Rebuilding Community
The last of the Five R’s is Rebuilding Community, or creating and sustaining connections. As previously mentioned in Identifying The Need, beneficial deinstitutionalization programs include support from loved ones, such as family and friends. Interpersonal support is very important in recovering from institutionalization, as socialization helps survivors feel as though they have a place in outside communities.
Survivors may also benefit from joining trauma-based support groups where they can freely discuss the effects of their IODs on their lives. Recovering from trauma can feel lonely and isolating, and it’s important for survivors to know that other people have also gone through similar experiences. Survivors of institutional trauma may even have a difficult time relating to people ‘on the outside’ who don’t know what it’s like to have been mistreated at the expense of an institution. It’s highly important for these survivors especially to find a healthy community to relate to, whether that be through online forums, in-person support groups, or other community-based clubs and activities.
Survivors can share their story in any form that makes them comfortable: with a therapist or doctor, online in survivor forums, with loved ones, in support groups, in articles, in online reviews, as written letters—or even not at all! It is important to be mindful of the fact that expressing emotions related to trauma can cause significant amounts of distress if practiced incorrectly. Counselors and survivors alike should bear in mind that “ if trauma [and traumatic emotions] is to be revisited, it should be accompanied by reappraisal” (Littrell, 2009).
Some survivors may also benefit from using their voices to advocate against the institutions that have harmed them in search of positive change. It is important for survivors who want to become advocates to take steps to avoid burnout. Human rights advocates show alarming rates of PTSD symptoms, depression, and burnout, which can compound the trauma symptoms survivors may already be experiencing (Knuckey et al., 2018). Remind survivors to use Radical Understanding to evaluate the situation; although it is upsetting and it is okay to be passionate about wanting things to be better, a single survivor alone may not be able to change an entire institution.
It is wholly up to a survivor to decide whether speaking out would benefit them. Regardless of their decision, they should consider reaching out to a supportive community to facilitate integration into society.
Disclaimer
The Five R’s of Institution Therapy serve as overarching umbrella categories under which different skills and techniques may fall. Example techniques are provided in each principle section, but this paper is not a complete list of all possible treatment methods that fall under Institution Therapy. Any skills taught in trauma therapy will be helpful in Institution Therapy and can be freely applied with the administer’s discretion.