By: Bonnie Davidson, Hospital Liaison
There are six core principles of Trauma-Informed Care (TIC): safety, trustworthiness and transparency, peer support, collaboration and mutuality, empowerment through voice and choice, cultural, historical and gender issues.
Trauma-Informed Care has been an important movement moving throughout various agencies and even in private business models. One thing that is often missed, is that trauma-informed care (TIC), can be incorporated in how we treat not only clients, but our coworkers, and can be woven into all aspects of our practice. Coordination of care and continuity of care are supportive of TIC practice.
From the TIC perspective, transparency to both the client and clinicians is important. It builds trust and a feeling of safety, and is supportive of everyone.
Staffing with the clinician and client ahead of time also gives everyone the chance to have a voice and choice. It allows time to process the change and reduce potential triggers. It’s important and worth the extra block of time to plan and coordinate care for all involved. This gives everyone a chance to review historical, cultural, and identity-related concerns that may need to be identified to provide the right kind of treatment, and to help present it in a way that’s not triggering for both clinician and client.
All of this collaboration will lead the client and the clinician to a place of success, and support our goal towards TIC. I encourage those interested in TIC to start reading, watch TED Talks, and participate in any available training regarding TIC.
