How Film is Helping Survivors Address Their Trauma

An interview with Mark Steenbarger, Point of View Story

A Revolutionary Step in Healing Trauma

“I feel like the girl in the dinner from that film,” the survivor spoke up, breaking the silence. Everyone in the room turned to look at her. She hadn’t shared much before, and had been sullen and quiet. As they sat in a circle and discussed the short film they just watched, she began to speak. She shared some of her story with them for the first time….and her healing began.

Healing from complex trauma human trafficking survivors experience takes a long time. It also requires different kinds of therapeutic interventions. We shared recently about training our staff receives in attunement and remaining a non-anxious presence so they can build trusting relationships with survivors. We utilize art therapy, equine therapy, movement, sand trays, the ropes course, and more. 

We’ve also been able to include therapeutic films in our program, thanks to the revolutionary work Point of View Story is doing. We show these short videos (around 7 minutes) made specifically with survivors in mind. They help approach difficult themes survivors experience like shame or an abuse that takes away their power. 

We sat down recently with Mark Steenbarger, the filmmaker behind these stories, to share more with you about why film is so impactful in healing trauma for human trafficking survivors.

Stories Have Power

“Stories have power,” Mark says. “When you and I hear the same story, we get different things out of it. That multi-dimensional feeling that a story gives us is powerful. When we hear a story we create our own conclusions and our imaginations are engaged.”

As an actor working in theater and improv, Mark knew the power of story to connect with an audience. He began using improv as a tool to work with women coming out of addiction and incarceration. He saw the women, court-ordered to be there, come into the room unengaged. By the end of the hour, they were on their feet, excited. He realized it was giving them legitimate life skills for engaging with society, going in for interviews. 

When he and his wife began working with trafficked youth in Indianapolis, he saw young people being trafficked multiple times a day, sometimes for the gain of their own parents. He wanted to do something to help them, the way he had with the improv groups. “I couldn’t do live shows with them, so film became the natural medium to explore.”

Mark began working with a therapist, Emily Taylor-Ginger, to build stories around areas where girls were getting stuck. Therapists and others like Dr. Snyder would communicate places where clients were struggling to break through. Emily would then help the team at Point of View Story come up with a film concept that addresses that issue. Fascinated with the parables of Jesus, and the way he would answer a question with a story, Mark realized stories can open up people to come up with their own answers to hard questions. 

Learning about the neuroscience of film, Mark discovered that when we engage with a movie, our motor neurons are activated. “Film has this unique value,” he said. “Sympathy is sparked by engaging with a visual. We all learn in different ways. But all seven types of learning are engaged by film. It activates us in a way nothing else does.”

Stories Can Heal

The films are the conduit through which a conversation can begin. Point of View Story creates films with certain themes in mind. “Ten different outcomes may come from one film,” Mark says. Therapists and other organizations like Uncaged working with people impacted by trauma can utilize the films to help guide healing conversations.

At The Sanctuary, Dr. Vanessa Snyder is using the films in the programs to help human trafficking survivors find lasting transformation. “There is no resolution to the story,” Dr. Snyder says. “The video guides the conversation wherever it needs to go. It’s a conversation starter for groups to get into discussions. The survivors are able to connect with their own experience through the film,” she continues. 

Mark shares that the films can give people a vocabulary to talk about what they can’t yet name. They can point to an emotional wheel and say, “This is how I am feeling after seeing it.”

“It’s working,” Mark exclaims. “We’re seeing film move the needle for people in the way other therapies can’t.” Mark expressed how he longs to see more people have access to this important tool. “There are therapists sitting next to people in hour-long sessions asking people to share their thoughts. In processing what they experience watching the film they are doing just that. I want to get these films in the hands of the Dr. Snyder’s of the world.”

At Uncaged, we’re grateful for this incredible tool to help survivors work through the complex trauma that takes many different methods to begin to unravel. Check out more at the Point of View Story website today!

What Does Self-Leadership Have to Do with Healing from Trauma?

Giving Survivors Back Their Choice, Voice, and Power

Your support allows us to be those trusted people willing to do the long work of walking with a survivor until she can experience healing. Thank you for the gifts that make the ongoing work of training staff, walking with survivors, and seeing transformation happen possible! Give today to see more transformation!

The program at The Sanctuary utilizes the best practices in human trafficking aftercare. Dr. Vanessa Snyder, Chief Clinical Officer, continues to train our staff in the best approaches to help survivors overcome trauma and reduce vulnerability to victimization. We are sharing this knowledge with others as well as we train people from other organizations that will make an impact in their own countries and communities!

Recently in one such training, Dr. Snyder shared a key component of building relationships with survivors that aids in healing: the power of attunement.

The Power of Attunement

In any relationship, there is someone with more power. As babies, it’s our parents who have power in the relationship. As we grow, maybe it is a teacher or another adult. We become attached to the person in power. In trafficking situations, there is always a power dynamic and the survivor has no power.

When a survivor works to heal and build new relationships, it’s important for anyone working with them to remember they have to give their power away. They have to give the survivor the choice to tell her story. Someone who has experienced trauma can get angry, hurt, or lash out. This is normal. She is learning to regulate the power dynamics in relationships. She is learning to use her voice again.

The staff member, counselor, or friend has to remember to stay emotionally regulated and not react in a way to make themselves feel better (but take the survivor’s power away). 

“How do you hold your power well? How do you give it away?” Dr. Snyder acts. “Attunement,” she says, “is done in regulating our emotional and nervous systems.” If we aren’t staying attuned to our own emotions, we can do more harm than good. 

Attunement is our ability to be present to and with another person’s expression of their experience. We stay a non-anxious presence and remember their story is about them, not about us. If we can stay aware of our own emotions, we can show empathy to others and hold their story without harming ourselves (compassion burnout), them (retraumatizing them), or destroying the trust built between us. 

When someone comes to you in a crisis moment, how do you become an emotionally safe place for them? Here are some tips!

Remember the 8 C’s of self-leadership:

• Calm: Staying emotionally regulated and composed helps create a safe space for others. In moments of crisis, your calmness can serve as an anchor, allowing the other person to feel stable and grounded, rather than feeding into their anxiety.

• Clarity: Clear understanding and communication allow you to differentiate your feelings from theirs. When you’re clear about your own emotions and boundaries, it prevents confusion and helps ensure that you don’t impose your experiences on the other person’s story.

• Compassion: Having genuine concern for others while maintaining healthy boundaries prevents burnout. Compassion is essential for showing empathy and understanding their pain without overwhelming yourself or them.

• Curiosity: Approaching a situation with open-mindedness allows you to listen and ask questions without judgment. This helps you understand their perspective and builds trust, as you show you are interested in their experience rather than projecting your own assumptions.

• Courage: It takes courage to hold space for someone in their vulnerability. You must be brave enough to stay present with them, even when it feels uncomfortable, and to speak up if needed to offer support or guidance.

• Creativity: In crisis situations, creative problem-solving allows for thinking outside the box. Sometimes emotional or practical solutions require innovative thinking, whether it’s offering resources or proposing new ways to manage a situation.

• Connection: Building authentic relationships based on trust and presence is key to being an emotionally safe space. Staying attuned to their emotions while remaining aware of your own strengthens the connection between you.

• Confidence: Trusting your ability to support someone without overstepping builds a healthy dynamic. Confidence in your role means you don’t try to “fix” them but instead offer support and stability.

  
  

These C's help us stay emotionally attuned and foster environments where people in crisis feel seen, heard, and safe without the risk of burnout or harming the relationship. These tips can help you in your own relationship with your children and people in your own community

P.S. Stay tuned to hear how our program is utilizing a revolutionary approach of using film to help survivors approach their own stories of trauma. Not on our mailing list? Be the first to read an interview with the filmmaker when you get our emails!

You Can Detect Trafficking and Protect Your Community

You can detect trafficking and protect your community! We tell the staff and students at schools in Romania that they can be the ones to keep watch and keep their communities safe, and we're here to tell you the same!

Knowledge is power. The more we know about how traffickers work, the more we can be aware and protect the children in our lives. We want to share the knowledge our team of experts has gained with you!

We have created a free download you can use in your own community. Share it with your family, friends, church, and anywhere else people need to know how to keep their eyes open for traffickers targeting children.

DOWNLOAD OUR TIPS TO SPOT TRAFFICKING

We want to empower children to change their generation! 

It isn't just adults who need this vital information. Children need to be made aware of what to look out for, when they should report suspicious behavior, and how to reach out to trusted adults. We are the first line of defense in the lives of children we love. We hope you'll download our tips and sit down with a child you know. Share this knowledge with them and tell them they can become detectives, too!

Learn more about the training we're doing in classrooms and how it is making a difference.

Will you go one step further today and partner with us to share these tips with more schools in Romania, where children are at high risk for human trafficking?

Your gift of $50 will equip us with materials to give to students who desperately need anti-trafficking knowledge.

Your gift of $100 will allow us to train one classroom.

A $1000 donation will provide the materials and resources we need to educate an entire school from grades 1 to 12 on how to detect trafficking and protect their community.