WHAT IS NOT TRAUMA INFORMED?

What is Not Trauma Informed ?

Trauma Informed Approach,

• It is not trauma therapy. Some people develop trauma disorder after a traumatic experience and may need trauma therapy. This should be offered only by a trauma therapist trained in trauma. But you don’t have to be a clinician to support someone or accompany them on their path to recovery. There are many things that support healing and can be hugely transformative. Establishing safe, support-centered relationships that respect boundaries is an important part of healing from trauma.

• Doesn’t focus on the negative. It doesn’t look for trauma underneath everything. It does not glorify trauma. In contrast, the trauma-informed approach focuses on healing, well-being, and resilience. Approach tries to find tiny resources that will help people breathe in their difficult times. A trauma-informed approach trained providers to be aware of how their words, attitudes, and behaviors can deeply impact someone who has experienced trauma and is trying to avoid re-traumatizing people.

• It doesn’t justify bad behavior. A trauma-informed approach does not justify bad and destructive behavior just because a person is traumatized. A trauma-informed approach supports expectations regarding accountability, personal responsibility, and behavior. Supports people with compassion and empathy. Boundaries are very important.

• It’s not just about being gentle and kind. Kindness is at the forefront of a trauma-informed approach, but compassion is not soft and flimsy. A compassionate approach is firm, has clear boundaries, and is grounded in love and empathy.

•  An important goal of the trauma-informed approach is to avoid unnecessary re-traumatization. However, stress cannot always be avoided. Life has some stressful elements that cannot be avoided. It is also important for people to learn the tools to cope with stress and difficult situations, expand their tolerance windows, and develop flexible endurance.

• It does not focus only on the individual. A trauma-informed approach supports individuals, but it is a systems approach. He is also aware of the social, political and economic reasons for traumatic situations. We know that recovery is not only the responsibility of the individual, and that improvements must be made to prevent trauma in the system we live in.

• Being trauma-informed is not a box we can tick. It is not one certificate that we will eventually earn, like other skill trainings. It creates a framework for us to share and apply our knowledge. This may only be the beginning, as humans and their unique experiences are at stake. We must continue to increase our knowledge and understanding to make our practices more sensitive to traumatic experiences.

So instead of saying “I am trauma informed”…

I practice from a trauma-informed framework…
I try to provide service keeping in mind that some people who receive services from me may have experienced trauma.
My training and approach see, know and recognize that there are many different ways that trauma affects our mental and physical health.
I strive to apply a trauma-informed approach in my word and deed, and in the service I provide. It might be more appropriate to say… Saying you are trauma informed and practicing trauma informed are two completely different things.

“The past lives within us. Our past lives within us, often in ways we are unaware of. All of the times we’ve been left alone, shouted at, hurt, neglected, abused, misunderstood, challenged, or otherwise traumatized leave scars on our bodies that can last for years and decades.

The question is not whether these memories exist in us, but how they live in us.”

– Peter Levine