Domestic Violence: Ways to Reduce Interpersonal Violence
Lessons Learned When Dealing with a Personal Loss-Clinical Implications
Evolution of Psychotherapy, Orlando 2022
With
Donald Meichenbaum, PhD, Research director of The Melissa Institute for Violence Prevention & Treatment in Miami.
By Bette Freedson, LICSW, LCSW, CGP
Living the Lessons: Sharing the Strength
As a clinical social worker familiar with the value of Donald Meichenbaum’s prolific contributions to the field of violence prevention, trauma, and mental health, I was honored to be given the role of moderator for his two sessions in Orlando.
While the two presentations differed in focus and content, they were both delivered with Dr. Meichenbaum’s unique blend of seriousness and humor. Infused with the authenticity of Don’s personal experience of bereavement, his real emotions, and his ability to connect with his audiences, Don’s programs contained not only important lessons, but also the inspiration of his presence, his humanness, and his strength.
In his workshop about the clinical implications of personal loss, Don spoke about the tragic death of his beloved wife Marianne. From this courageous personal perspective, Don showed us how to help someone in the throes of traumatic grief. He taught us about the unique flashbacks of personal bereavement called STUGs, sudden temporary upsurges of grief, that are expectable and normal. As he affirmed his own loss, he affirmed ours, explaining how we can draw on self-compassion for our own individual losses as we help our clients to recover.
The messages in both programs were both practical and profound-- iconic Meichenbaum: Intertwine assessment and treatment, Respect cultural and racial diversity, De-pathologize grief and the aftermath of trauma, Stay curious and open while listening with compassion, Validate the reality of sudden, triggered upsurges and flashbacks of grief and trauma, Employ what and how questions to identify risk factors for suffering, and the dormant and latent strengths that can lead to understanding, acceptance and resilience.
In these two extra-ordinary workshops, Don Meichenbaum gave us gifts. By sharing the ways he is living what he teaches, Dr. Meichenbaum has given us the gift of a model in which lessons derived from our own resilient healing from loss and trauma can help create clinical contexts that facilitate connection and recovery for our clients. As Don says on the site that offers his book Roadmap to Resilience as a gift in his wife’s memory, “We are all in this together.”
https://roadmaptoresilience.wordpress.com