Paper: A Glimpse into the Inner World of Educators and Children during Covid-19

Dr. Shiri Hergass

(https://www.ijicc.net/index.php/volume-14-2020/205-vol-14-iss-6)

ABSTRACT

In order to have a complete narratological understanding of the impact of Covid-19 on society, it is important to give voice to the voiceless, to get a glimpse of the inner world of those whom will be the future of our society – our vulnerable pre-school children, and their educators. Examining the reactions of Australian children, by understanding their artwork can help to illuminate their emotions and feelings, and perhaps allow for development of methods to help them process the stress and traumatic events they are experiencing.

Stories and art works were accumulated from preschools in the South and Central Coast of NSW using the Seasonal Model. The Seasonal Model was devised and developed over some twenty years by the author, an experienced art therapist and clinical social worker. More specifically, the Seasonal Model is an articulated art therapy process designed to work with people affected by trauma. The model was piloted in a preschool with a significant number of children and educators affected by trauma or vicarious traumatisation.

The artworks and reflections used in this article have been collected over the last six months during weekly reflections with educators as part of the facilitation of art groups for children in preschools using the Seasonal Model.

Findings provide insight into how children and educators alike are reacting to the current global pandemic, issues facing educators working with children who have experienced trauma , as well as the issues facing educators who are experiencing vicarious traumatisation, allowing for a more complete understanding of the effects of Covid-19 on children.

INTRODUCTION

In a time where so called “normal” behaviours are exacerbated, where normal anxieties and stresses have external validation with statistics booming over the news headlines reporting millions of Australians losing their job (ABC News, 2020; The Guardian, 2020), stress levels are at an all-time high. The impact on children’s wellbeing, learning and development, as well as the risk factor financial stress has on vulnerability of children leaves educators questioning outcomes and feeling anxious (Noble, et al., 2020). However, educators are expected to “be grateful to have not lost my source of income” and “just deal with it” (Director’s Communication, 2020).

Covid-19 has helped highlight the difficult realities of children under 5, especially those who come from vulnerable backgrounds and who have already in their short life experienced trauma, as well as the experiences of the educators working with them. One educator, speaking for many, stated, “We are working at the forefront, and the backdrop is a global pandemic. It is challenging on my good days, now I feel tired and overwhelmed.”

Children’s sense of safety and wellbeing is organised around the availability and responsiveness of their attachment figure whom they approach for protection and reassurance when frightened or in need (Bowlby, 1969). Traumatic experiences may damage children’s trust in the reliability of attachment figures as their protectors and may take the form of pain, sensory overload, or constriction of play and exploration (Lerner & Parlakian, 2012).

In order to have a complete narratological understanding of the impact of Covid-19 on society, I will be examining the experiences of children between the ages of 1-5 through their artworks, their behaviours, and their relationships with those whom they spend their days with often from 6:30am – 6pm. Their educators. I will also share some of the educators’ frustrations during this challenging time, as they often feel their dedication and commitment is taken for granted and demeaned when, on the one hand they are expected to continue working, and on the other, they are not considered “essential workers.” The educators have been at the forefront supporting both the children and their families who have used them as a sounding board, a safe place to vent their worries and concerns, and a place to shed a tear. These current times, amidst a global pandemic, have been more stressful than ever for families. Educators spend significant time devoted to establishing and maintaining rapport and a position of trust with families, who although may have external support, feel more comfortable to share their lives with the educators, whom some see as family. Educators often find themselves in a counselling role, as parents are often disclosing personal information that are kept behind closed doors. These developments have taken their toll on educators that have also their own worries, children at home who may be acting out, fragile parents that are at high risk, or at times, triggering of PTSD symptoms. Examining the impact on individual children and educators can help generate methods of improving educators’ ability to encourage safe self-expression from children, as well as their own experiences. As stated by Pulla and Carter (2018), “Each individual life has its own stories to tell. No two stories will ever be the same because no two lives are ever lived and then internalised in exactly the same way (p. 9).” Yet, there are patterns to be noticed, and actions and behaviours that can lead to positive outcomes. It is important for art therapists, educators, counselors, and others in supportive roles in children’s lives to have a strong and robust understanding of behavior, interactions, and society in order to be effective (Pulla & Carter, 2018).

Having continued to support children aged 1-5 and their educators throughout this period, the immense toll of the pandemic has been clear. Educators have been constantly exhausted, overwhelmed, uncertain and lacking control on the situation and their life, which has been in constant turmoil since Covid-19 reached Australia, and which has developed into human errors and emotional breakdowns.

Children, who are constantly searching for meaning in every facet of life and possess an acute awareness of the potential meaning of danger, have been experiencing anger, confusion and even grief. How much danger am I in? What does it mean for me? What does it mean for my family?

At this age, children do not necessarily express their distress using words, and as such to get a glimpse into their inner world we must analyse their behaviours, art, and relationships with their educators. This was performed through the forum of the Seasonal Model, a weekly art group in which children freely use materials to create and express their internal reality, whilst the emotionally present educators hold and accommodate the space. Following the group, educators spent an hour reflecting and understanding the children’s art and behaviour, as well as their own emotional pallet in what is akin to professional supervision. The focus of the Seasonal Model is to provide a structure for the development of connections within the educational space. These connections encourage creativity, which, in turn, encourages understanding by professionals as they seek to make sense of the experiences of children and educators.

Working in preschools over the last 8 years has highlighted two main issues. First, the shortage of the Aboriginal concept of “Dadirri” presence in the preschools. The concept of Dadirri, a term coined by Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann, a Ngangiwumirr Elder of the Daly River in the northern territory, refers to an inner contemplation, a deep awareness, a silence, and allowing things to unfold in their own time. This is something that is difficult to achieve in the busyness of the preschool environment with its focus on literature and numeracy, documentations, and adhering to a robust curriculum on top of dealing with often extreme behaviours, such as children being violent or aggressive. The second issue involves the complexities around creating meaningful, deep, and attuned relationships with the children, one that is akin to the “good enough” relationship Winnicott (1960) refers to, which is necessary in order to overcome adversity.

Children subject educators to waves of the very experiences that have traumatised the children themselves as they try to share and make sense of their experiences. Educators are pulled into the overwhelming flood of traumas from several children in their care at once. The impact on the educators’ nervous system is direct, as they experience secondary trauma because they witness and receive the children's emotional and behavioural communications. The fears and anxieties are the educators’ defences to traumatic experiences, intended subconsciously to preserve them from being overwhelmed by the children’s trauma (Matulic-Keller, 2011). The effects of vicarious traumatisation can include disruptions in the educator’s own cognitions, especially in the realms of safety, esteem, trust, intimacy, and control, both in regard to themselves and others (Baird & Jenkins, 2003; Cunningham, 2003). One educator said, “when I get home it takes me a few hours to wind down from the day, and then often I awake from dreams or thoughts about the children.”

Research shows that a relationship that is not overly enmeshed or disengaged is associated with children’s abilities to cope and process stressful events  (Bat-Zion & Levy-Shiff, 1993; Klingman, 2001; Lindy & Wilson, 1994; Zeidner, et al., 1993). Young children have limited cognitive and language skills; before the age of 5 years, they may not have developed explicit memory, which entails the ability to recall a past memory and communicate it to others (Gaensbauer & Siegel, 1995). Children's difficulties conveying their subjective experience to others requires unique sensitivities and methods to understand their feelings and thoughts (Scheeringa et al., 1995). The “good enough” philosophy applies in this situation, as solid, attuned relationships help children make sense of their emotions, even when they express themselves nonverbally.

METHODOLOGY

The reflections used in this article, and accompanying art works have been collected over the last 4 months during weekly reflections with educators as part of the facilitation of  art groups for children in the preschools in a model called the Seasonal Model. This model has been running in these 3 preschools for the last 8 years, and I have developed a good relationship of trust and collaboration with the educators and directors of these centres.  The preschools are situated in the South Coast of NSW and the Central Coast of NSW. The preschools have a third of the children identified as Aboriginal, and the vast majority of all the children attending have experienced trauma. Due to the fact that these groups have been facilitated in the past, educators have already learned how to be emotionally available for the children, being more present during the groups, holding space, and being more aware of their own experiences. This has been helpful in identifying and separating the normal behaviours that are part of working with children who have experienced trauma from the ones that have been experienced due to Covid-19.

The Seasonal Model applies decolonising theory to adapt to the unique challenges that many Australian Aboriginal children who have experienced trauma can face. It repositioned the model’s focus from the affected children, to a focus on their relationship with their educators, as the most important protective resource for childhood development is a strong relationship with an engaged, empathic adult. However, past research suggests that educators themselves are prone to vicarious traumatisation in being exposed to trauma-derived behaviours in children, leaving them often unable to fulfill this role for the children, as their reactions may impact on their feelings, behaviours, and relationships with the children in attempts to control, or avoid engagement with the children.

The focus of the model lies in achieving and maintaining the wellbeing of children who have experienced trauma and the wellbeing of professionals who work with them, by fostering a space of connection, creativity, and understanding, where professionals are assisted in making sense of the children’s experiences and the impacts they have in their lives and of those connected to them. The model encompasses weekly one-hour art groups and weekly one-hour reflections with the educators facilitating the groups.

Pulla and Riggs (2015) stated that expression of creativity in everyday activities can have a positive effect on overall health and wellbeing. This is true for both children and adults. Art, a universal facet of human expression as old as human civilization, promotes children’s psychological health and social support (Hergass, 2015; Rubin, 2005) and is an innate tendency that has been likened to speech (Dissanayake, 1992). This innate tendency of using imagination to create solutions to problems and serve as a means of emotional expression allows humans to survive, and even thrive (Pulla & Riggs, 2015). Art helps give shape and form to human experiences, helping humans process and express experiences and, within a therapeutic framework, helping them with expanding and deepening personal understanding (Hergass, 2015). It provides a safe space to release emotions that are stored consciously or subconsciously and fosters healthy connections (Pulla & Riggs, 2015). 

Reflective space for educators

An hour was spent each week after the group sessions in the preschools, reflecting on what the educators’ saw and what stood out for them; holding space for whatever the educators would like to raise. I sit and listen, in the spirit of Dadirri to the educators’ stories. I aim to be truly present and to hear the pain and the sense of helplessness that vicarious traumatisation elicits in them. One educator remarked: ‘I am up at night thinking about the children and the day I had.’ Often, these sessions are the only times that educators are seen and witnessed by an outsider who can truly acknowledge the hard work they are doing, the pain they may encounter physically (sometimes they are literally bruised and bitten by the children) and emotionally—how they come to work day after day, dedicated, committed, in spite of the exhaustion that they are feeling.

Asking educators to reflect on what they observe in the children at times inspires them to self-reflect and share what they observe in themselves about learning how to facilitate art groups. Participating in experiential trainings and reflecting weekly about the art groups in a safe, non-judgmental environment allows for a parallel process of the educators being more present to the children’s world.

FINDINGS

During the current global pandemic, children have tried to make sense of Covid by drawing what it could look like and sharing their fears with their educators who had the patience to hear them and the time to unpack their scary reality. Although the children do not go therapy, spending an hour with an attuned, emotional available educator who learns to identify the meaning behind the artwork of the child and making sense of their story seems to support the children making them feel seen, validated and understood. These components of a relationship allow children to feel more deeply connected, which can ultimately lead to greater resilience (Reiss, 2020). Connections help to protect children from the effects of trauma, and, during this current pandemic, this is more important than ever with children and parents more stressed and isolated.

One child observed during this period was a 3-year-old girl, whose mother works as a biologist, working around the clock during the Covid pandemic. The girl’s mother had never discussed Covid directly with her daughter, yet the daughter still perceived fears. These fears were discussed with the mother, who assumed her child was too young to understand. While too young to understand implications, she was not too young to perceive fear.

Figure 1: “I’m scared of dying,” drawn by a 3-year-old girl whose mother is a biologist and has been working around the clock during the first three months of Covid.

Another 3-year-old girl created a scrunched-up ball that was stuck together with glue. Her educator shared that most of her art “has been stuck together into tiny, tiny crumpled scrunched up pieces of artwork that are oozing of glue.” Initially, the educators were not able to make sense or give meaning to her art, but they felt it was intentional and symbolic as the girl made similar art works during her art group. Art therapists often posit that it is through creative art that children are able to develop greater self-awareness, and that art is a tool for "self-communication rather than only a communication with others" (Rubin, 2005, p.12). Rubin (2005) explained how children will often first express an idea or emotion through their art, and that later discussion with a counselor or therapist may help them to explore their feelings. Art provides children with a sense of control, which is more important than ever during these trying times. Kramer (1971) stated that art offers children a safe space to express thoughts and feelings, before talking about them. Using art allows children to develop a sense of control, allowing them an opportunity for sense-making. The freedom of expression provided through the medium, along with the manipulation of the materials and the presence of a stable therapist, can help reduce chaos and stress for children (Rubin, 2005). This can be an essential ingredient when working with children who have experienced trauma and helping them express their emotions (Edgar-Bailey & Kress, 2010; Rubin, 2005).

Although the educators are not therapists, they are often the relationship holders and at times the only sense of calmness and security the children see. In the art groups they give the children the freedom of choosing materials and creating in a non-directive way, while actively observing and thinking about the potential meaning behind the artwork. One day, the 3-year-old girl opened up and shared the immense stress she was under at home with parents fighting and screaming and her older sister “beating her up.” The educator shared,

“I know the dad lost his job recently and the family has been under financial stress, but I did not realise the magnitude of it. Suddenly her art makes so much sense. It is as if she is trying to minimize her presence. Her world has crumbled, and she is creating crumpled art. She is stuck. She is small. She is ignored, just like she leaves and ignores her art when she is done making it.” 

Figure 2: A 3-year-old girl’s art creation has been glued and stuck together into a tiny ball.

Cyrulink (2009) writes that when one’s past or story is accepted (this does not necessarily entail feeding or reflecting the story back to them, but can simply take the form of a deep silence acknowledging the person’s story), healing can happen. Being seen and respected by another, and confiding in them, has an astonishing power to protect and heal. This implies that the environment must be empathetic and there must be a strong sense of trust. Of course, we are all bound by mandatory reporting, if necessary, to keep the child safe.  Resilience is found not solely inside ourselves or in our environment, instead, it is something midway between the two, because our individual development is linked to our social development (Cyrulnik, 2009).

Art allows for the development of empowerment, as it encourages autonomy as well as self-efficacy. It also provides a person, specifically a child, the opportunity to gain distance from overwhelming emotions, providing them with a means to express their thoughts and feelings. During times of a global pandemic and worldwide crisis affecting both adults and children, using art as a form of therapeutic expression can be effective for managing emotions and behaviours. Practitioners who are using strengths-based approaches, tapping into the creativity of an individual is an important tool for enhancing self-esteem and encouraging self-expression of emotions (Pulla & Riggs, 2015).

Bruno, a 4-year-old boy, has been keeping his educator up at night. During the school day, she worked relentlessly trying to connect with him and form a secure connection. Bruno would walk past children hitting them, pushing them and throwing things at them. He would be exhausted but too hypervigilant to sleep at rest time. He observed the art groups from afar, and usually ignored the educators’ invitation to join. One Monday, after a morning of fighting and crying he asked to make some art with her.

“He concentrated for over an hour. He was focused and drew with such passion and strength I was mesmerized. He spoke about his dad, who is in jail for the first time. And came to me at rest time and even fell asleep. I cried.”

Figure 3: Bruno (pseudonym) created this. On this day, Bruno had several tantrums throughout the day, hitting others and having difficulty focusing. During a Mother’s Day craft time, Bruno wanted to do one for mum. As I asked, ‘what do you love about your mum?’ he said, ‘This is daddy (who is in jail for domestic violence), my older sister, my other older sister and mum.’

As can be seen in the above examples, the role of educators in children’s healing cannot be overstated. They offer what Bion (1967) calls ‘transformative communication’ and the ‘contained/container’ relationship. This means that educators provide an external ‘thought-thinking apparatus,’ where the child can reshape, detoxify, and transform their emotions. This creates emotional intimacy for children—a safe space of human connection—which can help offset the pain and anxiety children may feel from experiencing trauma. This apparatus is where educators provide a safe container for children’s reflection, processing, and expressive behaviours, including ‘big behaviours’; with children knowing that these behaviours will be ‘contained’ and held, rather than reacted to negatively.

The awareness and understanding that educators who work in environments that are stressful, or with children who have experienced trauma, may be traumatised themselves has been part of the work over the last 8 years, as well as the complexities and the depth of the relationships formed between the educators and the children. Supportive, empathetic relationships were found to be key to resilience in traumatised children. The secondary and vicarious effects of witnessing trauma also can impact the helper’s sense of self, thus making their ability to remain empathetic and present problematic (McCann & Pearlman, 1990; Crumpei & Dafinoiu, 2012). The current global pandemic has both intensified and complicated the situation, as educators are not only dealing with vicarious traumatisation due to more extreme behaviors from heightened children and families who were disclosing and sharing more information, but they were also at the same time fearing for their own health and safety.

Educators found themselves, dealing with many more disclosures from children, more acting out of behaviours, becoming a parent’s safe haven and a shoulder to cry on – without the actual physical leaning and at the same time, feeling confused, and torn.  A theme of questions arose, such as, “How can I come to work but not go to the shops?” or “Am I putting my own children or parents at risk? …but what would happen if I do not come to work. I dare not think of what can happen to the children.” Others expressed fear and confusion, such as, “When I began my day, I was filled with confusion. Have I done the right thing? Should I be here? I don’t want to be here. I cried. I contemplated walking straight back out the door and running for the hills. But I was aware that it wouldn’t matter if it was today, if it was in six weeks or in a year, I would be feeling the same flood of emotions regardless.”

Educators reported that they had positive experiences following the opportunity to reflect and connect their personal experiences to work ones. One educator told a story about their experience and the effects of later reflection on the situation:

“Yesterday I had my garden group…They are my favourite thing about my job, so why would I forget them? Well yesterday I did, I completely forgot it was my day for garden group. I couldn’t remember the children that were in the group I would usually prepare the space before going in but yesterday I didn’t. I realised that I forgot the drum. We improvised and used an upturned container to sing the welcome song. I forgot the glitter. I pondered on this for a while – why had I been so forgetful? Why now? What is this telling me about the bigger picture. What is happening in the children’s lives, in the educators’ lives in my life that this is telling me?”

The educator later reflected, and provided feedback about their experience:

“I thought that it could be telling me about the children’s story But after having reflection I was able to make more sense of the symbolism and meaning behind this forgetfulness. We are living in such an unusual time. A global pandemic. There is such a sense of chaos in everyone’s lives. We are all just surviving and taking the blows as they come. The space for holding the children in mind and for going above and beyond for them has really gone astray. Everyone seems to be struggling to put on their own oxygen mask, let alone have the capacity to put one on the children too – that or attempting to put the oxygen mask on the children without putting one on first.”

This entire sense of forgetfulness goes beyond the story of the children and echoes into the story of the educators. They have worked tirelessly through this pandemic, having to adapt to new procedures, a new way of being. There has been a focus on keeping children safe and secure, keeping the essential workers working. Like cogs in a wheel, if you take educators out of the equation the wheel will stop turning. All the while, many educators feel forgotten and underappreciated for the work they are doing.

On an organisational level, educators are also being forgotten. Things are being changed without their control. Supports are being reduced, and there often appears to be less investment into what matters to the educators, yet they are expected to carry on, just like the children.

The educator in the above story was fully prepared for the next session. Sometimes awareness can lead to change and understanding, as in the example, but becoming aware can be painful. In response to pain it is natural to withdraw, to avoid the pain. Sharon, after a recent session, spoke candidly about her difficulties in being aware of the children’s experience:

“It is just so hard. These children are too young to be going through all of this. I know it is so important for them to be able to express themselves, and part of me is happy that they can connect and share with me. It is just so hard. I don’t know how to help them. Sometimes I think it is easier to not know and just try and deal with the behaviours.”

When working with the extreme behaviours of children who have experienced trauma, it is understandable that one would want to withdraw from the children or hide from them in busyness (Keller, 2011). On a practical level, the educators had also been conditioned to operate in a survival mode, which involved management of the ‘big behaviour.’ If these children’s re-enactment of their trauma cannot be understood at an empathic level, and contextualized by the educators, then trauma replays and retraumatizes both the child and the educators, who are in the front line as professional carers of these children in the learning environment. The concepts drawn from Winnicott’s (1953) work on ‘good enough’ relationships appear to apply to the children’s needs for healing from past abuse and trauma and with the changing and challenging time we are all in the midst of.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The current global pandemic of Covid-19 has exacerbated the issues of trauma and stress in both children and adults. It has been posited that the most salient indicators of children’s outcomes into adulthood are not the relief of their reactions to trauma, but rather the understanding, appreciation, and nurturance of their strengths and assets by others (Goldstein & Brooks, 2005; Van der Kolk, 2020). The roles of caregivers, educators, family and community members, and other positive attachment figures, are vital for children’s healing. As Wiesel (1986) states ‘Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too can be given to one only by other human beings.’

Working to support children with emotional and behavioural problems resulting from trauma is extremely challenging but made even more difficult when educators are not aware of the causes or strategies for addressing these behaviours. Research suggests that early educators’ benefit from access to initial as well as continued training related to social and emotional development and interventions in their classrooms (Lott, 2002).

When classrooms and schools are chaotic, the effort educators might otherwise apply to teaching and positively motivating students is often diverted to behaviour management and concerns and worries about their own personal safety. The stress and frustration of such issues and the school environment decrease educators’ commitment level to their student and may lead to burnout (Glass, 2002; Goldstein & Brook, 2005). Providing a foundational platform to support educators is therefore vital to the success of the children in their care.

Through this focused engagement with three preschools, 10 educators, over the last 7 months, there are several conclusions about the impact of Covid-19 on both the educators and the children. These are important, because not much is written about young children’s experiences or the experiences of those who support them.  Effective early intervention can have a lasting positive effect on the lives of these children, long after the pandemic is gone. The trauma literature outlines the positive impact on adults, of having one clear and present listening relationship in which to share the story of their trauma. However, to date, there has been not much literature that deals with early trauma intervention within the preschool, and the role of the educators in this work. Therefore, expectations associated with the role have remained unclear and ambiguous; this only compounds the strains faced by the educator.

Educators play a vital role in the lives of children. This is accentuated when children come from vulnerable families, where educators often play a role akin to surrogate carers, since they see children for so many hours. Covid-19 has highlighted the need for connections amongst people who have been suffering due to the social isolation imposed on them. Often children who have experienced trauma feel that sense of aloneness, that sense of isolation as part of their reality. Educators work relentlessly at trying to create a sense of connection with the children in their care, spending time, often in the reflections held, trying to understand the behaviour of the children as a way of making them feel understood, seen, validated, and cared for, which are keys to a fulfilling relationship (Reis, 2020).

The Seasonal Model supports the educators in creating ‘good-enough’ relationships, both by collaborating and by modelling a similarly supportive relationship between art group facilitators and educators. This, in turn, aids the formation of meaningful relationships with the children and helps to combat vicarious traumatisation of the educators. It is the vision of this model that preschools require a clearly constructed framework that supports this work in a multifaceted way, predicated on an understanding of trauma, vicarious traumatisation and trauma recovery. During the current global pandemic, the Seasonal Model may offer educators additional tools and avenues for addressing and managing the stress of the children they care for, as well as themselves.

During the last 6 months, when Covid-19 became a global pandemic, the children, who are already suffering, suffered even more. They felt the distress and worry around them but did not have a family member explain the situation to them. They heard more fighting but found it hard to separate this new experience from ones that they have been used to. Educators stepped in to fill that void. They also found themselves filling the void felt by parents who were trying to make sense of what was happening. They were explaining the news, sharing strategies to support and calm anxious parents and sometimes having to deal with anger of parents. Anger at the pandemic. Anger at society. But anger that due to having no other hearing ear, no other compassionate being, found itself being directed at the educators. Educators supported parents, supported crying, hitting children like they always do. With open hearts, and minds. They spend their hours during reflections crying for children. Sometimes trying to understand the reason parents behave the way they do, so that the understanding will give them the strength to face the parents in the morning with a smile, with acceptance and with connections. They spend their hours trying to think of what materials would answer the needs of the children, giving them a different outlet to express the confusion they feel. And only after that they spend the hour finding a voice that asks, “How come I am not considered essential worker?”, “Will I catch corona coming to work?”, and, “how can I not?” Covid has, at times, reopened the wound that educators feel all year round, a wound they say half laughing, “ÖH yea, I am in a profession that is undervalued and under paid,” yet through the reflections they have found their passion. The meaning behind the struggle. They have found the reason. That they are often providing that one relationship that makes a difference. That one relationship that when Covid-19 will long be forgotten, will be remembered.

Dr Shiri Hergass is a clinical social worker and art therapist who has spent the last 25 years working with children and adults who have experienced complex trauma, and those who work with them. Her work spans private practice, public facilitation, research, writing and speaking. Shiri’s work is based around the ethos that relationships can heal. You can find out more about Shiri’s work here: www.shiri.com.au

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