Human services practitioners often find themselves at the forefront of trauma. From abuse and neglect to violence and displacement, human services practitioners play a critical role in supporting the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of the people we serve. While it is widely recognized that trauma is a reality for many individuals seeking support within the human services sector, what’s often forgotten is the well-being of the very staff who provide that support.
Trauma is an emotional and physiological response to being exposed to physical, emotional, and/or life-threatening harm. Though individual experiences of trauma may differ, a consistent feature of trauma is its impact on every area of human functioning, including mental, social, behavioral, and physical well-being. Whether as the result of distressing events encountered during childhood or from chronic exposure to troubling situations, many human services practitioners have experienced past trauma while working in the sector.
A paradigm shift in how organizations address trauma is needed to be responsive to these experiences. In this blog post, we will explore trauma-informed approaches to human services and the implications for the workforce.
Understanding Trauma-Informed Approaches
A trauma-informed approach to organizational change is a framework grounded in a set of four assumptions and six key principles. These assumptions are the Four Rs of trauma-informed care, and they refer to realization, recognition, response, and resisting re-traumatization. Put simply, this means that an organization realizes that trauma is pervasive, recognizes the impact of past or ongoing trauma on service participants, families, and staff, and responds by integrating this knowledge into person-centered policies, practices, and procedures that resist re-traumatization.
This process is not passive or linear. Instead, it demands a commitment to ongoing education, self-reflection, and creating an environment that fosters healing, resilience, and empowerment for all individuals and identities.
Six Principles of Trauma-Informed Approaches
The six principles of trauma-informed care are guidelines for appropriately responding to trauma at the individual, organizational, system, and community levels. These principles are an extension of the foundational assumptions outlined in the Four Rs, which focus on understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of various traumas. Below are the six key principles of trauma-informed approaches:
- Safety: Ensure physical and emotional safety for both service participants and staff. This involves creating an environment where individuals feel secure and protected, free from harm or threat.
- Trustworthiness and Transparency: Build and maintain trust by being open and honest in all interactions. Transparency helps individuals feel informed and involved in decisions that affect them.
- Peer Support: Utilize peer support and mutual self-help as crucial components of trauma-informed care. Peer support helps build trust, reduce feelings of isolation, and provide role models for recovery and healing. Peers who have experienced similar traumas can offer unique insights and empathy that professional support may not provide.
- Collaboration and Mutuality: Create opportunities to flatten hierarchical structures and foster mutual respect by emphasizing partnership and collaboration at all levels.
- Empowerment, Voice, and Choice: Prioritize empowerment and give individuals control over their own lives and healing processes. This means recognizing and building on an individual’s strengths, providing opportunities for choice, supporting autonomy, and encouraging self-advocacy.
- Cultural, Historical, and Gender Issues: Recognize and address the cultural, historical, and gender contexts that impact individuals’ experiences and needs. This involves actively working to reduce biases, stereotypes, and disparities.
When implemented correctly, a trauma-informed approach allows organizations to be receptive to the needs of staff and service participants who have experienced trauma. It is an active and intentional commitment to not repeat these experiences and to restore a sense of safety, power, and self-worth to those harmed.
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References and resources to enhance your understanding of this subject can also be found in the Administration for Children & Families (ACF) Resource Guide to Trauma-Informed Human Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) report, “Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach.”