Excerpted from the September 2007 NESTTD Newsletter
Empathic Attunement
We are biologically designed to resonate with the experience of others”
-Jose Hidalgo, MD
In our last NESTTD meeting Jose Hidalgo discussed “Human Trafficking and Mental Health.” Jose described people living in poverty searching for a better life only to become enslaved in sweatshops, prostitution, or begging on the streets for the benefit of their captors. Smugglers, who use the false hope of a better future, lure families to offer their children in exchange for money. He discussed the high rate of human trafficking taking place around the world and the trauma experienced by victims. It is estimated that every 20 minutes someone is trafficked in the U.S., with up to 3,000,000 people being trafficked internationally every year.
Human trafficking survivors are isolated, exhausted, and traumatized. They believe what their traffickers say, which confuses the issue of safety -- who is providing it and who can be trusted. The individual becomes lost in the entangled systems of government agencies, immigration, and the legal system, fearing authority and not trusting those who are trying to help. As Jose presented these statistics and stories of human trafficking victims, I found myself entering a world that I am not exposed to, yet feeling empathically attuned to. He described the complex system of smuggling, law enforcement, immigration, language barriers, and economic reliance on cheap labor, only to name a few factors that result in psychological trauma. As he continued, my world felt very small and the world of human trafficking seemed to dominate.
Jose spoke of how the mindset of providers becomes part of this complex system. Providers themselves experience fear and confusion. They can be overwhelmed and numb, outraged, wearing their own blinders, or moved to help out of voyeuristic curiosity. This can result in vicarious traumatization for the provider, making it difficult to know how to help, and reminded me of what we can experience in working with our own traumatized and/or dissociated clients. We engage in empathic attunement with our clients, which can build the bridge between clients and ourselves and lay out a path to their healing. Empathic attunement also makes us vulnerable to vicarious traumatization and to getting lost in the complexity that trauma and dissociation can bring about.
Jose identified some steps necessary to negotiate the tangle of mental health, legal, and medical systems in order to help victims reintegrate themselves and build a new life. In addition to research, advocacy and enactment of laws, there is a need for psycho-education and greater coordination among the systems. However, acknowledgement that trafficking exists and that people can heal from it is most important.
The presentation closed with a cello piece commissioned by Jose Hidalgo and written by Margaret McAllister. Jose wanted a piece that “cleanses the senses and prepares the listener for their capacity to love.” The musical piece Journey reflects the courage and hope for a better life “with a message of hope that those fortunate enough to escape can transcend the horrors they experienced, heal and live full lives.” Our conviction as therapists that healing is possible provides the foundation for supporting empathic attunement with our traumatized clients.
For more information on human trafficking go to www,usdoj,gov/whatwedo-ctip.html To report trafficking crimes or get help by calling the hotline 1-888-428-7581.
Hope to see you all at our September meeting!
Yours truly,
NESTTD President