angelhands
Dr Ann O’Neill founded angelhands Inc over ten years ago as a way of effecting helpful changes to how people affected by homicide and serious personal violence experience their trauma recovery. The findings of her extensive and award winning research underpin all of angelhands programs and services.
Dr O’Neill’s research documented that: speaking to people who understood the experience; having non-formalised opportunities to speak about their challenges; and experiencing ‘random acts of kindness’ accelerated recovery among secondary victims of homicide by promoting trust, hope and a sense of social justice.
Thus, the angelhands HOPE[1] Program utilises a befriending model which has been developed and established in response to identified and expressed need identified throughout the practice and academic work[2] of our founder Dr Ann O’Neill.
Dr O’Neill’s research findings suppots the findings of acclaimed trauma and grief theorists such as Herman (1992), Jannof-Bulman (1992), Taylor (2005) and Parkes (2006) who identified that helpful support is characterized by the ability to be benevolent, restorative and does no additional harm.
Dr O’Neill’s findings also denote that support which goes above and beyond the call of duty (or the secondary victims of homicide expectations) is profoundly healing, acting as a buffer against trauma, by countering the shattering effect trauma has on people’s belief in the world as a good, safe and benevolent place.
This type of support helps foster immunity to subsequent trauma and re-victimisations in secondary victims of homicide.
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