Tina's Story:
I found the first chapter of this book, where we read Tina's story along with Perry's experiences as her clinician, interesting due to the various complex aspects he describes. One aspect of supervision experiences he explained that I found interesting was seeking opinions from different supervisors, and how a more psychoanalytic approach labeled Tina as 'resistant' due to her lateness rather than taking into consideration other limitations such as transportation and the buses her family took running late during the middle of Chicago's winter season. In addition, the psychoanalyst supervisor would have been quick to diagnose and medicate Tina without taking into consideration her Trauma history and how this has affected her development and current presentation. I appreciated the point of mentioning that this time-period was not understanding of trauma in the context of children, and how the weight and pressure of resilience and appearing unaffected by trauma impacts development and the entirety of someone's life.
"Growing Up Poor in America":
While watching "Growing Up Poor in America" it was even more evident to me than before that the pandemic was a collective trauma experienced by families who were already experiencing poverty in the United States. In addition to showing these families describe their experiences with working, and receiving assistance from SNAP, having limited healthcare access, and navigating other assistance programs throughout the pandemic it also illustrated the personal experiences of children within these families. Another important aspect of this film was witnessing the impacts of the pandemic on the schooling and education of the children. Difficulties with being houseless but wanting to stay in the same school district to avoid bullying, the risk of being held back a grade, and not having computers or a car to assist with limitations placed by COVID restrictions. In addition, racism and Black Lives Matter were discussed towards the end of the film, exposing the continuance of collective traumas and societal experiences that are shaping the lives of the children and families within this documentary. Lastly, a point that stuck out to me was he emphasis that nobody would actively choose to be poor, and although it may look that way from the outside, that person likely accepted their situation for 'what it was' due to feeling like they had no other option at that time.