Crushing Imposter Syndrome: Putting Trauma Informed Care Concepts Into Action
Many people nowadays — regardless of their line of work — have had some sort of Trauma Informed Care training. But, Trauma Informed Care is so much more than just a couple of hours in a classroom. It’s about taking the concepts and tools learned and being able to put them into action.
That’s why at Wellpoint Care Network, we believe in lifelong learning and implementation. Continued education and research into our Seven Essential Ingredients (7ei) framework is essential to helping children and families thrive.
Kennedy Latham, whose roles at Wellpoint Care Network include being a lead care coordinator and ongoing case manager, admits she often felt imposter syndrome — doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud — in her line of work.
“It felt like day-to-day, my role was just putting out fires and responding to crises. And, I noticed that when that happens, the cycle of bad behavior just kept continuing. I felt like I was getting away from addressing those underlying needs that should be focused on.”
That’s when she decided to pursue additional training Wellpoint Care Network offers to employees.
“I really wanted to have a better understanding of trauma,” said Latham. “A lot of families we work with daily were asking questions like, ‘What is trauma? How do we process it? What’s the best path forward?’ I didn’t really have those answers. I don’t think that I’ll ever be the expert on trauma, but the additional support and resources have really helped — from relationship building and connecting with others to being able to help answer questions and provide education.”
That proved to be the case when Latham was working with a youth recently.
Latham’s youth had some behaviors that many people would consider strange — including losing their sense of time and staring blankly. The youth’s family and team were uncertain how to understand those behaviors. A critical moment occurred when Latham was able to suggest that the youth’s strange behaviors weren’t strange at all but were likely signs of a core trauma concept called dissociation.
“I realized that was their response when thinking about trauma or being reminded of it. They just didn’t have the word ‘dissociation’ and didn’t know what it meant.”
Latham then explained dissociation to the youth she was working with, and more things started to come together.
“They started to run through a list of things that bothered them in their day-to-day life. Pretty much all of them were aligned with dissociation.”
The next step was looping in the youth’s family.
Latham ended up talking to the family about some of these “strange” behaviors and had a breakthrough moment where the family connected the dots — understanding their child’s behavior differently and informed by a new way to think about things.
“That really opened the door to talking about other things we had noticed.”
Now, Latham feels less like an imposter and more confident in her day-to-day work.
“I feel like I’m making a difference. I think that’s why a lot of us are in this field to begin with. I also think it’s made me feel a lot more confident about my ability to take what I’ve learned and present it to a family in a way that makes sense for them. It has given me a lot of confidence to just give things a try, bring things up with families, be creative in how I present things.”
She’s thankful to Wellpoint Care Network for providing continued learning opportunities for all staff.
“Now when a crisis is happening, I have a different response,” adds Latham. “I will take a step back and ask a lot more questions. I’m really trying to get to the root of what’s going on with each and every case. Going through additional training where I’m gaining practical skills, being observed and getting real time suggestions and advice has been super beneficial. Instead of just, ‘Here’s the information, good luck.’”
Learn more about Wellpoint Care Network’s Trauma Informed Care training opportunities here, and understand new ways to put theory into practice.
