Trauma-informed care is a framework for delivering healthcare that acknowledges the profound effects of trauma on individuals’ lives. Its goal is to foster an environment that promotes safety, respect, and empowerment in order to promote healing. Many individuals seeking support have endured traumatic experiences such as abuse, violence, neglect, loss, or oppression, all of which can influence their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. This approach recognizes the resilience and strengths of trauma survivors, respecting their diverse coping mechanisms and preferences to provide more compassionate and effective care. You can use this trauma-informed care cheat sheet to help your organization become more trauma-informed.
Trauma-informed care cheat sheet: 6 steps to improving care
In this cheat sheet, we’ll walk you through the six principles of trauma-informed care, providing actionable steps to help you monitor your progress. Let’s get started!
1. Safety
- Implement policies to prevent stalking, harassment, and violence.
- Provide staff training on trauma-informed care, crisis prevention, and healthy boundaries.
- Include trauma-informed principles in onboarding for all new employees.
2. Trustworthiness and transparency
- Train supervisors in trauma-informed supervision to build trust.
- Offer tangible support: competitive wages, manageable caseloads, and professional development opportunities.
- Review funding structures through a trauma-informed lens.
3. Peer support
- Hire peer support professionals to promote healing through connection.
- Create nonjudgmental spaces for staff to exchange feedback and support.
4. Collaboration and mutuality
- Engage all stakeholders (clients, staff, external partners) in the trauma-informed care process.
- Promote collaboration between all levels of staff and clients.
- Train staff to foster collaboration across teams and with external partners.
5. Empowerment, voice, and choice
- Recruit individuals with trauma-informed perspectives, including trauma survivors.
- Empower staff to set and pursue professional development goals.
- Break down the “clinician vs. client” binary by normalizing coping with trauma.
6. Cultural, historical, and gender issues
- Evaluate the demographics of your clients and hire staff that reflect those demographics.
- Create a client/community oversight board to ensure your services meet client needs.
7. Integrating trauma-informed practices into your organization’s culture
- Conduct a full trauma-informed organizational assessment.
- Integrate trauma-informed principles into strategic planning and evaluation processes.
- Ensure leadership promotes well-being through boundary-setting and work-life balance.
- Consider reducing client loads or closing the office for strategic planning to focus on organizational culture.
Creating a Trauma-Informed System of Care: Addressing Individuals, Professionals, and Organizations
Want to learn more about how you can build a safer, more effective, and trauma-informed organization that supports both your staff and those you serve? Download our e-book that explores how to create a trauma-informed system of care.
In this e-book you'll learn:
- What is trauma and how it affects different populations.
- Best practices for addressing trauma with the individuals you serve.
- Best practices for addressing trauma in your staff, clinical and non-clinical.
- How to become a trauma-informed organization, including the key elements of the trauma-informed model of care.
- And more!
