Recently, one of our residential care teams from Kallangur House at the Arches Foundation came together for a team building day. The morning began at a smash room, complete with (safely) smashing plates, glasses and electronics while wearing protective gear which was a great deal of fun!
Over lunch afterwards meaningful reflection ensued and it was an opportunity to reflect on the profound anger that many of the young people who we care for can carry with them. Too often, this anger is viewed through the lens of โchallenging behaviourโ. However, when we stop to reflect on what many of these children and young people have experienced, their anger makes complete sense. Many of these young people have had key decisions made about their lives that include where they live, who they see, where they go to school and often the opportunity to input into these decisions is limited. While these decisions are made with their safety and wellbeing in mind, the cumulative experiences of powerlessness can be hard to carry.
Trauma-informed practice invites us to consider what a given behaviour is communicating and what need sits underneath that behaviour. What we observe as anger, aggression or defiance many actually represent a survival response designed to protect the young person from perceived danger. In these moments, the behaviour is less about choice and more about a nervous system response. This understanding can shift our practice.
From this understanding, we can consider how we can support the young personโs sense of safety, emotion regulation or safe expression of anger (rather than asking them to suppress it). Anger itself is not a problem. In many ways it can represent something healthy. It can tell us that a need has gone unmet, an injustice has occurred or a boundary has been crossed. The goal doesnโt have to be to silence anger, but rather to ensure that young people are able to access safe ways to allow that energy to move through their bodies. This can include through physical movement, music, boxing or other sensory activities, or through talking with the support of a safe adult.
