Art

Polyvore

Examples of Polyvore sets by Gaylin Laughlin. Used with permission.

At first glance, Polyvore seems like an unlikely place to harbor a community of trauma survivors using art to heal. Continue reading

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Qualities and Knowledge Useful for Survivors and Therapists Working with Dissociative Identity

Brian, a therapist who has worked with survivors of severe trauma for more than 30 years, lays out the finer points of what’s important for both therapists and survivors in navigating a path to healing. –Eds.

Personhood

Tolerance for Ambiguity

Integrating a trauma narrative, especially if it is the result of sophisticated mind control procedures, is a complex and lengthy process where subjective states (hypnosis, drugs) and manipulated states (electric shock, psychic-driving, sensory deprivation, sleep deprivation) are mixed with objective states (veridical memory of ritual/sexual abuse or any other experiences meant to terrorize.) Continue reading

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Naming the Unspeakable: Non-State Torture

Linda MacDonald, Jeanne Sarson

Linda MacDonald, Jeanne Sarson

“It’s like racism or sexism, you have to pull these things out. It’s like a tooth that’s festering, until you say it’s infected, until you name it, it goes on hurting.” Jeanne Sarson

Linda MacDonald and Jeanne Sarson are two nurses from Truro, Nova Scotia. In their spare time, they offer counseling services to women. It was in this context that they met with and became dedicated to victims of hidden and organized extreme violence. Their professional advocacy for these marginalized women expanded into political activism, and after two decades, their successes on the global stage are yet unmatched. Indeed, they inhabit a sphere and path entirely of their own making. It all began over twenty years ago with a late night phone call.
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