MEETING THE PAST: Health Care Professionals and the Holocaust
Health professionals who deal with Jewish populations come into contact on a daily basis with clients who have suffered enormous trauma as a result of their Holocaust experiences prior to arrival in Australia. While Holocaust survivors often show incredible strength and resilience they can also be deeply affected by past experiences in ways that are not often readily apparent. Often, survivor behaviour is difficult to understand for those who have not encountered it previously. Even for those familiar with the history of the Holocaust and its effects, there can be extreme difficulty in dealing with issues as they arise. Especially as these issues may not seem directly linked to the survivor's past experiences.
It is widely understood in psychoanalytic discourse that, "what is traumatic insists on returning". What does this mean on a daily basis for Holocaust survivors and those who work with them? It means that the past is forever intersecting with the present—interrupting it—often in ways that are not completely apparent at the time. Trauma is understood to return not so much as a memory but as an action. This action may, or may not be recognized by the Holocaust survivor or those interacting with the survivor, as a result of past traumatic experience.
For example, someone who has spent years in hiding may have developed hyper vigilant behaviours in order to survive this ordeal. This hyper vigilance may still come to the fore in situations that to others may seem benign. Yet for the survivor, this 'benign' situation could actually be experienced as a repetition of a past traumatic event.
The health care professional attempting to deal with such a situation is often at a loss to understand what is actually going on. Health care institutions need to give staff the skills to recognise and handle situations as they arise. We need to support them in gaining these skills—as they require one to take a step beyond daily medical management. Meeting the Past will provide the opportunity to discuss these matters, facilitating the development of staff skills and techniques to deal with these behaviours on an ongoing basis.
Program Outline
The Sydney Jewish Museum is proud to present Meeting the Past, a workshop that enables health care professional to tackle these issues by focusing on the experiences of survivors of the Nazi Holocaust as a case study.
The morning seminar will include:
- A tour of the Sydney Jewish Museum led by a Holocaust Survivor guide
- An Introduction to Jewish culture, belief and ritual
- Workshop conducted by Renee Symonds, Clinical Psychologist and Avril Alba, Education Manager, Sydney Jewish Museum
- Printed workshop and reference materials
Workshop to include:
- An opportunity to debrief following the Museum tour
- Strategies for:
- Recognising trauma triggers and working with them
- Helping Holocaust survivors feel safe and secure in the health care environment
- Providing constructive responses to Holocaust survivors
- An opportunity to discuss case instances from your own workplace (time permitting)
- Morning tea will be provided
Outcomes
The program should enable health care professionals to work with greater sensitivity to Holocaust survivors' needs. The added benefit is the creation among staff of a 'common language' in order to deal with daily interactions, enabling them to better work together and with survivors of trauma in general.
By focusing on the impact of the Nazi Holocaust, participants will also gain a deeper understanding of the short and long term effects of cultural intolerance. Reflection on this most heinous example of ethnic intolerance allows for consideration on what is needed for culturally diverse communities and work places to flourish. Participants will be able to translate this experience into their immediate work environments and every day work practices.
- Time: 10:00 am – 2pm
- Place: Sydney Jewish Museum
- Cost: $50 per person
If you are interested in organizing a group from your staff to participate in this exciting and vital initiative please contact:
- The Education Department
- SYDNEY JEWISH MUSEUM
- 148 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst 2010
- Tel: 02 9360 7999 or email education@sjm.com.au
Other Links:
Educational resources for teachers
|