To help spread awareness of the effects of trauma, BUSY Health acknowledge Blue Knot Day, held every year on the last Thursday in October, this year’s date falling on Thursday 26th October 2023.
Blue Knot Day is a national campaign that aims to build a more trauma informed community by creating awareness of the 5 million adult Australians that are impacted by and living with the effects of complex trauma. Trauma describes both negative events and experiences that are significantly stressful and the effects that those experiences can have on the individual. You can experience trauma at any age, a traumatic event can happen only once, or be repetitive, potentially impacting you throughout your entire lifespan.
Childhood trauma includes experiences of neglect, violence, abuse (sexual, physical, emotional, spiritual), and/or exploitation. Rather than being a single incident, for e.g. a natural disaster, accident, or one-off instance of sexual or physical assault, complex trauma is repetitive and its impacts are long-term. Complex trauma includes domestic and family violence, war and trauma experienced by refugees, and endemic community violence. Some of the multiple impacts that childhood trauma and complex trauma can cause include low self-esteem, relationships difficulties, mental and physical health challenges, and occupational and educational barriers.
Positively, it is possible to heal and recover from trauma with appropriate support. Becoming trauma-informed means recognising the issues that can exist for many survivors and minimising the potential for upsetting interactions. The guiding trauma-informed principles include:
- Safety;
- Trustworthiness;
- Choice;
- Collaboration; and
- Empowerment.
BUSY Health practitioners work with our clients to identify appropriate support for trauma presentations, aiming to place trauma informed principles at the forefront of what we do.
We recognise that everyone has unique experiences and needs, that the course of recovery from trauma is individualised and can take time. If support for your therapeutic goals is required beyond the parameters or levels that we can provide, we’ll be honest and transparent with you and discuss options to empower you to level up your support appropriately.
Competence, respect, propriety and integrity are central in following trauma-informed principles and we want to ensure those whom have experienced complex trauma are treated with dignity and respect.
If you’d like to talk to someone about therapeutic options, trauma recovery goals, or support under victims of crime assistance, please contact BUSY Health on 1800 270 934.
Like to learn more or support Blue Knot Day?
You can become more informed about complex trauma by attending an online webinar on Thursday 26th October, 2023 from 12pm – 1pm AEDT – find out more or you can REGISTER HERE.
Find out more about complex trauma on the Fact Sheets on the Blue Knot Webpage
You can promote Blue Knot Day by:
- Buying/wearing a Blue Knot pin or bracelet.
- Follow social media sites and share images of yourself wearing a Blue Knot.
- Making a donation to the website.
- Hold an event and raise funds to support adult survivors.
Article contributed by BUSY Health psychologist, Sindi Morley, MProPsych, Assoc MAPS.
