The women without a face
Doris D'Hooghe & Frauke Heyde Unfortunately, violence against women* is still an everyday reality (*more specifically, anyone who identifies as a woman or female, i.e., not just cis women, but also trans women, gender fluid individuals, etc.). Given that every human being needs and deserves safety, one of the most profound and universal human [...]
Seeing the unseen: Raising awareness about early childhood adverse experiences
Raising awareness about early childhood adverse experiences in a care giving relationship and their impact on a child's development. "What is believed to be essential for mental health is that the infant and young child should experience a warm, intimate, and continuous relationship with his mother in which both find satisfaction and enjoyment" (Bowlby, 1953) [...].
How peace is shaped by healing the fragmented self
Abstract Recent research has suggested that betrayal trauma, where a child is an object of others' violence, can lead to him or her becoming an aggressor later in life. Trauma and violence have been shown to be integrally linked. A shattered self leads to a shattered world through elements such as internalization, splitting, and identification. [...]
Alzheimer's. Ghosts from the past?
At the residential care center, they had asked me to contact a resident because she was so anxious all the time. I stepped into her room. It was a sunny day in autumn and warm colors bathed her room in a peaceful glow. The elderly woman was busy doing all kinds of [...]
Violent behavior may be the result of early childhood trauma
Violent behavior can result from early childhood trauma. Because of unprocessed trauma, a lot of toxic stress remains in children and adolescents and they are triggered very quickly. Those old, unhealed injuries cause anxiety and aggression. The testimonies in this episode are explained and framed by Nicole Vliegen [...], among others.
Love in times of euthanasia
All the hearts in the shop windows, the pink-red infused advertising to love and honor love, bring my thoughts to my experience with Mr. S. Mr. S. had requested euthanasia, which was also declared accessible. Because of concern for his emotional state, I was summoned as a psychotraumatologist to meet with him [...].