Audrey Besch and Cindi Huss of RISE: Healthy for Life will present Removing Barriers to Care for Trauma Survivors of all Genders. This online workshop is part of the Sexual Assault Awareness Month Trauma Informed Care Series hosted by the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center. This series is cohosted by Kerry Holland (she/her), military sexual trauma coordinator, and Kristin Politte (she/her), intimate partner violence assistance program coordinator.
Removing Barriers will give providers the tools they need to approach patients and their care with curiosity. When providers learn to recognize and regulate their biases and judgments, patients can experience improved health outcomes. We will explore how this approach benefits both patients and providers.
After this presentation, participants will be able to discuss:
What trauma is and how prevalent it is.
How trauma can affect patients seeking/continuing care of all kinds.
The benefits to patients and practitioners of empowering, patient-centered care.
Various barriers trauma survivors face when advocating for themselves.
Strategies that practitioners can use to help patients overcome barriers to care.
Audrey Besch (she/they) is a clinical instructor in the Dept. of Counseling and Human Services at East Tennessee State University and serves on RISE’s leadership team. They hold a master’s degree in Human Services from ETSU and are a Certified Trauma Professional. Besch helped develop the Trauma and Resilience Minor program at ETSU and their research interests include eco-therapy, trauma, sex education, family constellations, and neurodiversity.
Cindi Huss (she/her), one of RISE’s collaborating directors, is a trained journalist who helped found RISE to address the lack of critical sexual wellness education in Tennessee. Cindi is a trauma-informed care facilitator trainer and a certified Our Whole Lives Sexuality Education facilitator for all levels from kindergarten through older adult.
RISE: Healthy for Life changes culture around bodies and beings, from fear based to fact based, oppression to affirmation. RISE champions responsible, inclusive, trauma-responsive sexual wellness education. RISE also is the backbone organization for Collective Impact for Emotional and Sexual Health, which currently is working on patient-centered Ob/Gyn care, survivor-centered sexual assault and domestic violence response, trauma-responsive sex ed, and LGBTQ+-affirming medical and mental healthcare.