Format

Workshop

First Presenter's Institution

Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council

First Presenter’s Email Address

virasalzburn@chlink.org

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Vira Salzburn is a Ukrainian-American living in Savannah, Georgia. She is a Program Director for Safety and Resilience programs at Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council. She earned a Master of Science degree in Management, Organizational Behavior & Leadership from Troy University and a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree in Humanities from Auburn University at Montgomery. Ms. Salzburn is currently studying human behavior at Harvard University. Ms. Salzburn is a Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) Teacher, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) Master Trainer, and Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness and Yoga Instructor. She is a Community Resiliency Model (CRM) Teacher, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Trainer, Crisis Intervention Training - Youth (CIT-Y) Instructor and is also trained in the Search Inside Yourself program of Google Leadership Institute, Trauma Informed Coaching, and Compassionate Leadership, the program of the Task Force for Global Health. Ms. Salzburn is a certified Group Fitness Trainer with Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA). Ms. Salzburn is the developer of the community-based upstream suicide prevention approach that uses evidence-based Mindful-Self Compassion programming. She is a public speaker and the 2022 TEDx Savannah presenter.

Second Presenter's Institution

Front Porch Improv Theatre

Second Presenter’s Email Address

zajac.garrett@gmail.com

Second Presenter's Brief Biography

Garrett Zajac is an improviser and instructor at Front Porch Improv. Originally from Chicago, he received his B.A. and M.A. at Wheaton College in Illinois. Garrett is passionate about teaching the interpersonal and social benefits of improv techniques and how the arts community can be a part of social change.

Location

Session 1 (Scarbrough 5)

Strand #1

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Hands: Safety & Violence Prevention

Relevance

This presentation will discuss the development, implementation, and techniques of the unique Savannah-based Front Porch ACTS program that uses empirically-supported, theater-based, and trauma-responsive Trauma Drama (TD) intervention providing an effective therapeutic alternative to serving children and adolescents affected by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and complex trauma.

The presentation relates to the symposium strands by:

  • Describing evidence-based practices related to theater-based interventions for children and adolescents, implementation of unique techniques for building coping social-emotional and skills, and promoting social connectedness and a sense of belonging

  • Discussing trauma-responsive programmatic efforts that focus on serving the most vulnerable youth and adolescents, including youth in the Juvenile Court system, Children in Need of Services (CHINS), neurodivergent children, and homeless youth

  • Exemplifying techniques that support a child’s sense of agency and self-advocacy

  • Supporting participants’ understanding of the effects of ACEs and complex trauma, the public health approach to youth violence and suicide prevention, and the innovative community-based strategies for promoting mental health and resilience.

Brief Program Description

This presentation will discuss the development, implementation, and techniques of the unique Savannah-based Front Porch ACTS program that uses empirically-supported, theater-based, and trauma-responsive Trauma Drama intervention providing an effective therapeutic alternative to serving children and adolescents affected by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and complex trauma.

Summary

“Childhood trauma” and “adverse childhood experiences” (ACEs) have become serious topics in schools and youth-serving organizations nationwide. Many children and youth have experienced one or more ACE, to include poverty, racism, violence, abuse, neglect, bullying, loss, and/or other traumatic experiences.

Therapists and social workers are turning to therapeutic alternatives, like theater, music, and art to support children impacted by trauma and teach them coping skills through play and creativity. Trauma Drama, a unique empirically-supported theater-based intervention co-developed by psychiatrist Dr. Bessel van Der Kolk and Dr. Joseph Spinazzola, is one of such effective alternatives. Trauma Drama (TD) uses improvisational theater and cooperative play with youth and adolescents affected by complex trauma and has been successfully implemented through the Savannah-based collaborative called Front Porch ACTS: Adolescents & Children Transforming Savannah.

Front Porch ACTS engages youth and young adults in cooperative play activities, improv techniques, and theatrical skits to promote opportunities for self-expression, cognitive flexibility, creative problem solving, conflict resolution, and enhanced sense of personal agency. So far, in Savannah, the program has been carried out with elementary, middle, and high school students in summer camps, at youth-serving organizations, and as an after school program for at-risk youth.

This presentation will discuss the implementation of the TD curriculum, explain the effectiveness of TD interventions for both clinical and non-clinical populations, and highlight the physical, mental, emotional, and social benefits of applied improvisation.

Participants will be able to explore programmatic considerations for a community-based theater-based program, build an understanding of basic TD theory and technique, and get a taste of TD techniques through play experience.

Evidence

Grossman, F. K., Spinazzola, J., Zucker, M., & Hopper, E. (2017). Treating adult survivors of childhood emotional abuse and neglect: A new framework.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 87(1), 86–93. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000225

D'Andrea W, Ford J, Stolbach B, Spinazzola J, van der Kolk BA. Understanding interpersonal trauma in children: why we need a developmentally appropriate trauma diagnosis. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2012 Apr;82(2):187-200. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-0025.2012.01154.x. PMID: 22506521.

Zucker M., Spinazzola J., Pollack A., Pepe L., Barry S., Zhang B.
& van der Kolk B. (2010). Getting Teachers in on the Act: Evaluation of a Theater- and Classroom-Based Youth Violence Prevention Program. Journal of School Violence, 9(2), 117-135. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220903479628

Learning Objective 1

​​Understand development and implementation strategies for community-based theater-based interventions

Learning Objective 2

Explain the theory, techniques, and benefits of the Trauma Drama intervention

Learning Objective 3

Experience and practice improvisation techniques with the Front Porch ACTS instructor(s)

Keyword Descriptors

trauma, intervention, ACEs, applied improvisation, theater-based

Presentation Year

2023

Start Date

3-6-2023 10:15 AM

End Date

3-6-2023 11:30 AM

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Mar 6th, 10:15 AM Mar 6th, 11:30 AM

Healing Childhood Trauma Through Improvisation & Theater

Session 1 (Scarbrough 5)

This presentation will discuss the development, implementation, and techniques of the unique Savannah-based Front Porch ACTS program that uses empirically-supported, theater-based, and trauma-responsive Trauma Drama intervention providing an effective therapeutic alternative to serving children and adolescents affected by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and complex trauma.