A Healing Journey from Trauma to Resiliency in the Community of Person's With a Disability

Recorded webinar.

Description: 20% of the population identifies as having some type of disability, making this one of the largest minority groups! Incidents of abuse, addictions, and co-occurring mental health conditions are 2-4 times higher than in the non-disabled population. With these facts in mind, we will take a journey to explore the definition of both trauma and disability. Then, we'll learn a variety of cultural norms and terminology and explore questions we might ask during the evaluation process. It's also important to understand how the brain digests information. We’ll explore a unique process the brain does called Cross Model Plasticity as it relates to folks with a disability. Our next stop will be relaxation and resources that are especially helpful to folks with a disability. There are several efficient and effective treatment modalities that can be implemented, and we will explore some of them including EMDR, Progressive Counting and more! This workshop provides didactic, discussion, interactive demonstrations, scripts, handouts, and client videos to access everyone's learning styles. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe similarities in how we define and understand trauma and disability.
2. Discover the Adaptive Information Model (AIP) as it applies to persons with a disability.
3. Discuss cultural terminology.
4. Define Cross Model Plasticity.
5. List at least three examples of Ableism.
6. Examine Disability etiquette.
7. Identify two therapeutic interventions to use with a client with a disability.

Research: Research information about this program can be found on the following websites:

Byrne G. (2022). A Systematic Review of Treatment Interventions for Individuals With Intellectual Disability and Trauma Symptoms: A Review of the Recent Literature. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2022 Apr;23(2):541-554. doi: 10.1177/1524838020960219. Epub 2020 Sep 24. PMID: 32969328.

Carrier, S. F. (2019). Processing the hidden disability of disabilities with EMDR. Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity Conference Proceedings. Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa: Honolulu, Hawaii. https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/85dfd867-4144-4f5c-9b97-f7b38072ab68/content

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, September 4). Disability and Health Overview. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/disability.html

Cope, S. R., Mountford, L. S.,  Jared G., Agrawal, N. (2018). EMDR to Treat Functional Neurological Disorder: A Review Journal of EMDR Practice and Research: Vol 12  Issue 3 , DOI: 10.1891/1933-3196.12.3.118

 Fivet, G. D., Plewko, J., Szczerbiński, M., b, Marchewka, A., M., Szwed, M., Jednoróg, K. (2021). Neural network for Braille reading and the speech-reading convergence in the blind: Similarities and differences to visual reading. NeuroImage, Volume 231, 1 May 2021, 117851. Elsevier Inc. Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117851

Hase, M. (2019). Medical trauma: EMDR therapy to treat the sequelae of somatic illness and medical treatment. In M. Luber (Ed.), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Scripted Protocols and Summary Sheets: Treating Trauma in Somatic and Medical-Related Conditions (pp. 111-150). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Co

Magelssen Vambheim, S., Kyllo, T. M., Hegland, S., and Bystad, M. (2021). Relaxation techniques as an intervention for chronic pain: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. National Library of Medicine, Heliyon. 2021 Aug; 7(8): e07837. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07837

Mowad, T.G., Willett, A. E., Mahmoudian, M., Lipin, M., Heinecke, A., Maguire, A. M., Bennett, G., and Ashtari, M. (2020) Compensatory Cross-Modal Plasticity Persists After Sight. Restoration. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2020; 14: 291.  doi: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00291

Renier, L. A., Anurova, I., De Volder, A., G., Carlson, S., VanMeter, J., Rauschecker, J. P. (2023). Preserved Functional Specialization for Spatial Processing in the Middle Occipital Gyrus of the Early Blind. Neuron, 2023; 68 (1). DOI:10.1016/j.neuron.2010.09.021

Richter, A.-K. (2019). Case report: EMDR in the treatment of a deaf PTSD patient – Advantages of a not entirely verbal psychotherapeutic intervention. Stuttgart: Trauma & Gewalt: 13, 170-182. doi:10.21706/tg-13-2-170

Target Audience: social workers, mental health practitioners, creative arts therapists, marriage and facility therapists, psychologists, addiction professionals, case managers, and other interested individuals.

We are happy to respond to any concerns or questions you may have. Please contact us at by email at sw-ce@buffalo.edu or by phone at 716-829-5841.

ADA Accommodations: If you require any support for your ADA needs in the United States, please contact us by email at least 3 weeks prior to the event by email at sw-ce@buffalo.edu or by phone at 716-829-5841.