Helping Families Recover from Trauma

Trauma comes in many forms: domestic violence, poverty, child abuse and neglect, homelessness. Whatever the form, the impact on family functioning can be ongoing and the emotional, social, and physical health of family members is often seriously damaged; sometimes bridging generations. Helping families recover from trauma and build resilience to ongoing trauma such as poverty is currently seen as crucial to providing mental health services that adequately address the needs of both the children and adults.

Catholic Charities has explored many innovative programs to help families that have experienced significant levels of trauma. One of the newest of these programs to be utilized by Catholic Charities in Bloomington’s Counseling and Psychological Services is called "Strengthening Families Coping Resources" (SFCR). SFCR is a trauma-focused, multi-family, skill-building intervention. SFCR is designed for families living in traumatic contexts with the goal of reducing the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related disorders in children and adult caregivers. Since most families living in traumatic contexts contend with ongoing stressors and threats, SFCR is also designed to increase coping resources in children, adult caregivers, and in the family system to prevent relapse and re-exposure. Specifically, SFCR builds the coping resources necessary to help families boost their sense of safety, function with stability, regulate their emotions and behaviors, and improve communication about and understanding of the traumas they have experienced. We may think of trauma as something "big," like being the victim of or witnessing violence, but not understand how something like the ongoing daily stress of poverty is also a major source of trauma. SFCR is designed to help families recognize the more subtle forms of trauma and how to develop skills and family relationships that help build resiliency and reduce the traumatic impact resulting from ongoing environmental stress.

Catholic Charities is here to provide help and create hope for all. If you would like more information about our counseling services, please call (812) 332-1262 or visit CatholicCharitiesBtown.org.