HEALING TRAUMA THROUGH NARRATIVE

Mona Johnson, MA, CDPOffice of Superintendent of

Public InstructionMona.Johnson@k12.wa.us

Christopher Knaus, Ph.D.University of Washington

Tacomaeducate@uw.edu

“Not many happy things happen ‘round here”

“Most of the adults we see aint know how to talk through difficult shit”

- Pedro (11th grader at the time; now 24, part-time landscaper)

“Around the anniversary date, I called my doctor one day because it put me – well in anxiety mode. I guess I told her

“Oh my gosh” I told the nurse…This is the same phone call I gave her when I had breast cancer, and I thought I was going to crack. But now I’m on an even higher wall

than I was even back then, and I’m like Humpty Dumpty, and I’m going to fall. And I really don’t know how to put

“me” back together again.”

- School Administrator

“ Here’s how trauma changes us. So I tell kids to take a piece of paper. What I want you to do with the piece of

paper – I want you to crumple it as hard as you can. And then I say now I want you to put it back where it originally was. Right? So when you do this, I can never put this back to what it originally was. And so, I think that is what you go

through in these situations, it changes my views of the world. I wholeheartedly believe that we are in a good

society, but there are times I question that, based on some of the trauma that I have seen that will never go away.

- School Administrator

Introductions • Who is in the room?

Trauma-Filled Voice

- Maricela’s trip to the abortion clinic

- What’s your response?

Grounding Principles

• Presence is fundamental to recognizing each other• Who we are impacts how we

move and is core to any healing work

Definitions

findingcommon

ground

• Trauma (historical, individual & collective)

• Coping and Adaptation • Resilience • Post Traumatic Growth • Voice

Defining Voice

• Voice is a concise capturing of the author’s reality, responding to the author’s culture(s), language(s), race(s), gender(s), sexuality(ies), ability(ies), religion(s), spirituality(ies), and class-based experiences

• Voice captures and exudes passion, moving audiences to feel a depth of emotion that reflects the speaker’s life

• You know it when you hear it!

Components of Voice

Narrative

1. Self-Recognition and Examination2. Reflection on Context3. Personal Responses to our Context4. Translation of Experience into Voice5. Critical Expression

Freewriting Voice

Self Recognitio

n

• Capture a trauma that impacted you

• Partner/Small Group Sharing

• Large Group Debrief

Components of Voice:

Self Recognitio

n

Positionality1) How you see yourself• Who I am (race, sexuality, class, gender,

religion, languages, ability, ethnicity, skin tone)

2) How others see us• What I am seen as (how others presume

and position me)

Types of Writing Prompts (identity-focused; I am from poem; self-descriptions/analysis; wounds )

Writing Framework

, Strategies

& Tips

A Voice-Purposed Education: 1) Learners leave with something to say2) Learners model transformation through personal and professional voice

Workplace Strategies and Tips1) Foster opportunities to express2) Foster opportunities to listen3) Model expression for others4) Voice is everywhere: Digital, face-to-face, in classes, on the street, in building design, in how we eat, hang out, be ourselves

Freewriting Voice

Self Recognition

• Capture how you cope(d) with the trauma you experienced

• Partner/Small Group Sharing

• Large Group Debrief

Integrating all of

yourself into classrooms, workspaces,

and public spaces

Educators are models of voice

• If we don’t voice, don’t expect others to

• If we don’t model multicultural democracy in professional work, don’t expect others to

• Integrate voice throughout your professional context

Self-Care& Modeling

Voice

• Compassion Fatigue / Secondary Traumatic Stress

• Self-Care (physical, emotional, mental, social, occupational, spiritual)

• Boundaries• Balance • Support • Know thyself!

Freewriting Voice

Translation of Experience

to Voice

• Capture how you see yourself putting narrative & expression into action

• Partner/Small Group Share

• Large Group Debrief

What Are Benefits of

Modeling Voice?

• Group brainstorm and discussion

Final Comments,

Questions Thoughts

• Thank you for participating!