Scottish Trauma Book Festival.

Last Sunday I attended the inaugural Scottish Trauma Book Festival.

Perhaps not everyone’s idea of fun on a Sunday….but somewhere I felt I needed to be.

I am very glad that I went.

The event had been organised by Suzanne Zeedyk, a force of nature for whom I have great admiration and who has spent a huge amount of time and energy raising public awareness of the importance of human connection over recent decades. 

For the last 10 years, I have been a passionate follower of the ACE aware nation movement — this post, from 2018, explains more: https://lenabellina.wordpress.com/2017/10/29/on-a-saturday-youre-mad/?preview=true&preview_id=1085&preview_nonce=68dfb0f4c2

My interest in trauma and its impact has been both personal and professional. I am a Dramatherapist and worked for over 30 years as a teacher and headteacher; I made the decision to leave my head teacher post in the summer of 2025 and devote the remaining years of my career to working as a therapist. 

When I qualified as a Dramatherapist in 1999, trauma and attachment were key themes in my training and practice but almost unheard of in education and society more widely. Things have changed hugely since then and, in Scotland in particular, there have been significant moves and initiatives to bring awareness of trauma and trauma-responsive practice to professionals working with children and families. 

There is still a way to go. We still need to ensure that children who have experienced trauma have access to specialist supports to help them recover, as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of The Child:

When we talk about developmental trauma in relation to babies and children, we are talking about more than a one-off shock or dramatic event. We are referring to an absence of or significant interruption to essential love and care from a primary care-giver. A lack of physical warmth and comfort. A lack of unconditional positive regard, or other in words a lack of being made to feel as if you are the most lovable, unique and incredible human being. A lack of adult-modelled and -shared curiosity about the world and all it has to offer. 

When all of the above are lacking, growing up becomes hard. The world feels unsafe and people can seem untrustworthy. Often a child will become hypersensitive and hypervigilant, constantly scanning the environment for threats and spending huge amounts of time and energy trying to bring a felt and bodily sense of calm and connection. 

Repair is possible. When there is a shared recognition and understanding of the harms caused by developmental trauma and a commitment to providing relational, loving connection over time, repair is possible. 

The authors I was lucky enough to hear last Sunday repeated this message over and over. 

The human stories they shared, combined with research and evidence about why society needs this repair now, more than ever, were powerful and compelling. 

I could pick out highlights and wisdoms shared by every one of those speakers:

Carol Craig, who spoke of her relentless, lifelong work to tackle Scotland’s lack of confidence and poor health outcomes;

John Carnochan, who described his life-changing approaches to reducing crime and spreading compassion within Scotland’s criminal justice system; Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi, who discussed the need to acknowledge and repair the historic harm done to those (mainly women) in Scotland who were falsely accused of witchcraft, leading to persecution and murder and Angus Bell, whose recollections about the horrific abuse that he suffered when attending a prestigious Scottish Boarding School were both shocking and a call to action. 

But one speaker’s message has stayed with me above all of the others. I had heard a lot about Darren McGarvey ahead of the festival but hadn’t expected to be as moved, challenged or vindicated by his session, which referenced his most recent book, Trauma Industrial Complex: How Oversharing Became a Product in a Digital World.

I left with these words from Darren ringing in my ears:

Find small things that make you feel better and do more of them, no matter how small.  Most people have within them the tools to heal but can’t do it by themselves.  

I will remember these words, both as I continue my own healing journey and support others on theirs.

The answer to the trauma complex we have created is not complex at all. It is in the simplicity of our genuine human connections and relationships.

Thanks to Suzanne and all who made the festival possible.