Trauma in the Body: A Biopsychosocial Aproach
A Listening Guide to the Roadmap for Change Podcast, Episode 8
Trauma is stored in the body and expressed through the senses, so professional interventions need to look beyond behavior to take care of the whole person through a biopsychosocial approach.
Welcome to the Episode 8 Listening Guide!
In this episode of the Roadmap for Change podcast, learn about the “bio-psycho-social” approach to caring for trauma. Childhood trauma lives in people’s bodies and can often turn into “acting out,” “misbehavior,” or even drug use. Any kind of support or intervention for youth in trouble needs to look deeper and consider their whole physical, mental, and social experience.
As you listen (Step 1), feel free to take notes, and then take some time with the reflection questions when you’re done (Step 2). This will help you process some of the more complex topics and find the ways that they intersect with your own life experiences, work, and circle of influence. Then, choose one of the possible action items (Step 3) that feels accessible and see if you can put it into practice.
Step 1: Listen to the Episode
Step 2: Consider These Reflection Questions
1
What are some tools that you have personally found helpful for reconnecting with your own senses or regulating your own nervous system?
2
In your experience, what are some ways that “normal/neutral behaviors” in everyday adult life gets socially “punished” or shunned (particularly for different marginalized groups)?
3
How has this episode/discussion changed your understanding of youth drug use?
Step 3: Take an Action Step
Brainstorm some ways big or small that you can help the youth in your life feel safer being themselves and feeling their feelings.
Practice changing perspectives!
A young person seems to not care or have any emotions. How could you reframe that description based on what we learned in the episode?
A young person seems very lively and is making jokes, but you know this youth lost a parent last year. Rather than thinking that they “wouldn’t want to be reminded of their parent because they seem happy right now,” how could you change how you think about this youth?
A young person has been saying inappropriate things to staff and has big reactions to loud noises. Rather than describing the youth as “acting out,” how could you describe their behavior based on what we learned in the episode?
Watch and share these highlight clips from the episode: