Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on domestic violence and abuse in the US is reason for concern, and certainly disturbing. One in four youngsters reportedly suffers from some kind of abuse. About one in four females will be victims of physical or sexual abuse in her own home. Furthermore, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 males have been victims of rape at some time in their life, with 1 in 12 women and 3 in 10 men having been raped before the age of ten. This indicates a substantial percentage of the population has been exposed to severe trauma.
Medical examinations are inherently intrusive. Inquiries and examinations of private areas of the body, as well as the delivery of potentially unpleasant treatments, fall under this category. As a result, it’s crucial that doctors keep in mind their patients’ past traumatic experiences when treating them. Herein is where trauma responsive services should be mindfully adhered to.
Some Examples of Trauma
Separation from family, natural disasters, bullying and cyberbullying, and chronic as well as historical stresses including poverty, prejudice, and intergenerational trauma (https://dictionary.apa.org/intergenerational-trauma) are only a few examples of traumatic experiences. The effects of COVID-19 on social isolation and rising mortality tolls at home and abroad add it to this list.
Having gone through traumatic experiences, either as a kid or an adult, is a common thread among those who struggle with drug abuse. When someone is abusing substances, they are more likely to experience traumatic events like risky encounters and accidents. Problematic drug abuse, mental health issues, and persistent physical illness are all linked to trauma that has gone untreated.
One of the initial studies examining the connections between trauma and substance usage in women revealed that somehow a history of abuse significantly raised the risk that a woman might begin abusing substances. In addition, the treatment results for those with histories of trauma and drug misuse are poorer than for those without such histories. Thus, when clients have experienced trauma in the past, the counseling process becomes more complex, and the counselor’s position becomes more demanding.
Trauma Is Multi-Layered
Trauma may be defined using what the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration calls the “Three Es”: event(s), experience, and effects. These aspects include the singularity of each person’s reaction to a given experience and the many ways in which that event might shape one’s future actions and state of mind.
An event may be measured and evaluated accurately. Cruelty (physical, emotional, sexual), marital or communal violence, a catastrophe or natural catastrophe, war or terrorism, and so on all qualify as traumatic occurrences. Given that it is the individual’s reaction to the event that constitutes the experience, it is impossible to quantify. It may be life-threatening, physically or emotionally overpowering, and severity varies.
Culture, race, and age all have a role in shaping an individual’s perspective, which may lead to significant differences in how two people react to the same incident. It is possible that elements like resilience, risk, and protective supports, and so on, all had a role in this. Effects are the ways in which a person responds to something or how their conduct is altered as a result of that something. Typical signs include a heightened state of alertness (e.g., behaving rashly or being hypervigilant), reliving the trauma via dreams or flashbacks, and responding with a “fight, flight, or freeze” response to avoidance. Trauma may affect neurobiological development and cause stress-related physical, hormonal, and chemical alterations.
Recent Findings
It is crucial to understand trauma’s widespread effect on survivors, health personnel, organizations, and communities. There is a growing consensus that trauma-responsive services are a crucial part of comprehensive mental health care.
Strategies Based on Knowledge of Trauma
The use of trauma-informed strategies has recently gained a lot of attention. Characteristic of these methods is the attempt to improve the quality, efficiency, and accessibility of services delivered to people and communities by embedding a knowledge of trauma (know more about here) at all levels of the providing institution or system. The concept of “trauma-informed care” has been implemented in many fields, including the medical, educational, social service, and legal sectors.
Trauma Informed Approach to Healing
Adherence to these six principles characterizes a trauma-informed approach, rather than a rigid set of processes. Although nomenclature and application may vary by location or industry, these ideas may be transferable to a wide variety of contexts.
- Safety
- Dependability and Openness
- Help from peers.
- Cooperation and shared benefit
- Independence, agency, and option
- Diversity of Cultures, Ages, and Gender
From this vantage point, it is essential to advocate for the connection between trauma survivors’ healing and their families’ resilience. In line with this understanding of recovery, trauma-informed services and supports are founded on the most up-to-date research and data as well as on the active participation, autonomy, and partnership of individuals experiencing trauma and their support networks.
Methods Tailored to Treating Trauma
The following are typically acknowledged by trauma intervention programs:
- The survivor’s desire to be heard, understood, included, and given reason to believe in his or her own healing
- Substance addiction, eating disorders, major depressive disorder, and anxiety all have a connection to traumatic experiences and their associated symptoms.
- Survivors, their support systems, and other organizations in the human services field need to work together to provide the resources that survivors and their families need to heal.
The following are examples of well-known public system approaches for addressing trauma, all of which are grounded on the idea that individuals may take control of their own lives via increased psychological and educational empowerment.
Please keep in mind that this list of interventions is being provided only for educational and informative reasons.
- Model for Integrating Recovery from Addiction and Trauma
- Risking Connection
- The Safe Haven Method of approaching trauma.
- The Intersection of Trauma, Addiction, Mental Illness, and Resilience
- Affect Regulation in Trauma: A Curriculum and Treatment Manual
- Model for Trauma Healing and Self-Directed Growth
