Transforming Trauma 2022 | A Virtual Event Maria Barcelos, MA, Executive Director Our 12th Annual Transforming Trauma into Triumph Conference embodied the theme of “The Power of Collaboration.” As part of National Victims and Survivors of Crime Week, we gathered as a community to recognize the tremendous courage, strength, commitment, and resiliency of survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). I am grateful to all our staff, volunteers, students, and donors whose wonderful dedication, compassion, and empathy empower survivors to reach out for support, make meaningful long-lasting connections, and transform their lives for the better. Thank you to Jasmine Lem, Program Assistant, for your tremendous support in co-organizing, social media content creation, and communications for this event again this year. Thank you to the wonderful speakers including Drucilla Gary, Lauren Frechette, Mehnaz Lamia, Riley Goldstein, William Sparks, Arthur Lockhart, Matthew McVarish, Stewart Thompson, Kelsey Leroux, Patrick Sandford, Carrie George, Alessandro Motta, Erin Gilmour, Bob Carscadden, Lucie Bruneau, Carolyn Smith, Andrea Robin Skinner, Kaitlyn Axelrod, Matthias Katsch, Wibke Müller, Rob Hawkings, Sheri Jackson, Nicola Yoga, Brian Morrison, Jay Rothman, Joe Groh, Avdeep Bahra, and Rosalia Rivera. Thank you to organizations supporting the event including Voice Found, Sheena’s Place, Renascent, Black Women in Motion, Wick Poetry Centre, Kent State University, Carolyn Smith Coaching, Nicola Yoga, Voice of Men 360, Andrea R. Skinner at Horse Discovery, OCAD University Students, Members of the Survivors’ Council in Germany and German Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, members of The Brave Movement and SAGE. I am honoured to work alongside wonderful and dedicated staff, volunteers, donors, and courageous survivors. I am profoundly inspired by the meaningful connections made, everyone’s sharing, and especially meaningful collaborations worldwide to raise awareness of the impact and prevalence of CSA and the establishment of a Survivors Council of Canada. The dream of extending The Gatehouse to many other communities continues. We cannot do this work without financial support. Donate today to support The Gatehouse. You are helping to save and transform lives for the better. I look forward to seeing you next year at our 13th Annual Transforming Trauma Conference in 2023. Click Here for Full 2022 Summary Report – 12th Annual Transforming Trauma Conference Thank you to our Event Supporters This event was funded by the Victims Fund, grants, and contributions program administered by the Department of Justice Canada. Funds are available to provinces, territories, and non-governmental organizations for programs and services that give victims and survivors of crime a more effective voice in the criminal justice system. For more information about the Victims Fund, please visit: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/victims-victimes/ Transforming Trauma Conference Collaborators: Thank you to supporting agencies including Voice Found, Sheena’s Place, Renascent, Black Women in Motion, Wick Poetry Centre, Kent State University, Carolyn Smith Coaching, Nicola Yoga, Voice of Men 360, Andrea at Horse Discovery, OCAD University Students, Members of the Survivors’ Council in Germany and German Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, members of The Brave Movement and SAGE. For more information on Victims and Survivors of Crime Week, visit www.victimsweek.gc.ca Check out all recorded sessions on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TheGatehouseChildAbuseInvestigationSupportSite

Helping Your Survivor Partner in Their Healing Journey   By: Kristy Webber, Practicum Student, The Gatehouse   Often, survivors of childhood sexual abuse struggle with issues of trust, intimacy, and triggers along with feelings of guilt and shame. If you’re in a relationship with a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, it may be challenging to know how to support them on their healing journey.   Firstly, educating yourself about the impacts of childhood sexual abuse can go a long way in helping to support and understand your partner. Joining a support group with other survivors may help you navigate issues you may experience and learn ways to cope and better support your partner.   Patience and empathy can go a long way. You may feel that your partner would benefit from counselling, support groups, or other resources. However, it is essential that your partner make their own decisions on what they will do to deal with the impacts of the abuse. Your role as a supportive partner is to be just that, supportive. This means supporting whatever avenue your partner feels will benefit their healing journey. Allowing your partner to make their own decisions about their healing journey is empowering. This renewed sense of empowerment and control may encourage your partner to keep going through the difficult patches they may experience along their healing journey.   Finally, take care of yourself. Being in a supportive role may become challenging at times. Taking care of your physical, mental, and emotional health is of utmost importance. Focus on yourself and do activities that nurture these critical areas of your life. Practicing good self-care can improve your mood, reduce anxiety, and help you better support your partner.   When in doubt, reach out to someone you trust! The Gatehouse offers monthly partners-only meetings for support persons/partners of survivors. Check out our website for more information about this helpful resource here. References:  Government of Canada. (2012, July 26). When your partner was sexually abused as a child: A guide for partners. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/stop-family-violence/prevention-resource-centre/children/partner-sexually-abused-child-guide.html#Why     

Healing the Inner Child   Written By: Daniella Tucci, Practicum Student   Every single person has an inner child. The inner child is a depiction of our true and authentic self. Unfortunately, those who have endured childhood sexual abuse (CSA) most often hide behind a false self. The image of the false self is created to protect ourselves from further physical and emotional pain, as well as suffering. By repressing our true self, feelings of sadness, depression, and grief can arise due to mourning our true self – our inner child.   For survivors of CSA to reclaim our true self and help heal our inner child, we must undergo a nurturing process of healing, which can be rewarding as well as challenging. The topic of the inner child can be triggering as we dive into our past experiences, which can cause mind memories, as well as body memories of the abuse. At The Gatehouse, we provide a safe and open space where we can communicate our needs, comfort, and concerns so as a group we can support one another to overcome these barriers (when you are ready) and heal your inner child.    Important Reminder: Everyone’s healing journey looks different. It is OK if your inner child needs more time and nurture to heal. It is important NOT to compare yourself to others.   To enhance the process of personal growth and help you heal your inner child we focus on Reconnecting, Forgiving, & Healing. Each stage has different objectives and purposes to help support you find your true self. The opportunity to reconnect, forgive, and heal your inner child can be an empowering and liberating process. It allows you to rediscover and accept your inner child, so you may reclaim and live as your true self.   An empowering tool to help support the healing process is the use of affirmations. Affirmations can be used to enhance self-love, respect, and confidence in oneself on their healing journey. Listed below are examples of affirmations to heal the inner child:    You are a valuable and good person  You did not deserve what happened  You are not bad because of what happened  You are not alone anymore  Most often CSA survivors become so disconnected from their inner child that change seems impossible. Change is possible and healing their inner child is a part of that change. By providing a safe, open, and inclusive space where we can discuss the topic of the inner child, we hope we can help survivors find their true self again.   References  The Gatehouse. (2020). Phase 1 peer support group participant manual.    

Childhood sexual abuse and then dealing with getting Covid19 Written by: Stewart Thompson, Program Assistant & Peer Support Facilitator  When I think of the things I have been through, I believed that my healing journey that I forced myself to take on would be all I needed to stay on track to become a better person. At the time, I was a bloody train wreck out of control with no trust in myself. I was a person who had no boundaries, was angry with immense guilt and shame, and damn, I can’t forget about my self-sabotage. Addictions, you see what I mean, I was a train wreck really. This is only a part of my experience. When I finally did start to deal with my trauma, my life started to change. Being someone who lacked any self-worth really made it hard in the beginning as I had no idea what it felt like to be a positive human being. I looked at others claiming they had this power. I felt lost, therefore making this task quite an unbelievable task to achieve, or so I thought at the start. My failings in the process made it too easy to fall back to addictions and poor habits. I guess the best way to say it is that my bad habits were the only way I knew how to cope with my daily life as a CSA survivor. When I started my healing journey with thegatehouse.org, what helped was being able to be with other survivors and them sharing their experiences. Best examples helping in their struggles along the way just like me, made it feel like I was not alone. This was powerful thinking. Looking back now, I probably didn’t understand the full extent of the profound connection that this experience has given me. Week after week of giving up sometimes and not giving up others. I learned some great tools through these experiences, like coping in the bad days and learning grounding methods such as focusing on the breath and meditation. When these methods did not work anymore, I found new ways to cope that did work. What helped a lot was finally being able to talk about my story, and not just in a book on paper, but in the public, such as colleges and universities. I even started a podcast. All these steps helped me help myself. Moving forward 9 years later, I have fallen really ill.  Hell, I’ve never been this ill before. It’s been a bad cold including a crazy fever, and the fever stayed with me easily for almost two months. It sounds crazy, but it’s true, and the fact I don’t like doctors did not help remedy anything. Those feelings coupled with the lockdown made me more hesitant to want to go to the doctor or to the hospital, falling back to old trust issues. These feelings come from many years ago when I received ECT treatment. From that day forward I lost all trust in the health care system. I got more ill as time moved forward, losing so much weight and now dealing with an eating disorder. This resurfaced other old beliefs from which I thought I sorted out, like my self-worth and feeling that I belonged. I really thought that I was being punished for all the wrongdoings from my past and they were finally catching up with me. These feelings increased, and I believed them more as I got sicker and sicker and as time moved on. I have not gone back to work from being ill for over two years. This has become something totally unimaginable to me, not understanding, asking myself  “why me?” as all I wanted to do was isolate.  I’ve hated myself, not liking the way I was starting to look. It was scary even for me not wanting to look in a mirror. Something had to change. I would go to bed just wanting not to wake up. This was something I never experienced before, so I started to figure out what I needed to do. I had to go back to the ways of coping that I had learned at the Gatehouse and also find some new ways too. A new skill I learned was looking after myself. I was never good at that, though I am learning that now. I began to set boundaries with my work life balance. No more 15 hr days working 7 to 14 days straight never taking time for myself. I was finally making a stand to the ways I was treating myself, and it was time to make real changes for me. I have to give credit to my partner first, and second to the Gatehouse support that I received. Third, I’d like to give credit to myself for finally taking charge of me and applying what I have learned by helping myself. Thank you for reading my journey,  Stewart Thompson

The current world, Our past worlds, and how to succeed in the face of adversity  Written by: Theresa Foessel In our current world, with all the trouble and turbulence that has been thrown at us the past couple of years, it is not uncommon to experience immense burnout and stress. It is a hurdle to deal with alone, but for those who are working through existing trauma, it has been even more complicated and difficult. Our regular triggers have been amplified by the pandemic and dealing with them can seem like climbing a mountain. As impossible as continuing through may feel, you are not alone, and you can make it through.  Pandemic stress can exist in many forms. It can take shape in the form of worrying about your loved ones and their safety, worrying about your own health and safety. From the stress of your job stability to the new challenges with working from home, or the challenges of continuing to work at a public location. The stress of isolation, the stress from thinking we are in the clear to being in lockdown again, the stress of not knowing when things will feel normal again. These are things the majority of us think about and are dealing with daily, but we are not dealing with them alone.  For survivors, these stresses can be triggers for their trauma as well. For example, the feeling of loneliness and isolation is one of the common things a survivor experiences, and with the current state of our world and current safety requirements in place, those triggers can be felt on a much more frequent basis. (CAMH, 2020) But as much as we are holding on our shoulders, there are things we can do to help lessen the burden of it all. Covid Fatigue is a form of pandemic burnout that creates a sense of demotivation and exhaustion in lieu of the Covid crisis. (Healthline) Self-care can be one of the most important things that we can do for ourselves in the face of adversity. It is a commitment to taking an active role in safeguarding our mental, emotional, and physical well-being. (Healthy.net) In times when we feel overwhelmed, self-care can help free us from the weight of our trauma, triggers, and stress. We can practice self-care in many different ways, and finding the method that helps heal you can be monumentally important. Getting proper sleep and rest, staying active, eating healthy, being kind to yourself; are all ways to practice self-care that will leave you feeling grounded. (CAMH, 2020) I find that living in a world where social media focuses on the negative, finding time to intentionally unplug has made a huge impact on my mental health. Setting aside time to unplug from electronics, and spending that time doing something that will nurture me, has been extremely beneficial to my daily life. In the end, we cannot rid ourselves of the things that trigger our trauma, but we can control how we cope with it. No matter how many steps we feel we are taking back, we are still moving forward. Healing is not a direct line-up, it’s a journey and a process. I’d like to take a moment to share Stewart’s story with you all. In times when we feel isolated and alone, it’s good to remember that while we may be apart physically, there is always community and love to share. Resources: CAMH. (2020, November 1). Recognizing the effects of abuse-related trauma. CAMH. Retrieved January 20th, 2022, from https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/guides-and-publications/recognizing-the-effects-of-abuse-related-trauma.   Healthy.net . (2022, January 19th).  The Importance of Authentic Self-Care . Retrieved January 19th, 2022, from  https://healthy.net/2022/01/19/the-importance-of-authentic-self-care/ CAMH. (2020). Coping with Stress and Anxiety. CAMH. Retrieved January 19th, 2022, from https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-health-and-covid-19/coping-with-stress-and-anxiety Healthline (2021, October 21st). COVID Fatigue: How to Cope with Pandemic Burnout.  Retrieved January 18th, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/covid-fatigue  

Considering Change: Exploring the various stages of change Written by: Maria Barcelos, MA, Executive Director, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) Every New Year, we are often inundated with messages of change is possible, if you only do this one thing, or buy this workout machine or fill in the blank on the numerous ads you have probably seen trying to inspire you to purchase something that will help you change your life. At times, yes, these things can be helpful in the change process. Change takes time and a few more elements to get us inspired and motivated to continue the path that we want to be onto living life with purpose and intention. We all want a better life for ourselves, and those we love. Every year, we are reminded with messages to set goals or resolutions for change. For some survivors of childhood sexual abuse, the new year can be a source of hope and it can also continue to be a source of disappointment, regret, or shame especially when previous goals were not met, or the supports were not in place for success in the first place. Various models that try to give context to the process of change and why some of us, start, stop, avoid. Start, quit, start again.  There needs to be resources and supports at each stage of change for ultimate behaviour modification and maintenance to occur. Let’s look at the Transtheoretical Model (Stages of Change), which was developed by Prochaska and DiClemente in the late 1970s. This model focuses on the decision-making of the individual considering the intentional change they are trying to make in their lives (Boston University School of Public Health, 2019). This model considers that each person needs time to change behaviours, which for many survivors even considering a change may be quite difficult, fearful and anxiety-provoking. The model proposes that people progress through the following stages of change: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance. For each of the stages of change, different strategies are most helpful at moving the person forward to the next stage. Precontemplation – In this stage, the person isn’t even considering taking steps to start a change in behaviour (for more than six months from now) and may even be unaware that their behavior is challenging (for themselves or others in their lives). The person may focus on the negative aspects of potential change and tend to not consider the positive aspects of it. For many survivors, this can be thinking about change but feeling overwhelmed with all the discomfort that it might take (e.g., I want to go to the gym in January, but the bus ride is too long. It’s cold outside. I will think about this next month when it’s warmer outside). Contemplation – In this stage, the person is intending to start healthy behavior in the foreseeable future (defined as within the next 6 months). The person has an awareness that the behaviour is not helpful for them or others; maybe more considerate of the pros and cons of changing the behavior. However, they might still feel ambivalent toward changing their behavior. For many survivors, they may know that their behaviours are not helpful towards their healing (e.g. They know that overeating, or drinking too often during the week, or excessively watching Netflix is not helping them feel well during the day at work). Preparation (Determination) – At this stage, a person is willing and ready to take the necessary steps for behaviour change within the next 30 days. They may begin to take small steps and acknowledge that modifying their behaviour will lead to healthier outcomes in their life. For many survivors, this stage may be supported when attending the peer support programs at www.thegatehouse.org when recognition of the behaviour has occurred, further awareness of the negative impact of the behaviour and the person starts to take small steps towards the behaviours they want to emulate eventually. (E.g. the person buys a gratitude journal to eventually start writing daily gratitude) Action – In this stage, the person has recently changed their behavior (defined as within the last 6 months) and plans to keep moving forward with these new habits or behaviours. These can be totally new ones (e.g. Writing a daily journal to help enhance their self-awareness of thoughts, feelings and behaviours) or modified behaviours (e.g. adding a 10-minute meditation to their daily mindfulness routine, adding 5 minutes to their daily walk, reading one self-help book per month). Maintenance – In this stage, people have sustained their behavior change for a while, usually defined as more than 6 months, and intend to maintain the behavior change going forward. People in this stage take actions to deter themselves from reverting to previous stages or relapsing. Many survivors that attend our programs may repeat the groups to help them continue to engage with their new or modified helpful behaviours. Thinking about a change? Here are some helpful questions to get started: What is the life I want to live? What do I need and want to do to get there? What’s stopping me from living this life? What resources do I have access to that will help me along the various stages of change? (persons, programs, books)               References Boston University School of Public Health. (2019). The Transtheoretical Model (Stages of Change). Retrieved from https://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/mph-modules/sb/behavioralchangetheories/behavioralchangetheories6.html

Childhood Trauma and Boundaries   By Muskaan Karwal, Previous Practicum Student, The Gatehouse Boundaries are typically seen as “lines”. They are seen as a line that marks off one thing from another. An individual can differentiate between things like personal space with the help of boundaries. These boundaries mark our territory, that is, the space in which we feel comfortable, physically, and emotionally. When someone tries to cross that boundary or crosses the boundary or line, we feel frustrated, angry, annoyed, and irritated.    When an individual goes through trauma in their childhood, they are likely to lower down their boundaries and not defend themselves. Experiences that are painful and traumatic can lead individuals to forgetting they can say “no” to people if they are asking too much. This is known as boundary-pushing and it can cause a lot of emotional hurts. Trauma can help us replace our healthy boundaries with the fact that we must agree with everyone to not cause any problems. We tend to lose focus and agree with them even if they are asking too much. Some examples which may help you recognize that the boundaries are being crossed are given below:   A friend calls and just talks about their own issues without asking if you have the mental space to listen to them  A person trying to hug you or physically touch you when you don’t feel like reciprocating it.   A coworker comments on your dressing style and asks if you’re going on a hot date tonight.   When people cross boundaries, you are left feeling frustrated, anxious, angry, and annoyed at the same time. There are times when people need to understand each other’s boundaries and not just be selfish all the time. For healthy relationships, it is important to talk about each other’s boundaries to make sure that none of you are crossing them and are being respectful towards each other. This will foster understanding and make the bond much stronger. Talking about one’s boundaries helps to know how the other person would experience you and how they would expect to be treated.   Some ways that you can use to firm up your boundaries are:   Communicating with individuals so that they know when they are crossing the line.   Saying “no” or “you’re crossing the line.”  Value your own opinion  Understanding your needs and wants and standing up for yourself  Boundaries are not just physical rather they are emotional as well. People will try to cross the boundaries; however, you will have to stand up for yourself and say no. Learn to say no and see if people stick around. If not, you should be grateful because you don’t need negative people in your life who don’t understand or respect boundaries.   References  https://hakomiinstitute.com/Forum/Issue10/Boundaries.pdf   https://overcomingsexualabuse.com/2011/04/16/rebuilding-my-boundaries-after-abuse/      

Transforming Trauma 2021 | A Virtual Event Our 11th Annual Transforming Trauma into Triumph Conference, which took place during National Victims and Survivors of Crime Week, Monday, November 15 to Friday, November 19th, 2021.  was centered around the theme of “The Power of Collaboration.” As part of National Victims and Survivors of Crime Week, we came together as a community to recognize the tremendous courage, sincere commitment, and resiliency that survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) have demonstrated and shared with others at our amazing event. I continue to be grateful and blessed to witness the wonderful dedication, compassion, and empathy to empowering survivors to reach out for support, make meaningful long-lasting connections, and transform their lives for the better. The Conference featured 21 featured sessional speakers, 12 webinar presentations! This event gathered social agencies, first responders, and survivors of trauma to exchange ideas and evidence-based approaches to prevent and treat the symptoms and impact of childhood sexual abuse. Thank you to Jasmine Lem, Program Assistant, for your tremendous support in co-organizing, social media content creation, and communications for this event. Thank you to the wonderful speakers including Arthur Lockhart, Paula Cordeiro, Sabra Desai, Stewart Thompson, Ashtyn Ford, Avdeep Bahra, Deb Maybury, Sheri Jackson, Catherine Jun, Andrea Robin Skinner, Kaitlyn Axelrod, Miranda Pecoraro, Carrie George, Lindsay Lobb, Lucie Bruneau, Margaret McKinnon, Kelsey Leroux, Nicola Yoga, Jessica Field, and Rob Hawkings. Thank you to Amy Miranda and Lunch for their support with marketing for this event. Thank you to organizations supporting the event including Voice Found, Sheena’s Place, Black Women in Motion, Full Circle Art Therapy Centre, The Canadian Centre for Child Protection, and Wick Poetry Centre. I acknowledge the tremendous excellent efforts it takes to organize and deliver our annual event. I and honoured to work alongside wonderful and dedicated staff, volunteers, donors, and courageous survivors. I am profoundly inspired by the meaningful connections made, everyone’s valued insights shared, and discussions surrounding how CSA is impacting survivors on a worldwide level. The dream of extending The Gatehouse to many other communities continues. We cannot do this work without financial support. Donate today to support The Gatehouse. You are helping to save and transform lives for the better. I look forward to seeing you next year at our 12th Annual Transforming Trauma Conference. Maria Barcelos, MA, Executive Director Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) Check out the Full presenter list here Read the 2021 Summary Report Transforming Trauma Conference  here This event was funded by the Victims Fund, grants, and contributions program administered by the Department of Justice Canada. Funds are available to provinces, territories, and non-governmental organizations for programs and services that give victims and survivors of crime a more effective voice in the criminal justice system. For more information about the Victims Fund, please visit: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/victims-victimes/For More information on Victims and Survivors of Crime Week, visit: www.victimsweek.gc.ca

The Power of Collaboration: Our Children Will Have Taught Us Well Written by: Arthur Lockhart, Founder When you are sexually abused you disappear.  Your voice is taken from you, your sense of self is forced off balance.  And, when you start the journey to reclaim your voice, when you set out to reclaim your sense of self, people (wonderfully well-intentioned supportive people) can at times respond to, not so much you personally, but to you the “client”, you the “victim.”   The professionals are the good people, but still when I am seen as, a survivor, a victim, a patient, my role is subtly prescribed: as a victim, I am “sufferer”, as a patient I am  to be “composed” –“just calm down and tell us what happened.”  I am now the  ‘sufferer-patient’ forced to wait: in the waiting room at the therapist office; in the waiting room at the hospital; in the waiting room at the court; in the waiting room at the police station; waiting in the office at the school; waiting in n the office—waiting…While the other takes notes, I am witnessing my story, my life being placed in a container so that I can be “helped.” “Tell me what happened.”   And, as this swirls all around within me, I ask myself: Can I say what happened?  Not really sure what happened. Who am I? What will happen if I am not seen as the victim? What if it was my fault?” What is a victim? What did I do to deserve this?  What will others think of me? How do I think of others?  What do I think of me?    How does society see people who have been sexually harmed by another person? When we use the word victimized to describe someone, do we see the person as a strong person or a weak person? Do we relate with the person from a strength -based stance or a weakness-based stance? What is our unique role in this unfolding story?   The intervenor is to be objective, to paraphrase, as they fit my story into their framework so that they can help me, so they can understand me.   All of this turbulence, this trauma, can, however, through the power of collaboration bring to life the capacity to create the space for openness in the sharing of ones’ story; the unedited one that reflects the whole of me. There are essential elements of collaboration: 1) Empathetic Engagement is the expression of authentic connection- which leads to 2) Enablement is the expression of ones’ ‘voice -which leads to 3) Ennoblement which reflects dealing with the whole of me with dignity.   And, while there are those of us who may say: ‘truth is, we are all in this together,” there is another profound truth to accept.  And this Truth is: our culture, is not overflowing with empathy. Truth is, despite the staggering statistics of CSA Reports of offenders luring children online up 15%; making and distribution of child sexual abuse material incidents up 27% compared to pre‑pandemic levels.” (1)  our culture still maintains systemic barriers which inhibit the opportunity for our children to learn and develop skills and means to respond to sexual abuse. For example, there is no formal curricula in our public educations systems which deals specifically with childhood sexual abuse despite the reality that 1in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys will be sexually abused in their lifetime. If ever there was a clarion call for collaboration these statistics alone ought to be it.So here it is. The Power of Collaboration must be grounded in “teaching our children well” so that in times of great turbulence, they related to as a whole person. One who can move with the subtle power that comes from knowing they are not alone, that when they move, their movement is in unison with others who are along- side them, collaborating with this powerful human being who is willing and so very able to grace us with their unique story. And, as they transform their trauma so do, we all. Through this power of collaboration as a society, we are ever-more elevated to new levels of being because our children, they will have taught us well.   Arthur Lockhart Founder, The Gatehouse November 8, 2021   1. Canadian Centre for Child Protection (2021)