TAG/RAINS Conference 2009

by Bunchy 

The SAS was represented at the conference by Sue and Bunchy. The conference was held jointly by the Trauma and Abuse Group and Ritual Abuse Information Network and Support organisations. 

Keynote speakers were Dr Janina Fisher who spoke on the challenges of working with survivors of Ritual Abuse and also on Broken Bonds: Attachment, Trauma and the Body.

Dr Alison Miller spoke on Demystifying Mind Control Programming. Dr Valerie Sinason spoke on Working where there is no safety; Bearing witness with those who are still being tortured and also Learning Disability and Dissociative Identity Disorder. 

There were also many workshops running and SAS presented a powerpoint as part of First Person Plural’s workshop on Living with Complex Dissociation.

There was much to be learned from the key speakers. Dr Janina Fisher coming from the USA and Dr Alison Miller from Canada. Dr Valerie Sinason works in the Clinic for Dissociative Studies in London.

Dr Janina Fisher works as a therapist and trainer using Sensorimotor psychotherapy. This form of therapy looks at how the brain stores trauma and also how the body, unable to react at the time of trauma, continues to hold trauma. Using the body as well as cognitive work the therapy enables survivors and/or dissociative clients to progress with their healing. Both Janina Fisher’s talks were extremely interesting and relevant to survivors of sexual abuse. We hope to bring some of the knowledge we gained into helping survivors in Shetland. 

Dr Alison Miller’s talks were specifically aimed at the use of Mind Control on children as a way of forcing them to comply during their abuse. She explained the methods of conditioning commonly used and how dissociation can be intitiated through such conditioning. It was very sad and triggering to hear but also very useful as we all strive to understand more so that survivors in Shetland can be heard and their stories understood. 

The talks by Dr Valerie Sinason were very relevant to the work that the SAS is doing in Shetland to help survivors of sexual abuse. The talks held information that will benefit both the SAS group and also people who are unable to attend the SAS group and are cared for through other agencies in Shetland. 

Both Sue and myself learned a great deal that we hope to pass on through the group and also through Insight Meetings that are part of the Scottish Executive Funding project. We have also had good experience working as presenters and answering questions from professional therapists and counsellors about the issues of surviving sexual abuse and complex dissociation.

Please feel free to email us if you have any questions regarding the conference and the subjects discussed in this brief summary.