What is Trauma Informed ?
The concept of “trauma-informed” has become quite widely used nowadays. Trauma-informed care, trauma-informed healthcare, trauma-informed school, trauma-informed community, trauma-informed yoga… you name it.
Trauma is a more common phenomenon than thought and affects a large part of society. It literally rewires the brain and nervous system. That’s why it often leaves the sufferer with mental or physical problems.
The US National Council for Behavioral Health finds that more than 70% of US adults will experience some type of traumatic event at least once in their lives. Additionally, more than 90% of clients receiving mental health services report having experienced trauma.
When not handled carefully, trauma can lead to mental health problems and substance abuse may cause or exacerbate use disorders. Moreover can lead to deterioration of physical health.
The landmark Adverse Childhood Experiences Study is one of the first studies to find a clear association between childhood trauma experiences and poorer health later in life.
In the 1990s, experts such as Judith Hermann and Bessel van der Kolk were publishing studies showing different aspects of trauma. When the study of Adverse Childhood Experiences was first published in 1998, it coincidentally created a significant awakening to the effects of trauma.
However, neither the healthcare system nor physicians were very interested in the results of this study for a long time. An incident that resulted in the suicide of a 32-year-old patient named Anna Jennings in 1992 led to a realization of the importance of “trauma-informed” approaches. Anna, who had a difficult trauma experience in the early period and received treatment for a total of 17 years in her life, was re-traumatized many times during the treatment process. Her mother would later emphasize that Anna was never given a trauma assessment and that ACE was very high.
Thanks to many studies continued, the concept of “Trauma Informed Care” formed. SAMSHA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) has prepared an approach framework consisting of 6 main articles. The six principles of a trauma-informed approach are:
Safety
We need to ask people what safety means to them. We cannot provide a sense of safety for EVERYONE if we do not challenge our own worldview, assumptions, and life experience of what security means to us. We must ensure that we create safety for those who have experiences that differ from ours.
This means that we take into account people’s ages, cultural differences, ethnic identities, demographic characteristics. Safety refers to awareness of physical, emotional, and interpersonal safety. It has physical, psychological, social and ethical dimensions.
Trustworthiness and Transparency
In trauma-informed approaches, operations and decisions should be made with transparency at the forefront. The aim should be to establish and maintain trust among service recipients, staff and stakeholders. When we promote trustworthiness and transparency, it means we invite other voices to speak up and participate.
Keeping secrets and withholding information is not trauma-informed. No matter what kind of community/organization it is, reliability and transparency start with a culture of connection in relationships. Everything from a simple warm smile when you greet someone to approaching conflict safely and respectfully is important. Conflict is a normal part of human relationships, but how we deal with conflict can be very damaging and cause trauma. Many people have experienced trauma in their educational and work environments for this reason. Building strong relationships that have the flexibility to overcome conflict in a transformative way is crucial.
Peer Support
Individuals and organizations knowledgeable about trauma prioritize practices such as peer support. This principle is about integrating peer support culture and values. Each person and organization working in the trauma-informed field focuses on the possibility of creating opportunities for reciprocity of peer support from leaders, staff, and volunteers. An organization that creates opportunities for deeper interconnections among those involved is trauma-informed.
Cooperation and Reciprocity
A collaborative attitude is required for everyone in a trauma-informed approach. There is a deliberate shoulder-to-shoulder approach and focus on breaking down hierarchies within a trauma-informed person or organization. We cannot avoid the fact that there are different roles with different levels of responsibility. With this, we can eliminate power differences and hierarchy and build partnerships by promoting the spirit of unity and equality among people.
Empowerment, Voice and Choice
An important aspect of this principle is that the person or organization must believe in the possibility of healing from trauma. Those who survive trauma are already resilient.
Empowerment means continuing to support people’s inner resilience. Empowerment comes from one’s own inner wisdom and strength, rather than power given to one by an outside “expert.”
Sometimes we shine a light on strengths and talents that they may not be able to see with their own eyes due to trauma. Many people who experience trauma experience a variety of difficulties. Therefore, choice is really important. A person should always have a choice. Dr. Peter A. Levine says: “Resilient strength is the opposite of helplessness… Empowerment is the acceptance of personal authority. It arises from one’s capacity to choose the direction and application of one’s own energy. Mastery is having skillful techniques to successfully deal with the threat.”
Cultural, Historical and Gender Issues
A trauma-informed approach actively challenges past cultural stereotypes and biases (e.g., based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, geography), provides gender-sensitive inclusive services, draws on the healing value of traditional cultural connections, and recognizes and addresses historical trauma. gets.
We choose to view each day through a trauma-informed lens and do everything we can to avoid unintentionally re-traumatizing someone.
To summarize in this context, being “trauma informed” means based on an understanding and sensitivity to the impact of trauma; It provides a foundational framework that emphasizes physical, psychological, and emotional safety, creating opportunities to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment for both the provider and the survivor.
A trauma-informed person, program, organization, or system mentions 4 important items to guide individuals and society. These are defined as the 4 R’s. The 4Rs include; Realizing, Recognize, Respond, Resist Re-traumatization.
Means,
- Being aware of the prevalence and impact of trauma and understanding potential pathways to recovery.
- Understanding and recognizing the signs and symptoms of trauma experience if present in everyone involved in a system (patients, families, staff, etc.).
- Responding by fully integrating trauma information into policies, procedures, and practices.
- Actively resisting and protecting against retraumatization.
As ideas and practices spread through society, we begin to discover the lesser-known Rs of trauma-informed approaches; Respect, Relationship, Resiliency, Regulation, Recovery.
This guidance leads to changes that promote resilience and regulation for positive recovery including Respect and Relationship, are important elements in creating a trauma-informed (cultural) approach.
Trauma-informed practitioners are committed to continuing their education in the field of trauma, staying abreast of innovations, developments, and practices in the field, including safety, trustworthiness and transparency, peer support, collaboration and reciprocity, empowerment, voice and choice, and cultural, historical, social, and gender issues. They internalize basic principles and act accordingly.