Holding a trauma lens to get to the heart of conflict

Author: Eileen Mah Gricuk (Belfast)

an elevator speech to help global leaders shift their impact for a better common good

Introduction

Writing a reflective essay following the Trauma in Peacebuilding course was an undertaking I welcomed to integrate what I had learned. However, I resisted authoring an essay purely on my reflections, especially at this time when our Mother Earth and human geo-politics are going up in flames. My desire and energy with respect to the essay was one of praxis- to create something that could be applied. What resulted is an offering for an elevator speech- albeit a longish one - a basis for conversation with global political leaders, or anyone, about the omnipresence of trauma and the need to acknowledge it. Leaders, good ones according to leadership theory, are ‘people who do the right thing’ (Bennis and Nanus, 1985:21). They steer their groups and nations through VUCA[1] environments by understanding what they are faced with and making appropriate choices. Holding a trauma lens when examining context is a simple enquiry that may get to the heart of conflicts, and uncover the fertile ground on which to build a broader common good.

 What follows is a template with a few suggestions on how global leaders could hold a trauma lens to deepen their understanding of and transform conflict. This serves as a beginning to provoke deeper consideration of their presenting situation. Use of this template, or any conversation on trauma, should be held with clear intentions: 1) to open conversation and keep the door open for further connection, 2) to engage with an ‘open mind, open heart and open will’ (Scharmer, 2019), and 3) to welcome and have compassion for whatever response may emerge from the leader/person in front of you, for they may also be in some state of trauma.

Let’s all open up conversations, make (inter)connections, and hold them with love and hope.

Elevator speech

 Hello Leader:

I appreciate there is much to be concerned about regarding your conflict and it must be taking up your time and energy: threats and acts of aggression, Covid uncertainty, shifting geo-politics, technology change, climate change… [add to list whatever else is relevant to your context]. What may help in getting to the heart of conflict is to look beyond specific events and actors, and their positions. I invite you to consider what new insights might be revealed by holding a trauma lens to your conflict, your relationship with your opponent, and your common future vision- yes, a common future vision is possible between parties in conflict (Lederach, 2014).

I imagine political talks and negotiations follow a standard protocol in keeping with diplomatic norms between heads of state- a peace process architecture which is functional without any appreciation for the full personhood of people taking part in those talks, including you. This style of diplomacy, which forms the political peace process, does serve a purpose to agree the framework or ‘hardware’ of a peace settlement (Brewer, 2013). On its own though, it has not worked and is not working. What is also needed is a social peace process or the ‘software’ of settling a conflict where relationships are transformed. I invite you to bring another approach to your conflict resolution, one which acknowledges the full human context of your historical and collective experiences through the lens of trauma.

What is trauma and why it is important to you

Before I suggest some actions that would allow you to add a trauma lens to how you approach dialogue and decision making, it’s worthwhile to understand what trauma is and how it has impact on everything you care about right now.

Trauma is the ‘imprint’ on the body where the body is not able to recover after responding to a danger, real or perceived (Van Der Kolk, 2014:61). This means your previous experiences, as well as your culture, can shape whether you perceive an event as threatening or not. Simply, all humans are vulnerable to the imprint of trauma as a response to their environment. The uniqueness of humans and human life is mirrored in the differing way we respond to an event- not all individuals present at the same event will have the same trauma response, but some may.

Adding to the complexity of trauma on an individual, a trauma imprint can emerge and set off a cycle of victimhood and aggression (Botcharova, 1988 in Yoder, 2005:38). Signs of unhealed trauma energy can manifest either inwardly against the self (e.g. addiction, self-harm), or outwardly toward others (e.g. violence, child abuse) (Yoder, 2005:32). Fortunately, falling into such a harmful cycle is not an inevitable destiny. Breaking the cycle with trauma healing is possible and a conscious decision. Making the choice to acknowledge and heal trauma, you can lead yourself and others through a transformation process that may release the power of human potential for yourself and for the people you lead (Puljek-Shank, 2007).

Trauma also shows up on a collective scale when a ‘chosen trauma’ narrative is weaved into your culture, in other words, a story of who we are (Volkan, 1998). This happens when one version of the truth (your version) is promoted which sets off a black/white, good/evil, us/them way of looking at things (Yoder, 2005:40). When this happens, any challenge to your narrative might be felt as betrayal by your own people, or as aggression from others. By this stage, you are on the path to de-humanizing your opponent, and the ability to recognize and value the full human experience and potential of the other is diminished. How often have you felt this in your meetings, that the opponent does not accept your views, pain, interests and needs? Have you ever felt your dignity was not recognized, or worse, violated (Hicks, 2011)? This may be arising from trauma and a victim/aggressor cycle (Botcharova, 1988 in Yoder, 2005:38), as mentioned earlier, in which you, your opponent, or more likely both, are stuck.

Adding complexity by looking across time, unhealed trauma, both on an individual and collective level, is passed down from generation to generation in families, communities, and nations. It is acted out in repeated patterns of violence and aggression against others (Yoder, 2005:44). While you may be proud of your own country’s rich history, and rightly so, what also is present in how your society functions today is residual trauma of past events- wars, massacres and killings, famine and natural disasters, accidents, etc. Both you and your opponent will have likely experienced harm and/or threat from some event, infusing trauma in your worldview, as well as collectively as a group. Trauma is an energy that drives our thoughts and behaviors, and it is all around us (Avritt and Hubl, 2020).

What can you do as a global leader

What is clear from the work and practice of peacebuilding scholars and practitioners is that the approach needed to de-escalate conflict centers around deeply understanding your context: time, place, people, including the trauma bound up in the way you perceive and understand these (Appendix A) (Lederach, 2014; Volkan, 2000). It is important to develop and use the skill of complex thinking, and feeling, to see perspectives of others and their root causes, including trauma. This is where intentionally taking a trauma lens will bear fruit to see what drives thought, emotion and behavior, as sometimes those who hold the imprint of trauma do not even realize it themselves (Puljek-Shank, 2007:181). Holding a trauma lens on a ‘burning issue’ may be the key to see the pain points which may be not be explicitly voiced but really call out for attention. A trauma lens will give you additional ‘data’ to help you understand your conflict with more depth and thus make better choices toward de-escalation. From a trauma perspective, what is not healed is carried forward (Funk et al., 2020) and will have destructive impact eventually in the future.

It is possible for you as a leader to steer your nation’s time, resources and human ingenuity away from violence and toward healing trauma. Acknowledged and healed trauma can bring security and wellbeing to you and your followers to flourish (Funk et al., 2020)- to people who are your family members, friends and neighbors, all wanting a safe and viable future. What ‘if even a portion of the intellectual and financial resources that now go into preparing for defending [yourselves] through war were devoted to societal trauma healing and training grassroots peoples and governments to respond to peril in non-violent ways’ (Yoder, 2005:46)? And, what if organizations such as the UN also meaningfully adopted a trauma lens in their role to mediate reactive violent conflict across the globe (Yoder, 2005:53)? What if trauma, which is already ever present, were normalized through holding a trauma lens in your leadership and in everything you do? This presents the opportunity for you as a global leader to role model a more complex and human-centered leadership that holds a trauma lens up for others to follow. You could build a positive legacy as the one who lead their society to be at their collective best. That would make you a true leader of humanity!

Here are two more small but incredibly impactful approaches to put the trauma lens in action. Firstly, shift your positioning on issues from ‘or’ to ‘and’. A mindset based on ‘or’, such as ‘us or them’, leads to reactions that are oppositional and closed to other possibilities. Whereas holding a mindset of ‘and’ joins what may appear to be paradoxical. It invites new insights which re-story and puts a spotlight on interconnections between events and experiences of all sides, including trauma. Using ‘and’ gives complex situations the possibility to be seen anew and as solvable scenarios (Lederach, 2014). The simple word ‘and’ can help you lead the way out of the victim/aggressor trauma cycle (Botcharova, 1988 in Yoder, 2005:38) which will continue to cause pain to future generations if no healing takes place.

Finally, look at the unheard ‘voices of identity’ which may be lost in your everyday chaos of conflict. Harmful impacts of violent conflict are often both rooted in and roots of an ongoing cycle of violence.  Investigate what trauma is ‘lodged in the narratives of how people see themselves, who they are, where they have come from, and what they fear they will become or lose…Identity matters are fundamental to conflict’ (Lederach, 2014). Be attentive to the trauma that feeds into and props up identity through narratives and stories. Hold up the trauma lens to see and listen for what is there, what is true, and what is perceived.

What you gain and what you risk

Why is it important for you acknowledge and take action to heal trauma? Without making this choice, you and your people may be set in a cycle of victim/aggressor- your talents, energy and resources will be drawn into this endless loop of tit-for-tat mutual destruction. The conscious choice to acknowledge the trauma aspect of your conflict offers you the chance to change this destructive loop into a virtuous one for the betterment of your people (Puljek-Shank, 2007:185). What you risk is breaking old stagnant patterns: isn’t this what your leadership is meant for? To make tough but meaningful choices that you and the world over could be proud of?

You can make a difference for everyone including yourself. It is a choice and one that holds promise for the brilliance of human ingenuity and the moral right to human dignity to flourish. You can break the cycle of passing on trauma to next generations and create a better collective narrative. Leadership in healing trauma is not about forgetting painful events but it is about learning and re-storying your future.

Thank you for your time. I’m happy to continue our conversation. With respect and hope, I pause here until we speak again.

References

Avritt, J.J. and Hubl, T. (2020) ‘The architecture of collective trauma’ and ‘The wisdom of collective trauma’ in Healing collective trauma, Louisville, CO: Sounds True, Ch. 4-5, pp. 90-149.

Bennis, W. and Nanus, B. (1985) Leaders: the strategies for taking charge, New York: Harper & Row.

Brewer, J.D. (2013) ‘Sociology and peacebuilding’ in Mac Ginty, R. (ed.) Routledge handbook of peacebuilding, Abingdon: Routledge.

Funk, J., Good, N. and Berry, M.E. (eds.) (2020) Healing and peacebuilding after war: transforming trauma in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Abingdon, UK: Routledge. [Forthcoming].

Hicks, D. (2011) Dignity: the essential role it plays in resolving conflict, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Lederach, J.P. (2014) ‘Creating a map of Conflict’, ‘Process structures as platforms for change’ and ‘Developing our capacities’ in The little book of conflict transformation, New York: Good Books, Ch. 6-8.

Puljek-Shank, A. (2007) ‘Trauma and reconciliation’ in Rill, Smidling and Bitoljan (eds.) 20 Pieces of encouragement for awakening and change: peacebuilding in the region of the former Yugoslavia, Belgrade-Sarajevo: Centre for Nonviolent Action, pp. 181-204.

Scharmer, C. O. (2019) Addressing the blind spot of our time: an executive summary of the new book by Otto Scharmer/ Theory U: leading from the future as it emerges, theory [Online: https://solonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Exec_Summary_Sept19-Theory-U-leading-from-the-emerging-future-copy.pdf]. Accessed: 27 January 2022.

Volkan, V. (2000). ‘Traumatized societies and psychological care: expanding the concept of preventive medicine’ in Mind and human interaction, 11(3), pp. 177-194.

Volkan, V. (1998) ‘Transgenerational transmissions and chosen trauma: an element of large-group identity’, opening address at XIII International Congress of International Association of Group Psychotherapy,

Yoder, C. (2005) The little book of trauma healing: when violence strikes and community security is threatened, New York: Good Books.

Appendix A - Comparison of traits and disciplines for leaders in peacebuilding

[1] VUCA – Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity