Trauma or when bad things happen

It's fascinating how good we as humans are at coping with really bad things. Our resilience is remarkable.

Some of the most interesting work that is currently being done in the field of trauma is narrative exposure therapy that is done with refugee populations. Can you imagine, you are working with a severely traumatised population who are also moving. This limits the time you have with them. And to get results that indicate that you have made a difference!! If you're into academics, here's a start: Read about narrative exposure therapy.

When we are severely traumatised, one of the effects is fragmented memory. We struggle to tell the story. In narrative exposure therapy this is one of the results they want to achieve: people begin to tell the story. As we tell a story, we get some coherence in the memory.

There is so much to wonder at in this world. This picture is of the rock-hewn churches in the town of  Lalibela, Ethiopia. They were carved out of volcanic rock. They have been in constant use since the 11th century when they were built.