Become a Trauma-Informed Community

Return to Opioid Top-Level Strategy Map or the Zoom Map (Minimize Desire to Misuse Opioids) or ZOOM MAP - Become a Trauma-Informed Community

 

Become a Trauma-Informed Community

To become “Trauma Informed,” it’s necessary for any community to first understand the root causes of trauma. Trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape or natural disaster. Immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical, but may also become delayed or long term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, or even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea.

The Wilson Foundation of Rochester, NY describes the concept of trauma informed community as “...a strategic approach linking all community sectors together around the effects of trauma, while preventing gaps in services for clients. It is coordinated and collaborative; recognizes that the diversity of the population requires individual responses; uses a common language, measurements and accountability.”

Root Causes of Trauma

Trauma is especially common in the lives of people with behavioral and/or substance use disorders, according to SAMHSA. For this reason, the need to address trauma is increasingly viewed as a critical component of behavioral health care and part of the healing and recovery process.

To become “Trauma Informed”, it’s necessary for any community to first understand the root causes of trauma.  The American Psychological Association defines trauma “..as an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape or natural disaster. Immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical. Longer term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea. While these feelings are normal, some people have difficulty moving on with their lives.”

Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years). The survey measures 10 types of childhood trauma; five are personal: physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect; five are related to other family members: a parent who’s an alcoholic, a mother who’s a victim of domestic violence, a family member in jail, a family member diagnosed with a mental illness, and the disappearance of a parent through divorce, death or abandonment. Each type of trauma counts as one. The higher the ACES score, the higher the risk of social and health issues -- including substance use disorder.

Using the ACES survey as a foundation, communities can see how trauma can result from racism and discrimination, intergenerational poverty, lack of job opportunities, exposure to violence, substandard housing and education, and lack of access to key services.

Some communities have developed expanded versions of the ACES survey to address issues specific to their issues. For example, the city of Philadelphia’s Expanded ACE subscale has respondents answer six questions specific to experiences in their communities: witnessing violence, experiencing discrimination, food insecurity, experiencing racism, living in an unsafe neighborhood, being bullied, or living in foster care.

What Is a Trauma Informed Community?

The Wilson Foundation of Rochester, NY describes the concept of trauma informed community as “...a strategic approach linking all community sectors together around the effects of trauma, while preventing gaps in services for clients. It is coordinated and collaborative; recognizes that the diversity of the population requires individual responses; uses a common language, measurements and accountability.”

If a community works to identify the specific drivers of trauma in its own backyard, it can also identify the factors that influence substance use disorder, allowing them to create the appropriate community supports for behavioral health care plus healing and recovery.  

Trauma-Informed Systems

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network describes a trauma-informed service system as  one where all agencies, programs, and service providers have a trauma-informed perspective: 

• Routinely screen for trauma exposure and related symptoms.
• Use evidence-based, culturally responsive assessment and treatment for traumatic stress and associated mental health symptoms.
• Make resources available to children, families, and providers on trauma exposure, its impact, and treatment.
• Engage in efforts to strengthen the resilience and protective factors of children and families impacted by and vulnerable to trauma.
• Address parent and caregiver trauma and its impact on the family system.
• Emphasize continuity of care and collaboration across child-service systems. 
• Maintain an environment of care for staff that addresses, minimizes, and treats secondary traumatic stress, and that increases staff wellness.

 

    

Successful City Initiatives

Self-Healing Communities program in Washington

  Community Trauma and Addressing Community Trauma
  The Prevention Institute is working on understanding and addressing Community Trauma in Ohio
    https://blog.oup.com/2018/05/underlying-drivers-opioid-crisis/

 

Training Opportunities and Materials

There is a growing amount of material on how trauma-informed practices can improve prevention, treatment and recovery.

 

Training on Trauma-Informed Practices as a Prevention Strategy

Webinar on How to Implement Trauma-Informed Practices in Schools by Jim Sporleder
  Webinar on Implementing Trauma-Informed Approaches in Minnesota Schools hosted by Minnesota Communities Caring for Children

 

Training in Trauma-Informed Practices for Addiction Treatment

New Beginnings, a Minnesota-based treatment center, will be conducting a workshop on Trauma-Informed Care in Addiction Treatment on August 10, 2018
 

 

 

Tools & Resources

TR - Become a Trauma-Informed Community
RXTip.org- submit anonymous tips about drug abuse

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Potential Actions and Partners(Under construction) 

 

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