Four Flipsides of Trauma-Informed Care: What It Isn’t
The variation in language and definition for what trauma actually is (and how best to provide meaningful care) can be less than helpful. Let’s talk about what trauma-informed care isn’t and lean into what it is.
“I have been in therapy since 2020 with all this pandemic trauma.”
“Oh my gosh, Sonic messed up my order AGAIN! So much trauma today!”
“I think she’s experienced some trauma, because she was abused as a kid.”
The term “trauma-informed care” has been a buzz-word for the last 5 - 10 years. (We’ll use “care” and “content” interchangeably depending on context.) With such diverse definitions of the word “trauma,”, it’s hard to know what’s real and applicable to our lives. If you search the word, “trauma” in Apple podcasts, there’s more results than you’ll ever want to listen to. So, let’s dive in, and look at the flipsides of what “trauma-informed care” actually is not…and lean into what it is.
Trauma-informed care, according to Dr. Karyn Purvis of TCU’s Karyn Purvis Institute for Child Development, is care that understands the child’s (or person’s) history, and views their treatment through that lens. Also, let’s be clear - trauma is not defined as a daily hassle, an inconvenience, or a paper-cut. The definition of trauma is either neglect or abuse (physical, emotional, sexual, spiritual), plain and simple.
First, trauma-informed care does NOT see a person for who they “should” be.
When a person has experienced trauma - defined as neglect or abuse - it alters their brain. The brain literally looks different under CT scans, and the brain informs behavior that is different than before the trauma. Rewiring our brains after trauma takes time, and learning about trauma-informed care does two things. First, it helps those of us who have experienced trauma to understand ourselves better. We can gain more patience and grace for ourselves when we understand how trauma affects our brains, our bodies, and our belief systems. Secondly, trauma-informed content educates us about the behavior of those around us who have been through hard things. For example, when our son explodes in anger, yelling, “I hate you,” it’s possible his actions in this moment are not about me (as a parent), at all. Perhaps he was set off by a series of events that helped him to feel unsafe or unseen. Trauma-informed care by the parent (in this scenario) doesn’t respond with, “Why do you hate me? I’ve done nothing but love you and care for you for years!” Instead, a parent can respond with, “I can see you are very angry right now, Johnny. I’m so sorry this is a hard moment for you…” The second response reflects a deeper understanding of Johnny’s outburst, and seeks to address the root of it - in this case - feeling unsafe or unseen.
Second, trauma-informed content is NOT to be learned and practiced in a vacuum.
When I began learning about trauma, and its effect on my children, my first thought was, “Oh no! I’ve been doing this all wrong!” …and I felt like a terrible parent. The reality is that trauma is a broad and complex topic, and I needed time to learn and understand it. You don’t know what you don’t know, you know? It’s the noble soul that realizes the lack, and seeks to learn more. This kind of learning requires community and follow up. There are three aspects to the learning process: awareness, understanding, and application. For something as complicated as trauma, it takes time, coaching, and practice to implement helpful strategies. This is a pillar of the work we do at James Trail (schedule your initial call with us). We not only want to provide awareness and understanding through trauma training/resources, but we also provide follow-up in numerous ways (application of content to each situation).
1. Sign up with our Trail Guides, and you will have the opportunity to connect monthly with a trained professional, who can help you continue to apply concepts to your family or situation. Start your journey with a free 30-minute call
2. Another way to connect is through Instagram, Facebook, and signing up for our newsletters. We have lived our own hard stories, and we’re here to walk with you through yours.
NOTE: If you or your child is experiencing an emergency, please dial 911. James Trail is not an urgent care provider, but rather, we walk the trail of life with people and families in hard places.
Third, trauma-informed care is NOT based on opinions, but instead, it is based on years of research from dozens of practitioners.
Dr. Karen Purvis, Dr. Curt Thompson, and Dr. Dan Siegel are just a beginning to the long list of professionals whose life-work has been researching and refining trauma-informed care, based on their clinical experience with thousands of individuals and families. Please see examples of their work:
https://child.tcu.edu/about-us/research/#sthash.vsN09OcN.dpbs
https://curtthompsonmd.com/books/
Fourth, trauma-informed care is NOT merely food-for-thought, but instead, it is nourishment for the soul.
The more we learn about how trauma affects all of us, we can begin to offer more empathy to the hurting world around us. Have you ever heard someone being overly dramatic and thought, wow, they just need to get over it? It is possible the person was, in fact, being dramatic…but it is also possible that trauma has affected their view of the world - and small things have become overwhelming to them. Knowing this, we can respond by listening patiently, helping the person feel seen and heard.
This is how Jesus ministered to people. In Mark 9, when a dad came to him, crying out for Jesus to heal his son, Jesus did not say, “Stop yelling at me!” Instead, Jesus knew that this dad needed two things: healing for his son, and belief. He went straight to the needs with patience and grace. We might not always be able to respond like Jesus did, but if we can provide more empathy to those in our world, we will see souls nourished and transformed.
