Wholeness Healing Center

Trauma Informed Care

Trauma Informed Care (TIC) has been embraced by mental health clinicians over the past decade. ‘Trauma Informed Care understands and considers the pervasive nature of trauma and promotes environments of healing and recovery rather than practices and services that may inadvertently re-traumatize (The Institute on Trauma and Trauma Informed Care (2015).’ TIC has been recognized and integrated as an evidenced based practice throughout the country and world.

We will assume the following basic definition of trauma in order to explore TIC. According to the Robert Woods Trauma Informed Care Implementation Resource Center, ‘Trauma is a pervasive problem. It results from exposure to an incident or series of events that are emotionally disturbing or life threatening with lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social or emotional and/or spiritual well-being.’ Trauma may be defined differently based on an individual’s perspective. Common experiences of trauma include many examples such as living with a family member with substance abuse or mental health disorder, abuse or neglect, death of a loved one, sudden separation of a loved one, poverty, oppression, racism or discrimination. Trauma is defined by the way in which someone perceives and experiences it. That means many experiences, including those mentioned above, may also be trauma.

Trauma Informed treatment is client centered. It starts ‘where the client is’. Treatment is driven by the person who has experienced the trauma. TIC is embedded in the many modalities and treatment interventions delivered at Wholeness Healing Center. We are committed to serving clients using evidenced based, client-centered practices that are informed by data. This data dictates a tailored approach to treatment and a quicker recovery for our clients.

What does trauma-informed treatment look like? Any treatment that invites and welcomes clients to participate in the treatment process is considered trauma informed. For example, your provider may ask that you identify your target problem as well as construct and develop personal treatment goals. Your provider will want your buy-in with the different interventions to implement. If an intervention is uncomfortable or worsens symptoms, please inform the provider. TIC advocates for a relationship between the provider and client that is transparent and open in communication.

Screening for trauma from the beginning of the treatment process is also considered trauma-informed. Screening during the intake process can be helpful with identifying any underlying simple or complex trauma. Re-screening should be avoided. Frequently re-screening clients may increase the potential for retraumatization because it requires clients to revisit their traumatic experiences. Minimizing screening frequency and sharing results across treatment settings with appropriate privacy protections (HIPPA) may help reduce re-screening (Trauma Informed Care Implementation Resource Center).

The Clinical Team at WHC is trained in consulting about trauma-specific treatment approaches. The Clinical Team is EMDRIA trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a highly effective and trauma-informed modality used for treating both simple and complex trauma when administered correctly. We are also able to acknowledge when we cannot reasonably treat the trauma presented-when it is outside of our scope of practice and requires treatment by another professional with that specialty. We actively engage referral sources and partner with organizations who provide various specialty treatments outside of our scope of practice.

If you have questions about trauma informed care, please ask any member of our clinical team.

Many thanks to the TICCIRC and the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation for the depth of knowledge they provide surrounding trauma informed treatment and care. Much of the information, including the statistics were developed and published by the Trauma Informed Care Implementation Resource Center. Trauma-Informed Care Implementation Resource Center is a Center for Health Care Strategies website developed with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Works Cited:

Trauma-informed Care, Implementation Resource Center@https:///www.trauminformedcare.chcs.org

Wholeness Healing Center will introduce and discuss Trauma Informed Care during the next year. We will explore how Trauma Informed Care influences and informs the delivery of the care you ultimately receive.

Tags: Definition of trauma informed care, EMDR, EMDR therapy, Trauma Informed Care