The popular opinion allows people to see ‘trauma’ as being synonymous with distress or discomfort. The other day I stood in a queue to pay for a pair of shoes when I overheard a lady telling her friend that she was so “traumatized” because another shopper “snatched a bargain from under her nose”.
The haphazard way people are using terms like ‘trauma’ and ‘stress’ gives the impression that they know what they are talking about. Our own biases allow us to assume that we know what they are talking about and we have the answers.
The problem is that as listeners we stop listening with the intent to hear and understand. We stop paying attention to what they are trying to share and why they need to tell that part of their story.
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on households and communities. The way businesses, training institutions, and ministries operated do not apply anymore.
Together we have to be creative and resilient to make every day count. In the past, people engaged others in specific styles of communication for example marketing-centered or promotional interactions. At this stage, the need of our clients is encouragement and healing-centered engagements.
Much of the cosmetic fluff has weathered and personal interaction and kindness are more important than ever. Customer loyalty is won by the way they are treated during these challenging times.
There are four lifestyle strengths you need to survive and build your business and practice that is relevant now. The priority strengths are consideration, reliability, flexibility, and altruism.
Read more: Four lifestyle strengths necessary to survive COVID-19
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During this challenging year, we were so blessed by the relationship with our friends, partners and donors. Although this year did not work out according to the strategic plans, it has been a very busy year. This report will give you a brief overview of the accomplishments for the year. To enhance Inter Trauma Nexus’ communication with partners, friends and clients we started a daily electronic newsletter calls Friends of Inter Trauma Nexus in English and Vriende van Inter Trauma Nexus in Afrikaans. The newsletter contains a thought for the day, a verse of scripture, a beautiful poster and a short prayer. The purpose of the newsletter is to offer encouragement and comfort.
Training is an important part of Inter Trauma Nexus’ community engagement and commitment. At the beginning of the year, an important part of the strategy was to make more workshops available online via Aquilla Training. For the year the focus was on developing asynchronous, self-paced workshops on practical counselling skills and personal self-enrichment. All the workshops were developed in partnership between Inter Trauma Nexus, Aquilla Financial Solutions, Aquilla Wellness Solutions and Kailo Institute. It was a great honour to present a two-day Basic Trauma Handling course for Ampucare SA NPC. All of a sudden we were face with the COVID-19 pandemic. When The COVID-19 lockdown was announced the whole management team at Inter Trauma Nexus and Aquilla Training embarked on developing a free online workshop to help people to deal with the lockdown, financial hardship and the trauma of the disaster. The original idea was that the COVID-19 Trauma Relief – Support in a disaster would last 21 days, but as it turned out the workshop lasted 52-days. Although the workshop was aimed at a South-African audience, people from across the world participated. During the lockdown period, we made various online presentations to community organizations and on social media to make a positive difference. This included presentations and workshops to Victim Support Europe, Suid-Afrikaanse Vroue Federasie, Phela Workforce, Momentum and Employee Assistance Practitioners Association of South Africa, as well as Binah Advanced Bible College and Christelike Afhanklikheidsdiens. At the beginning of July 2020, we invited people in various ministries to join a voluntary association, called the Association for Christian Ministries. The voluntary association aims to offer support and ministry focused training for people who have a God-given calling. This initiative enhances the standing of people in traditional and non-traditional ministries, who are serving people in their communities. At the beginning of October 2020, our partnership with the Ons Radio internet-based radio station lead to daily podcasts called Hartswysheid en Kopkennis. These podcasts are broadcasted twice a day. After engaging with listeners who experienced the trauma of farm attacks, excruciating fear of violence, domestic abuse and job losses, the book Hartswysheid en Kopkennis vir Vriende was born. Many of the leaders and decision-makers in our network spent a lot of time with Rev Wynand Louw in prayer and personal coaching. Our pastors, care-givers and business managers are facing unprecedented challenges due to COVID-19 morbidity and financial hardship. The first post-lockdown face-to-face workshop was presented to the community of Kameeldrift to prepare volunteers for the Christmas season. This community is situated towards the North-East of Pretoria. Barbara Louw, our Chief Executive officer, completed a Doctorate in Divinity. Her dissertation is titled: Developing a strategy to address bullying for pastors and educators in South Africa. She has also been appointed as a professor with Binah Advanced Bible College through Therapon University. We re-designed the social media policy on all the mentioned sites to enhance interaction with the community and positive communication in line with the new POPIA. You are welcome to continue following us on your favourite social media platform. In 2021 there are exciting ventures that will be presented in the format of adult skills training programmes via Kailo Institute NPC. This includes our expanded Private Practice Management and Victim Empowerment programmes. May you have a peaceful Christmas and blessed New Year.
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Gratitude is the act of being thankful and expressing appreciation – here and now. Encouraging you to focus on and reflect the positives in the present.
The first step to benefit from a journal is to choose a book in which you can write, draw and scribble. You can choose a notebook which you can decorate and cover or a beautiful ready-made journal. Whatever you choose must allow you to express yourself, because sometimes talking isn’t enough to express what you are thinking and feeling.
The second step is to commit to write or draw every day. Write at least 10 to 15 minutes a day, using your own words. You just need to be true to who you are and what you are grateful for.
Your gratefulness helps you to show compassion, happiness and concern towards others. Your behaviour will be motivated out of the concern for others, rather than any selfish morals. You will see opportunities to be kind without being a ‘doormat’.
An attitude of gratitude leads you closer to God because you start to see the wonders of being alive and the miracles He bestows on you every day. This enhances your sense of security, healthy compassion and sound judgement.
Make your gratitude journal a regular practice in your life. Keep a diary to record all the things that make you feel thankful.
Here is an infographic to illustrate the benefits of a gratitude journal.
Should you feel stuck in a spot of unwellness or trauma, I am available to help you to put the trauma behind you and become well.
Should you feel stuck in a spot of unwellness or trauma, we are available to help you to put the trauma behind you and become well.
In-person and online counselling
During the COVID-19 lockdown, our wellbeing landscape was challenged like never before. No social interaction outside your home, but the Internet opened a portal to a new form of normality. Via the Internet, it is possible to reach people over great distances. We can facilitate training and communicate with people who need help from all over the world.
In our office, the conversations changed from the risks and pitfalls of working online, to what are the possibilities. Instead of thinking about traditional forms of counselling and training as opposed to working online, we developed combinations of best practices.
In-person and online services are combined to maximize benefits and minimise risk. The synchronous such as chat and video conferencing are popular with clients because they have more options. By combining the possible means of doing counselling, supervision or coaching clients find it easier to manage their schedules and fit in appointments.
Some clients prefer face-2-face services because their appointments are part of their “me-time” and they need the closeness of therapeutic interaction. Other clients have difficulties to leave their home due to certain illness, working from home, physical limitations, transportation difficulties or family commitments. Although online counselling it is only available to clients who have access to a computer and the Internet, the client has more therapeutic options than before.
Nexus News is a newsletter for the joint venture between Inter Trauma Nexus (NGO/PBO); Aquilla Financial Solutions (FSP) , Aquilla Wellness Solutions, Aquilla Advisors and Aquilla Training. These five entities are well known in the community and corporate environment. For more information on each company click on the company logo.
The leadership team put their proficiency together to offer continuous professional development training and progress.
The joint ventrure is headed up by Dr Barbara Louw and Wynand Louw (CFP).
