Beyond Labels - creating narratives with survivors of trauma

Welcome to Beyond Labels - creating narratives with survivors of trauma - a workshop introducing a new approach, the Power Threat Meaning Framework, which is becoming influential within and beyond services. The PTMF is a co-produced project drawing upon trauma-informed ideas in order to support the construction of narratives as an alternative to diagnostic labels. This can help to explain how and why distress arises in the contexts of life events and the sense people make of them. In this way, trauma survivors can be supported to create more hopeful narratives about their difficulties, instead of seeing themselves as blameworthy, weak, or mentally ill. The Framework also shows why those of us without an obvious history of trauma or adversity can still struggle to find a sense of self-worth, meaning and identity.

In this interactive workshop, CSA survivor and founder of The Flying Child Sophie Olson will share her own story and journey through the mental health system as an example, and clinical psychologist Lucy Johnstone will guide participants to reflect on how it might have been framed in terms of the PTM Framework when Sophie first came into contact with services. Together, the attenders and presenters will discuss the differences between this and standard psychiatric approaches, and the contribution that it might make towards enabling everyone to choose the best path to healing.

The presenters works with the assumption survivors will be in any space they work, and care is taken to acknowlege this at the start, with clear signposting for anyone in need of support. There are references to child sexual abuse, rape, and self injury, addiction and references to suicide.