What is trauma and how should it be treated among a diversely cultural people whose traditions and custom contradict the therapeutic intervention of the psychologist?  There is need for education and information with relevant support services that will re-establish normal functioning within our country, Trinidad.

Trauma is now a daily experience in a village or community within our nation and citizens are most times unaware of the effects on their families’ lives. We are not just facing losses and succumbing to violence but we are overwhelmed with fears and other negative emotions that affect our thought patterns and our behaviour. We are threatened by the very news that informs us – the front page syndrome or the evening television news which disturbs our relaxation; and yet we are forced to live normally when we are pressed with uncertainties and anxieties. There is a real cry for help and yet, there is silence because of the lack of information that could give comfort for our citizens. Is it because we cannot truly define trauma; do we confuse the experience with conflict or mishap or maybe death and bad news?

The word ‘trauma’ defines the experiences of extreme hopelessness when there is physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and environmental violation to one’s person and surroundings. The inability to come to a place of order and assurance creates the emotional instability that we refer to as trauma. It is as if our ‘nerves’ are shocked and there is no solution to ease the pain experienced. This is the point at which there is need for diagnosis to truly identify the depth of trauma and the realities of emotional instability that would disturb our composure and behaviours. It is important to note that there are different categories of trauma including what is called ‘secondary trauma’.

Secondary trauma is defined where persons are not directly involve in traumatic situations but are indirectly related or affected by high-intensity traumas. The American Psychological Association May 2007, Press Release states that this “proximity to high-intensity traumas can have long lasting effects on the brain and behaviour of healthy people without causing a current clinical disorder. But these subtle changes could increase susceptibility to mental health problems later on.”

There is apparent evidence that one cannot evade the issues of traumatic occurrences whether it pervades environmental impact. The long term effects are not the focus of the public, nor are the environmental impact that involves persons that are insignificant to the problem. It is obvious that there is lack of knowledge that filters into the approaches, interventions and lifestyles of those affected.

In Trinidad with our multicultural lifestyles, there are several interpretations for the why of trauma. We are faced with ethnic interpretations where certain experiences are unique to one race and subsequently have a religious perspective.  People are sometimes comforted because of these reasons and the trauma is minimized and the effects are manageable. In this context we see the application of belief systems that serve to buffer the mental and psychological stressors. The ancestral implications, the generational traits are considered deeply to understand the nature of the trauma and the processes to overcome.

When we look at children or youth who are delinquent or have conduct behaviours, the villagers are sometimes consoled because the dispositions were anticipated because the fathers, mothers or relatives did the same thing – they had the same behaviours. There is no redress for such experiences and so the situations are not considered traumatic.

Belief systems do create confusion among families where there is superstition, redefining the myths and folklore tales. This is also an avenue where trauma lurks and where there is a need for intervention addressing behaviors, reacting, thoughts,

practices. 

The reality for support or therapy is not a foremost desire but I am assured that as the world grows with a greater educational awareness, persons would definitely begin to reach out for professional help. The day will come when the public will have a keener understanding of the basics of trauma and the need to know how to overcome successfully in order to regain balance in their daily living.