Neighbor News
Upcoming webinar: Understanding trauma & its long-term effects
Lower Twp. Healthy Youth Coalition hosts discussion to share insight and actionable next steps
Trauma is a familiar topic, but often goes undiscussed because of its sensitive nature. Trauma does not discriminate and has no boundaries. But to help those affected by trauma, we have to first understand the condition and its impact on society.
According to the National Council for Behavioral Health, 70 percent of adults in the U.S. have experienced some type of traumatic event at least once in their lives. Trauma is a risk factor in nearly all behavioral health and substance use disorders, the Council says.
We have to talk about it, and the Lower Township Healthy Youth Coalition (LTHYC) soon will provide a forum to do so. A webinar called “Ten Things Everyone Needs to Know About Trauma” will be held on Wednesday, June 9, at 10:30 a.m. on Zoom. Open to the community, the presentation will be led by trauma specialist Dr. Debra Ruisard.
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Attendees will hear an in-depth description of trauma and how it impacts people - physically, mentally, and behaviorally. The program will cover how the brain works under stress, and how stress in our youth, if not resolved, will follow us into adulthood.
Dr. Ruisard will also provide guidance and actionable tips to effectively respond to someone affected by trauma.
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“In a perfect world, society would be able to recognize that people may act and react to situations differently because of trauma,” said LTHYC Coordinator Kim Erichsen. “This initiative requires community-level change. It’s about understanding our actions and changing the way we treat each other.”
In other words, it is about changing the mindset of “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?”
Visit www.LTHYC.org/trauma to register for this free event. Participants are invited to stay for a Q&A session with Dr. Ruisard immediately following the presentation.
For more information, please contact Kim at 609-522-5960 or Kim@capeassist.org.
About the Presenter
Dr. Debra Ruisard: druisard@scarletmail.rutgers.edu
Debra Ruisard, DSW, LCSW, LCADC, teaches Social Work Practice I and II. She is the Clinical Director at The Center for Great Expectations, a nonprofit agency in Somerset that serves homeless pregnant and parenting adults and adolescents with substance use and mental health disorders. Ruisard has extensive clinical experience in simultaneously treating trauma and addiction issues, primarily those affecting women involved in the child welfare system. She has a post-graduate certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies from the Trauma Center at the Justice Resource Institute and has presented workshops in New Jersey and other states on how to provide trauma-informed care in substance abuse treatment, and with pregnant and parenting women. In her work, she seeks to develop a greater understanding of the relationship between trauma and addiction to improve recovery outcomes for her clients.
About the Lower Township Healthy Youth Coalition
The Lower Township Healthy Youth Coalition is a community initiative of Cape Assist, a substance-abuse prevention and treatment agency based in Wildwood. The coalition is dedicated to reducing substance misuse among youth in the municipality.