Promising practice:
Finding Strength in Difficult Times: A Trauma Stabilization Group for Newcomers
By Emily Bushell, Registered Counselling Therapist at Wholetherapy, Hilary Thorne & Elizabeth Gebremariam, Newcomer Community Wellness Coordinators at ISANS.
Quick Facts
Population of interest: Refugees and newcomers who have gone through difficult or traumatic experiences before coming to Canada.
Location: Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS), Halifax
The need: Many persons fleeing their country have gone through difficult or traumatic experiences before coming to Canada. They are navigating the impacts of trauma, and post-migration stressors. People need a safe place to learn that their mental health experiences are normal and expected. They also need to reconnect with their existing strengths and learn new skills to help them move forward in their lives.
What's promising: ISANS Trauma Stabilization group offers their newcomer clients access to a safe, inclusive, and stable environment to connect with others and themselves. The group is set up to help clients experience safety and security while reflecting on their existing strengths and learning new skills to help them regulate their nervous systems. The experience of stabilization promotes resiliency and growth and is an essential step towards healing and recovery after trauma.
Key takeaway: The Trauma Stabilization group provides a needed opportunity for newcomers to safely connect with themselves and each other. At the same time, they learn about the impacts of trauma and acquire new skills to help them heal from their traumatic experiences.
Watch this video to learn the history behind the group, its importance and how the outcomes will benefit Canadian society.
About Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS)
ISANS is the leading immigrant settlement service agency in Atlantic Canada, serving 10,000+ clients annually in 104 communities across Nova Scotia, through many kinds of services including language, settlement, community integration, and employment, both in person and online.
About the Intervention
In 2021, ISANS Newcomer Community Wellness program received funding from the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia to deliver Trauma Stabilization groups to newcomers.
The intervention is a psychotherapy group for immigrant and refugee clients of ISANS dealing with the impacts of trauma. The groups are co-facilitated by a counselling therapist and the Newcomer Community Wellness Program Coordinators. All written materials are translated and all verbal content is interpreted for those who require it. The Trauma Stabilization group runs for 2.5 hours over 10-12 consecutive weeks.
All interested clients go through an assessment to determine if the group is a suitable fit. Topics covered include stress & resettlement stress, coping with worry, emotional regulation skills, trauma and PTSD awareness, resiliency and coping with trauma, physiological arousal and sleep. Each session contains time for socialization, psychoeducation, sharing personal experiences, and therapeutic exercises. The environment is deliberately calming with dimmed lighting, relaxing music, and healthy snacks.
Feedback
Responses from the sessions offered so far have been very encouraging. Participants always look forward to the next session and are keen to stay connected to the Newcomer Wellness Program following the completion of the group. Here are some quotes from participants as they reflected on how the group benefited them:
“I am working on myself with everything I am learning. I take it seriously.”
“I have seen change in myself, and my psychologist noticed it too.”
“Reconfirming what I knew before…that everything is possible. To come out of it is possible.”
Additionally, significant behavioural changes have been noted. Clients found work, made new friends, started new projects, progressed in their English, came out of their shells, and were able to follow through on tasks that were previously too daunting. Over the course of the group, participants appeared visibly more relaxed, happy and hopeful.
“I feel hopeful, happy and like I’m not alone.”
“I feel calm and relaxed when I come here.”
Funding from the Nova Scotia Resiliency Support Grant will allow ISANS to continue offering Trauma Stabilization groups into the future.