Brown School at Washington University in Saint Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, Saint Louis, MO 63130, USA.
Child Abuse Negl. 2022 Aug;130(Pt 2):105563. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105563. Epub 2022 Feb 24.
Throughout my graduate coursework, several classes focused on trauma. Considering my experiences, I searched to gain insight into group level trauma adoptees face due to our unique status and common societal factors that influence adoption. Exploring the trauma literature, I found that none of the terms quite represented the complex characteristics of adoption.
Realizing the limitations of current trauma definitions, I sought to name group trauma for adoptees and thereby legitimize and validate my and other adoptees' experiences.
I am the sole participant. The research was conducted in St. Louis, Missouri.
In this autoethnography, I recount academic experiences that have shaped my emerging and interconnected identities as an adoptee and social worker. I analyze the traumatic and empowering impacts of gaining more information about adoption as a politically and economically influenced system.
Examining my intertwined adoption and academic journeys, I propose a trauma and healing of consciousness framework to understand trauma for groups of individuals like adoptees whose trauma is not recognized using historical, collective, or intergenerational models.
The term trauma of consciousness expands existing theories of trauma while including social groups for whom group trauma was not previously recognized. Understanding the trauma of consciousness is imperative because healing cannot begin until the existence of the trauma is recognized. Further exploration on the trauma of consciousness is needed to recognize its impact and to develop creative interventions that can provide hope and enable people to move forward.
在我的研究生课程中，有几门课程专注于创伤。考虑到我的经历，我寻找机会深入了解由于我们独特的身份和共同的社会因素而导致的集体创伤。在探索创伤文献的过程中，我发现没有一个术语能够完全代表收养的复杂特征。
鉴于当前创伤定义的局限性，我试图为收养群体命名创伤，从而使我和其他收养者的经历合法化和验证。
我是唯一的参与者。研究在密苏里州圣路易斯进行。
在这个自传体民族志中，我叙述了影响我作为收养者和社会工作者的新兴和相互关联的身份的学术经历。我分析了作为一个受政治和经济影响的系统，了解更多关于收养的信息对我产生的创伤和赋权影响。
通过审视我交织的收养和学术旅程，我提出了一个意识创伤和疗愈框架，以理解那些其创伤没有被历史、集体或代际模式所承认的个人群体的创伤，比如收养群体。
意识创伤这一术语扩展了现有的创伤理论，同时包括了以前没有被认为存在群体创伤的社会群体。理解意识创伤至关重要，因为在承认创伤存在之前，无法开始疗愈。需要进一步探索意识创伤，以认识其影响，并开发能够提供希望并使人们能够向前迈进的创造性干预措施。
