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Learning Through Storytelling- Rwanda: A Portrait of Post-Traumatic Growth

A Portrait of Post-Traumatic Growth

In-Person
1.5 CE Hour
General

Presented By

Dates and Times

  • -
    In-Person

Location

Description

Post-traumatic growth (PTG) posits that adversity has the potential to result in transformational change that can manifest in a variety of ways. While PTG does not aim to minimize the challenges associated with suffering, it highlights the potential for meaning-making following pivotal life events. While there have been examples of this phenomenon on an individual level, rarely are these applications discussed on a macro level.

 

Rwanda is a beacon of hope for the rest of the world regarding their response to the `1994 genocide against the Tutsi, where between 600,000 and 1,000,000 people were killed by friends and neighbors within 100 days. The Rwandan government shaped a thoughtful, organized, and intentional recovery that capitalized on the strengths of Rwandan culture that were embedded before colonization. The safety and cleanliness capture the fruits of this response, and it is a highly connective country that identifies as “One Rwanda.” In essence, the national identity captures the reality that we are all human regardless of ethnic or racial identities.

 

Our Rwanda: A Portrait of Post-Traumatic Growth is the first episode in a series of storytelling trainings that were designed to increase the relatability of concepts in mental health. This episode will utilize original video content in conjunction with traditional presentation methods to highlight strength, resiliency, and the results of Rwanda’s exemplary response to the genocide. Post-traumatic growth and resiliency are discussed in the context of people who shared their stories with us, along with mental health professionals who live and work in Rwanda.

Target Audience
  • • Social Worker
  • • Psychologist
  • • Marriage & Family Therapist
  • • Counselor
  • • Substance Use Disorder Professionals
Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Define Post-Traumatic Growth Theory

  • List 3 concepts of PTG and apply them to Rwanda's recovery from the genocide.

  • Describe 3 characteristics unique to Rwandan culture that cultivated a unified populous following the genocide.

  • Identify 2 lessons learned about PTG through the Storytelling series and describe how it can be applied to own client work.

References

  • Baumeister R. F., Vohs K. D. (2002). “The pursuit of meaningfulness in life,” in Handbook of Positive Psychology, eds Snyder C. R., Lopez S. J. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press; ), 608–618.

  • Collins, R. L., "lhylor, S. E,, & Skokan, L. A. (1990). A better world or a shattered vision? Changes in life perspectives following victimization. Social Cognition, 8, 263-285. ​

  • Heine S. J., Proulx T., Vohs K. D. (2006). The meaning maintenance model: on the coherence of social motivations. Pers. Soc. Psychol. Rev. 10 88–110. 10.1207/s15327957pspr1002_1​

  • Hirschberger G. Collective Trauma and the Social Construction of Meaning. Front Psychol. 2018 Aug 10;9:1441. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01441. PMID: 30147669; PMCID: PMC6095989.​

  • Janoff-Bulman R. (1992). Shattered Assumptions: Towards a New Psychology of Trauma. New York, NY: Free Press.

  • Musanabaganwa C, Jansen S, Fatumo S, Rutembesa E, Mutabaruka J, Gishoma D, Uwineza A, KayiteshongaY, Alachkar A, Wildman D, Uddin M, Mutesa L. Burden of post-traumatic stress disorder in postgenocideRwandan population following exposure to 1994 genocide against the Tutsi: A meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2020 Oct 1;275:7-13. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.06.017. Epub 2020 Jun 23. PMID: 32658827; PMCID: PMC7395874.

  • Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1988). Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 193-210

  • Tedeschi, R.G., & Calhoun, L.G. (2004). Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundation and Empirical Evidence. Philadelphia, PA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.​

  • Tedeschi, R PhD, and Lawrence Calhoun, PhD, Journal of Traumatic Stress, 1996​

  • Thomas, L. E., DiGiulio, R. C., & Sheehan, N. W. (1991). Identifying loss and psychological crisis in widowhood. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 26, 279-295. ​

  • Williamson, Caroline. (2014). Towards a Theory of Collective Posttraumatic Growth in Rwanda: The Pursuit of Agency and Communion. Traumatology: An International Journal. 20. 91. 10.1037/h0099393. ​

Introductory
General
Social Worker

Trusted Provider Network, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0654.

TPN.health is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (Provider #1000101) to sponsor continuing education for LCSWs. TPN.health maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Course meets the qualifications for 1.5 hours of continuing education credit for LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.

TPN.health, #1766, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. TPN.health maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 03/31/2022 – 03/31/2025. Social workers completing this course receive 1.5 General continuing education credits.

Psychologist

Trusted Provider Network is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Trusted Provider Network maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Marriage & Family Therapist

TPN.health is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (Provider #1000101) to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs. TPN.health maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Course meets the qualifications for 1.5 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.

Trusted Provider Network, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0097.

Counselor

Trusted Provider Network, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0220.

TPN.health is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (Provider #1000101) to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs. TPN.health maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Course meets the qualifications for 1.5 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.

TPN.health has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7267. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. TPN.health is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Substance Use Disorder Professionals

This course has been approved by TPN.health, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #198061, TPN.health is responsible for all aspects of the programming.This course has been approved by TPN.health, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #198061, TPN.health is responsible for all aspects of the programing. Counselor Skill Group: Legal, Ethical and Professional Development

CE Policy
This course is fiscally sponsored by Exchange Events. There may be potential biases or conflicts of interest inherent to this relationship, and it must be disclosed to participants. These conflicts of interest have no bearing on the course content and have been resolved.
  • Workshop Begins
  • Workshop Ends
Athena Phillips, LCSW

My career in behavioral health began in 1995, where I began working with developmentally disabled children and adults. My faith in human capacity and resilience is rooted in this experience; the people I was hired to serve were my teachers. The foundation of ITTC’s current approach to therapy was developed in what they taught me, which is essentially to approach work with people from the assumption of capacity, inherent goodness, and strength. Working with this population prompted me to pursue my Bachelors degree in Social Work, which I completed at Pacific University. I graduated here Magna Cum Laude and was Social Work Student of the Year in 2000. During my internship at the Sexual Assault Resource Center, I helped develop a sexual assault prevention curriculum for children to be utilized within the school system. My interest in the treatment of trauma began to develop here and prompted me to pursue my graduate degree. I completed my Masters in Social Work from Portland State University where I was the recipient of the Laurels Scholarship and graduated Magna Cum Laude.

After working in the field of social work in various capacities including private practice, the demand for a progressive view to working with post-traumatic stress, dissociative identity disorder and related mental health challenges prompted the creation of Integrative Trauma Treatment Center (ITTC). It is our goal to provide a place where people know that their experiences will be acknowledged, that high-quality care will be provided from a progressive standpoint, and that each type of trauma will be addressed in a focused way. It is the goal of our organization to provide integrative & specialized care, training, and research in a multicultural context on a global scale.

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