The document discusses intergenerational trauma and its impacts. It notes that trauma can be passed down from generation to generation if not resolved. Cultural trauma impacts entire societies by attacking the fabric of the community. The concept of an "invisible backpack" is introduced, which refers to how our culture, experiences and beliefs unconsciously influence our interactions. The cycle of pain, trauma and harm can be addressed through restoring balance, though harm reduction and focusing on wellness and resilience rather than disease models of health. The theory of the "wounded healer" is presented, where those who have experienced and processed trauma can develop greater empathy and understanding to help others.

1. INTERGENERATIONAL
TRAUMA

2. STORIES
• I will use some of my experiences working as a nurse, in
health, in the north, and as a nurse-educator, nurse-
administrator, nurse-researcher, nurse-policy-whatever ,
often an outsider, working in different situations.
• You are a part of the story.
• Prisoners, vacationers, keeners, experts

3. WHAT
DO
YOU
SEE?

4. INVISIBLE BACKPACK
“all of us carry an invisible ‘backpack’ of our culture, experiences, beliefs,
values and morals. Whenever we encounter another person, our backpack
is present with us and influences how we interact with our patients and
their families”.
Scott Harrison
Invisible Knapsack Peggy McIntosh

5. INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA
• Intergenerational trauma occurs when trauma is not resolved, subsequently
internalized, and passed from one generation to the next
• Present trauma is whatever vulnerability today’s youth, familys, elders, communities,
continue to experience on a daily basis.

6. HURT PEOPLE HURT PEOPLE
Abusive patterns get passed on,
Generation after generation,
But the chain can be broken.
Meet anger with sympathy,
Meet contempt with compassion,
Meet Cruelty with kindness,
Meet grimaces with smile.
When you forget about the fault, there is nothing to forgive. Love is the weapon of the future.
Yehuda Berg

7. CULTURAL TRAUMA
Cultural trauma is an attack on the fabric of an entire society, which has an overall affect
on the community, and who the community defines as its members

8. VICTIMS
• Are you a victim of the victim syndrome?
• http://sites.insead.edu/facultyresearch/research/doc.cfm?did=50114

9. -Introduction of Stigma and
Discrimination
-Loss of Balance
-Goal is to restore balance
-The path out of conflict
begins at the center
-There is calm and power at
the center
-Honesty not loyalty with all
interactions
-Medicine wheel
CYCLE OF PAIN AND TRAUMA AND HARM

10. IMBALANCE CREATES ILLNESS
“Learning how to cope with a lack of survival skills
groomed me to become a victim and feel
vulnerable to mainstream society.” Ken Ward
“We are sitting on a powder keg and decisions
about what is needed must come from the people,
who must take ownership of the issue.” Ken Ward

11. RESTORING BALANCE THROUGH HARM
REDUCTION
• North American culture looks at problems of substance abuse as
individual problems rather than looking at the larger societal
picture.
• In individualistic societies we blame the individuals, often missing
the larger patterns and forces at work.
• Most social ills are seen as the result of actions by people who are
“bad”.
• The individualistic perspective frequently narrows the ethical
discussions to consideration of individual rights rather that
collective goals and responsibilities.
• We are far too focused on individual behaviour to see the larger
context that encourages people to act ethically.

12. EVERYTHING IS ABOUT CULTURE!
• Everybody knows about it
• Everybody does it
• Nobody talks about it
• Kathleen Bartholomew, RN, MN

14. CULTURE IS A WORLD VIEW
• North American culture sees health as an individual
problem, but we live in dynamic, intercultural
communities.
• Culture can be a barrier to caring for our clients.
• We learn about disease models of health
– We need to focus on wellness and resilience models
of health
• Health is multifaceted with issues related to mental,
spiritual, emotional, and physical health.

16. PHYSICAL MENTAL EMOTIONAL SPIRITUAL
My perspective is that
each of these four parts
can be treated as its own
body.
Each requires its own
form of sustenance and
exercise to be healthy

17. LET ME TELL YOU A STORY …
• This is a story about a mom and a dad,
and a child, and a the child’s
grandparents…

18. WALKING
WOUNDED
T H E ‘J O U R N E Y O F T H E WA L K I N G
W O U N D E D ’ I S A N I D E A L PAT H WAY TO
B R I N G A B O U T T H I S H E A L I N G .

19. THEORY OF THE WOUNDED HEALER
• We often witness traumatic events or have experienced traumatic events
in our own lives
• Ineffective coping, leads to impacts of trauma that become unresolved
• When we deny the stresses and stressors in our lives, we become
wounded
• We can project the stress, from our wounds, onto others

20. THEORY OF THE WOUNDED HEALER
• When we deal with trauma effectively, we may be wounded, but we can
transform the pain into understanding, empathy, and healing
• We build better relationships with our patients and colleagues,
• This is part of the Nursing Culture, and it is part of carers
– interactions, connections, relationships, and integrations
• We gain understanding on how to help others
• A lot of ‘helping’ professions have Wounded Healers

21. RECOGNITION
• Awareness that something is affecting a person in a negative manner,
either through his/her own thought processes and self-evaluation, or
with the assistance of other people in his/her life.

22. TRANSFORMATION
• Seeking affirmation and control over feelings of pain and/or fear
through counseling and/or sharing; using energy from the past to
increase understanding of the present and future.

23. TRANSCENDENCE
• A higher level of understanding (can be spiritual and/or higher thinking)
that allows the person to use the understanding achieved to increase
their therapeutic relationship with others.

24. WALKING WOUNDED
• Those who have experienced either physical or verbal trauma in their
lives that they have not dealt with, allowing alterations in their ability to
cope with current stressors, leading to negative results.

25. WOUNDED HEALER
• Those who, through self-reflection and spiritual growth, achieve
expanded consciousness, through which the trauma is processed,
converted, and healed. The scar remains, giving the person a greater
ability to understand others’ pain.

26. RECOGNITION, TRANSFORMATION,
TRANSCENDENCE
• Recognition
– What happened?
– What could be changed?
– How should it have been handled?
• Transformation
– What can be learned from the incident?
– Has this changed me or the people I care about?
– How can this be used to make things better?
• Transcendence
– I understand your pain.
– How can I make things better for you?

27. CONTACT INFORMATION
Greg Riehl RN BScN MA
Indigenous Nursing Student Advisor
Saskatchewan Polytechnic Indigenous Nursing
Regina Campus
Email: greg.riehl@saskpolytech.ca
@griehl