Profs and Pints Northern Virginia presents: “Understanding Trauma,” a look at how trauma affects us and what we can do about it, with Jillian Tucker, adjunct assistant professor of social work at Columbia University and New York University, veteran addiction counselor, and licensed clinical social worker certified in EMDR therapy.
Many of us—and many of the people we know—have suffered psychological trauma with a huge long-term impact. Experiences such as being abused as a child or experiencing or witnessing violence as an adult can indelibly affect our thoughts and behavior for the rest of our lives, compounding the initial psychological harm.
Get a basic understanding of how trauma works, why it sticks with us, and how we can undo its legacy with Jillian Tucker, a counselor in private practice with a trauma focus and an award-winning clinical practice instructor for both master’s and doctoral programs.
She’ll talk about how to distinguish between trauma and distress, and she’ll explore why some situations or events are traumatic. You’ll learn how trauma impacts us biologically and changes our brains’ functioning.
She’ll discuss how a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can have limitations despite being useful. She’ll explain what makes emotional abuse such a pervasive source of distress—in romantic relationships and within families, but also in friendships, at work, and systemically.
We’ll look at techniques for beginning to understand and address the impact of trauma and various treatment options, including clinical and non-clinical avenues of support. We’ll learn about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and how it uniquely addresses trauma.
Finally, the talk will touch upon posttraumatic growth and how, while we wish trauma never happens, through it we might discover inner strengths, resiliencies and resources of ourselves and our communities. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: Photo by George Hodan / Public domain.
