integrate at least two relevant scholarly journal articles.

You must articulate course-related knowledge and demonstrate critical reflection. Integration of Scripture is also encouraged, but not required.

In the replies, you must extend the discussion by analyzing and building upon peers’ threads, asking relevant questions as needed. Each reply must incorporate at least one scholarly reference. You are also required to briefly respond to all classmates who replied to your original thread as well as to any questions or comments from the instructor.

All assertions must be supported by in-text references in current APA format.

Use of first person is appropriate. Threads and replies must be well written, well organized, and focused.

1.Blackmon

Discussion Board Forum 1
Define the terms stress, crisis, trauma, and traumatic stress and discuss the relationship among these concepts, which are central to the traumatology field. Provide your own perspective, but be sure to support all assertions with specific references to all course texts and additional required sources.

Stress: Stress is a feeling or thought that can cause our bodies to respond in a manner of of frustration. This can include both a physical and emotional reaction. Levers (2012) defines stress as a hormonally driven, therefore automatic psychiological state that occurs in response to situations that demand change( p.14).The relationship to the concepts of stress denotes a great impact as it relates to the traumatology field because it plays a significant role in determining the severity of the response to a stressful event. Our bodies reaction to stress depends highly on the what causes the stress.”Asressor can be defined as anything that throws the body out of allostasis balance and the stressor response is your body’s attempt to restore allostasis”(  Sapolsky, 2004). Briere and Scott (2015) explains that stressors disorder such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Acute Stress Disorder(ASD) are considered to be the hallmarks of extreme traumalization, each of which is characterized as a trauma-and stressor related disorder in DSM-5 as opposed to their designation as anxiety disorders in DSM-IV (p.36).
Crisis: A crisis is a event or situation in which a person perceives a threat to be greater or more intolerable than his or her ability to cope with or assimilate the circumstances. A traumatic event typically involves extreme stress and some element of crisis( Levers,2012, p.15). When someone experiences a crisis, they may feel overwhelmed that they are not prepared to cope with the situation that is at hand. Wright( 2014) discusses that people experience a crisis when they are thrown off balamce by a ensuring event.The terms stress and crisis are used interchangeable but incorrectly. Often a crisis is just one step away from a trauma (pp.128-129).
Trauma: Trauma is exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence in one or more of the following ways: (a). Directly experiencing the traumatic event(s): (b). witnessing in person, the eventa(s): learning that the traumatic event(s) occured to a close familoy member or close friend: (d). experiencing repeated or extreme exposure to aversive details of thye traumatic event (s). (e.g., first responders collecting human remains;police officers repeatedly exposed to details of child abuse). Floyd ( 2017 ) defines trauma as a wound. A event that is outside of what is normally expexcted in the life of a individual which breaks past normal coping and defense mechanism and causes strong emotional pain. Levers (2012) reflects that a traumatic event is typically so overwhelming that the victim experiences a sense of terror or hopelessness(p.15). Floyd (2017) discuss that the the four keys to a trauma are: Actual event; not part of the normal human experience; overwhelming coping mechanism; and produces specific symptoms.
Traumatic Stress: Traumatic Stress is a common term for reactive anxiety and depresion.Briere and Scott (2015) states that because trauma involves the experience of danger and vulnerabality, post traumatic outcomes often involves symptoms of anxiety. Such response can be divided into three clusters: generalized anxiety, panic attacks, and post traumatic phobias.Generalized anxiety disorders is known to be both a risk for developing posttraumatic stress in response to trauma and a syndrome that may follow trauma exposure (p.35). When post traumatic and depressive symptoms arise from the same trauma, victims often report themes of grief and loss, abandoment and isolation. The significant overlap among posttraumatic stress, grief, and depression, as well as the connection between trauma related depression and heighten suicide potential ( Briere and Scott, 2015).
Stress, Crisis, Trauma, and Traumatic Stress are all significant factors in the Traumatology field because they can all cause situations, circumstances, and events that can produce a traumatic outcome.

References
Briere, J. N., & Scott, C. (2015). DSM-5 update: Principles of trauma therapy: A guide to
symptoms, evaluation, and treatment. 2nd (e.d.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications,inc.
Floyd, S. (2017). AACC. Crisis and trauma counseling: Overview of trauma.
Levers, L.L. (2012). Trauma counseling: Theories and interventions. New York, NY:
Springer Publishing Company, LLC
Sapolsky, R.M. (2004). Why zebras don’t get ulcers: The acclaimed guide to stress, stress-
related diseases, and coping. New Revised and Updated. 3rd (e.d.). New York, NY:
St. Martin’s Press.
Wrights, H.N. ( 2014). The complete guide to crisis and trauma counseling: What to do  and say when it matters most! Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publishers.

2.Victoria Alvira-Ocasio

DB Thread #1 Stress, Crisis and Trauma

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DB Thread #1 Stress, Crisis, Trauma

This week’s introduction to the topic of understanding traumatology has come at an interesting time. These days in which many of us are at home because of an event that is affecting millions of people around the globe. We are witnessing how this life-threatening medical event called COVID 19 is changing lives worldwide and can result in traumatic in itself having consequences for so many. Many people have not experienced a crisis of this magnitude and can feel overwhelmed and anxious. However, the Bible says in Proverbs 1:33, “But whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster”(ESV). My prayer is that this word is valid for all who are in “dis-ease” at this time.

After reading and viewing the selections assigned, I understand that trauma is the exposure to an unusual outside event, lived by an individual, which overtakes the person’s coping and defense strategies, causing emotional pain and psychological symptoms (Liberty University, 2017). Clinically, trauma refers to those events that are extremely difficult and overwhelming for an individual (Levers, 2012). The symptoms presented in the individual because of a traumatic event are different for each one. These can be cognitive, emotional, behavioral, relational, and spiritual. Trauma can be caused by a single event, by similar repetitive events or by separate situations that occur within a specific time frame (Liberty University, 2017).

According to the text, stress is an extreme, emotional disturbance that can harmfully affect us biologically and make us sick. It is a mixture of how that which is intangible: our feelings, thoughts, and emotions reflect and manifest in our bodies. A stressor is whatever life throws our way that can knock us out of balance, and a stress-response is how our body responds to re-establish that balance. Every individual has mechanisms to cope with stress. Our bodies can deal with some stressful situations and not with others, causing stress-related diseases. The author gives the example of a zebra attacked by a lion and how it must adapt to stay alive. The same occurs with us as humans when we face incredibly stressful events that demand that we immediately adjust or cope, to continue functioning. These responses can be in answer to something that is actually occurring or in preparation for an event we are expecting (Sapolsky,2004). Stress is an inevitable part of our lives to which we can either respond or react. Stressors can be positive and impulse us to complete a task or negative and cause us harm. Trauma is usually harmful to the individual, and traumatic events can cause stress. However, stress is not always toxic and stressors are not always traumatic (Marich, 2020). Nevertheless, when pressure is relentless, it can be biologically and emotionally harmful. It is then that the person needs to use techniques and engage in some activity to relieve the pressure and the tension created.

A crisis is a situation in which the person perceives or experiences an excessive or an intolerable threat than he or she can cope with or manage. It can be an emergency or a disaster causing feelings of stress and danger.  The catastrophe can be a natural or human-made like a tornado, a hurricane, a fire, or a flood (Briere & Scott, 2015). Some people will experience the stress of a crisis and will respond to strategies to manage stress and crisis intervention. Others will see this as a traumatic experience that causes them to feel complete helplessness, intense fear, or horror and will require trauma counseling. Not every stressor creates a crisis, and not every disaster is traumatizing (Levers, 2012).

Finally, I was intrigued by historical or generational trauma and would like to study it further. These actions are experienced by many people and tend to create a collective trauma. This trauma is caused by devastating human events and is transmitted to future generations. Thus provoking behaviors embedded in past traumatic events. Individuals respond like their family members react and suffer shame, fear, guilt, and anger as a result (Levers, 2012). In response to this, as a pastoral counselor, I would share Deuteronomy 7:9 that says, “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments” (KJV). These beautiful passages found embedded in the pages of the Bible that contain stories and family experiences of generational blessings that bring healing instead.

References:

Briere, J. N., & Scott, C. (2015). Principles of trauma therapy a guide to symptoms, evaluation,

and treatment. Los Angeles: Sage.

Levers, L. L. (2012). Trauma counseling: theories and interventions. New York: Springer

Publishing Company.

Liberty University. (2017). Crisis and Trauma Counseling 4.0 – Flashdrive (Custom). Forest, VA: AACC.

Marich, J. (n.d.). Gulf Bend MHMR Center. Retrieved March 22, 2020, from

https://www.gulfbend.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=55726&cn=109

Sapolsky, R. M. (2004). Why zebras don’t get ulcers: The acclaimed guide to stress, stress

related diseases, and coping. New York: Henry Holt and Co.