What is Trauma-Informed Care?

 

Trauma-Informed Care was rolled out in the late 1990s in an effort to ensure providers of care  take the effects of trauma experienced by their patients into account when diagnosing and treating them. 


This effort happened because scientists and doctors were realizing the impact of trauma, especially of multiple traumas on a person. Neuroimaging and other scientific research was uncovering how repetitive trauma can cause your brain, nervous system and body to malfunction or get stuck in a state of reactivity and inflammation.


Trauma-Informed Care was supposed to change the often hierarchical dynamic in clinical service delivery to more of a partnered approach. Abuse steals the voice and freedom of the abused and leaves them feeling like an observer in their own life with no way to impact or lessen the horror they experience. Trauma-Informed Care was meant to give patient's their voice back and come along side them in diagnosing their challenges and creating a treatment plan. 


When you are receiving "Trauma-Informed Care" you should experience the following:

  • A sense of physical and psychological safety.
  • Transparency with decisions and trustworthiness such that your provider shares with you what they are thinking is causing your challenges, any diagnoses they think are applicable, and what treatment they think will be helpful for you.
  • Collaborative decision making between you and your provider including exploration of what you think is wrong and what you think would be helpful for your healing. 
  • Empowerment through a focus on your resilience and ability to heal. Your provider should show great regard and respect for what you have navigated. 


The problem is there are a lot of providers out there that say they are providing “trauma-informed care” when they are not. In actuality the treatment they are delivering is very hierarchical. In fact, the provider may be telling you what is wrong, what you need to do, and not listening to you at all. If your provider is not partnering with you, the treatment reinforces the dynamics that started during your trauma exposure. 


If this has been your experience, it may be time to find a new provider who really is treating you in a way that respects what you’ve navigated and your amazing strength to keep showing up! So, whatever intervention or treatment you try is just additive to the transformative nature of your relationship with your provider. Treatment should encourage you to use your voice and express your thoughts, beliefs and desires. 


For more information, go to https://www.resolvetorise.com/
For guidance on recovering from Complex PTSD, read my book Resolve to Rise: Become Greater than Your Circumstances

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Complex PTSD: How Do You Know if You're Dissociating?

Image
There are various types of dissociation and within each type there are various symptoms that would point to dissociation. Dissociation is only considered clinically significant if it is interfering with an aspect of your life, for instance, work or family.  When is Dissociation Normal?  Some degree of dissociation is normal and every person can typically relate to one or another of the symptoms; e.g., getting lost in thought as your driving home and not being able to remember the drive. In and of itself having a symptom isn't reason for concern, but when it becomes the way you navigate life it can have some significant impacts on your work, relationships, and life in general. If that is the case, it may be time for you to seek professional help.  13 Signs You are Dissociating  You drive somewhere or you had a conversation that you don’t remember You do something that you don’t remember You don’t remember how you got to where you are or you don’t remember putting on the clothes that
Read more

How Does Someone with Complex PTSD Behave?

Image
What is Complex PTSD? To understand how a person will behave, it helps to first understand more about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex PTSD (C-PTSD). Individuals who have PTSD or C-PTSD share many symptoms. To meet the criteria for PTSD the individual has to have been indirectly or directly exposed to a traumatic event resulting in a death or leaving a person feeling like their life or someone else's life was in immediate danger.  They also must meet the following criteria for a minimum of 30 days, not because of a medication/substance and/or illness, and it is negatively impacting aspects of their life; specifically, they...  Re-experiences the event in one or more ways (e.g., memories, nightmares, flashbacks, etc.) Avoids reminders of the traumatic event Experiences negative thoughts or feelings that began or became worse after the traumatic event (e.g., difficulty remembering aspects of the event) Has an increase in arousal or reactivity after the traumatic even
Read more

How Do You Comfort the Grieving?

Image
After something difficult occurs, there are various ways people try to support.  Some responses are helpful and others are not.  "It can be like driving down a road in the dark." I was in a counseling program when my husband unexpectedly died in bed next to me. One of my colleagues (a future counselor and chaplain) later told me he avoided engaging with me, because he did not know what to say.   If a chaplain and future counselor doesn’t know what to say, what does that mean for everyone else?   It can be scary knowing how to show up when someone you know has suffered something significant. What do you say? How do you act? What if you say the wrong thing? Will you make it worse?  It can be like driving down the road in the dark. At some points, the only thing you may be able to see clearly are the lines on the road. And, that is when you focus your eyes on that to guide you home. When you don't focus on what you can see, you may be inclined to avoid driving in the dark at
Read more