Summary: <p>16 Principles for Trauma Informed Assessment and Treatment<br> ~ Promote Trauma awareness and understanding<br> ~ Recognize That Trauma-Related Symptoms and Behaviors Originate From Adapting to Traumatic Experiences<br> ~ View Trauma in the Context of Individuals’ Environments<br> ~ Minimize the Risk of Retraumatization or Replicating Prior Trauma Dynamics<br> ~ Create a Safe Environment<br> ~ Identify Recovery From Trauma as a Primary Goal<br> ~ Support Control, Choice, and Autonomy<br> ~ Create Collaborative Relationships and Participation Opportunities<br> ~ Familiarize the Client With Trauma-Informed Services<br> ~ Incorporate Universal Routine Screenings for Trauma<br> ~ View Trauma Through a Sociocultural Lens<br> ~ Use a Strengths-Focused Perspective: Promote Resilience<br> ~ Foster Trauma-Resistant Skills<br> ~ Demonstrate Organizational and Administrative Commitment to TIC<br> ~ Develop Strategies To Address Secondary Trauma and Promote Self-Care<br> ~ Provide Hope—Recovery Is Possible</p> <p>Screening<br> ~ The most important domains to screen among individuals with trauma histories include:<br> ~ Trauma-related symptoms.<br> ~ Depressive or dissociative or intrusive symptoms, sleep disturbances<br> ~ Past and present mental disorders<br> ~ Severity or characteristics of a specific trauma type (e.g., forms of interpersonal violence, adverse childhood events, combat experiences).<br> ~ Substance abuse.<br> ~ Social support and coping styles.<br> ~ Availability of resources.<br> ~ Risks for self-harm, suicide, and violence.<br> ~ Health screenings.</p> <p>Advice About Screening<br> Discussing the occurrence or consequences of traumatic events can feel as unsafe and dangerous to the client as if the event were reoccurring. Don’t encourage avoidance of the topic or reinforce the belief that discussing trauma-related material is dangerous. Initial questions about trauma should be general and gradual. Ask all clients about any history of trauma; use a checklist to increase proper identification of such a history. By going over the answers with the client, you can gain a deep understanding of your client. Do not require clients to describe emotionally overwhelming traumatic events in detail. Focus assessment on how trauma symptoms affect clients’ current functioning. Talk about how you will use the findings to plan the client’s treatment, and discuss any immediate action necessary, such as arranging for interpersonal support, referrals to community agencies, or moving directly into the active phase of treatment. It is helpful to explore the strategies clients have used in the past that have worked to relieve strong emotions. Finally, make sure the client is grounded and safe before leaving. Readiness to leave can be assessed by checking on the degree to which the client is conscious of the current environment, what the client’s plan is for maintaining personal safety, and what the client’s plans are for the rest of the day.</p> <p>~ Elicit only the information necessary for determining a history of trauma and the possible existence and extent of traumatic stress symptoms and related disorders.<br> ~ Even if a client wants to tell his or her trauma story, it’s your job to serve as “gatekeeper” and preserve the client’s safety.<br> ~ Your tone of voice when suggesting postponement of a discussion of trauma is very important. Avoid conveying the message, “I really don’t want to hear about it.”</p> <p>Grounding Techniques<br> ~ Ask the client to state what he or she observes.<br> ~ Guide the client through this exercise by using statements like, “You seem to feel very scared/angry right now. You’re probably feeling things related to what happened in the past. Now, you’re in a safe situation. Let’s try to stay in the present. Take a slow deep breath, relax your shoulders, put your feet on the floor; let’s talk about what day and time it is, notice what’s on the wa</p>
