OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY
TREC DC strives to be an active member of a larger community of organizations dedicated to the prevention of trauma and advocacy for trauma treatment and social justice. We seek out opportunities to partner with community programs that align with our philosophy of empowerment and justice.
TREC DC is always looking to partner with communities that have been affected by trauma to provide resources, information, support, and collaboration on advocacy efforts. Below are highlights and examples of some of the efforts we have been making. Please feel free to contact us for more information or to discuss future outreach and collaboration.
VICTIMS OF GUN VIOLENCE
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Drs. Lea Didion and Lisa Carlin, psychologists and co-founders of TREC DC, testified at the Department of Behavioral Health Budget Hearing in Washington, DC to advocate for increased funding for mental health treatment for victims of gun violence
VICTIMS OF TRAUMA
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Dr. Lisa Carlin, psychologist and co-founder of TREC DC, testified at the Department of Behavioral Health Budget Hearing in Washington, DC to continue to advocate for increased resources for mental health services for victims of trauma
SCHOOL COMMUNITIES
Dr. Lea Didion, psychologist and co-founder of TREC DC, provided a brief presentation to a local PTA group on racism and bullying
VICTIMS OFÂ MASS VIOLENCE
Dr. Lea Didion, psychologist and co-founder of TREC DC, led a Facebook Live discussion with a community affected by mass violence and terrorism. Topics focused on how to talk to children about trauma and engaging in self-care in the wake of tragedy.
TARGETED COMMUNITIES
Dr. Jess MacIntyre, psychologist and co-founder of TREC DC, led a discussion with a community impacted by chronic trauma that provided psychoeducation, normalization of responses to trauma, and resources for accessing mental health services.
OTHER TOPICS
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"When Work Wounds: Addressing Professional Trauma" keynote address by Dr. Didion at the Hidden Wounds of War annual conference
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Dr. Didion participated in an Accenture BRG panel discussion titled “Demystifying Mental Health in the AAPI Community”
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“Resilience in and out of the AAPI Community” presented by Dr. Didion to Kohl's Business Resource Group
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"Cultural Competence in Working with Women Veterans of Color" presented by Drs. Didion and Carlin at the Military Cultural Diversity Symposium
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"Working with Women Veterans" presented by Dr. Carlin at the Veteran's Symposium
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"PTSD and Trauma: Overview and Treatments" presented by Dr. Peppers and Ms. Emery-Rhowbotham at Marymount University
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“Trauma, PTSD, and Veteran Mental Health” presented by Dr. Didion to Kohl's Resource Group
The impact on not just an individual but a whole community can be immense. Training for community providers in evidence-based mental health interventions can be limited and costly, and the need for therapy often far outweighs resources. In my experiences working within a public healthcare system, providers and clients are often put in an untenable position where providers need to focus on access to care and initial risk assessments for triage and crisis services, but are often unable to balance the need for continuity of care in the recommended form of weekly, individual psychotherapy sessions to address symptoms of PTSD and associated disorders. And, the private sector provides limited resources for those that are uninsured or underinsured. This can lead to long wait times for weekly, affordable therapy without the support of government funding of appropriately staffed public resources. It should be noted that most studies of the trajectory of PTSD and depressive symptoms show that symptoms get worse without appropriate intervention, which means that longer wait times could result in more complicated sequelae and additional psychosocial burdens that can come with unaddressed mental health symptoms.
Dr. Lisa Carlin
From her testimony before the Department of Behavioral Health Budget Hearing in Washington, DC to advocate for increased funding for mental health treatment for victims of gun violence.