Trauma Informed Care
What is Trauma?
Trauma consists of three basic components:- Threat to physical, emotional, and/or psychological safety
- Loss of choice
- Dysregulation of a person’s autonomic nervous system
Difficult life experiences such as neglect, loss,
various forms of violence and victimization like sexual
abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, intimate partner
violence, rape, or human trafficking, and/or the
witnessing of these events or horrors like terrorism and
natural disasters are all forms of trauma.
There are multiple types of trauma:
- Historical
- Intergenerational
- Chronic
- Cumulative
- Vicarious
Trauma refers to a survivors’ biological response to the difficult events that have occurred in their life. We have all experienced some form of trauma to one degree or another. Traumatic events become problematic when these responses remain active once the threat itself has passed and the attempt to cope is "unhealthy", and/or "socially maladaptive."
What is Trauma Informed Care?
At its core, trauma informed care considers a person’s life experiences; “what happened to you” versus “what is wrong with you”? It connects the impacts of an individual’s experiences on their overall wellbeing (physical, emotional, and psychological), provides choice, and is client centered and practiced at the individual patient/client and system levels.
The Definition of Trauma Informed Care from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA):- Realizes the widespread impact of trauma and understands potential paths for recovery;
- Recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma in clients, families, staff, and others involved with the system;
- Responds by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices;
- Seeks to actively resist re-traumatization
Where can I find out more about Trauma and Trauma Informed Care?
Substance Abuse
Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA)
–
Understanding Trauma:
When Bad Things Happen
to Good People
Echo Parenting and
Education –
Impacts of Trauma
National Council for
Behavioral Health -
Why Trauma Matters in
Primary Care
Futures Without Violence
–
Promising Futures
Promoting Resiliency
Echo Parenting and
Education –
5 Domains of Post
Traumatic Growth
Self-Care Wheel
-
inspired by and adapted
from “Self-Care
Assessment Worksheet”
from Transforming the
Pain: A Workbook on
Vicarious Traumatization
by Saakvitne, Pearlman &
Staof TSI/CAAP (Norton,
1996). Created by Olga
Phoenix Project: Healing
for Social Change
(2013).
Resources for LA County
Employees:
LA County Employee
Assistance Program (EAP)
Additional Resources:
Center for the
Developing Mind at
Harvard University
The National Child
Traumatic Stress Network
The Body Keeps the Score
by Bessel Van Der Kolk,
MD
Printable list of Resources in LA County
Understanding Trauma