Trauma Informed: What Does It Even Mean? 

The term ‘trauma informed’ is used widely, but what does it really mean? In this blog, we’ll cover how we see the term trauma informed and why working with a trauma informed psychologist can work for you.

Trauma is ubiquitous, that is, it’s everywhere. Whether it’s someone who’s involved in a car accident, a serious physical or sexual assault, a natural disaster, of the death of a loved one under difficult circumstances. For people who work in first responder roles (Police, Fire, Ambulance, Paramedic, Military, etc.), their daily activities often revolve around attending to and managing traumatic incident after traumatic incident.

Some people may experience complex trauma. This kind of trauma can involve trauma inflicted by someone who we have a relationship with, usually a family member. This relationship, coupled with trauma, can cause even more profound changes to a person, their development, and the structure of their personality. Complex trauma could stem from long-term and severe childhood trauma, torture and neglect, and prolonged and severe domestic violence situations. Of all the types of trauma, sexual violence tends to be the trauma that most readily causes and lead to trauma symptoms.

Most people will be involved in one form of trauma during their lifetime. Being aware of what is, and is not trauma, is an important starting point. Being trauma informed means understanding what situations have the potential to cause trauma and trauma reactions. Trauma informed Psychologists generally consider trauma when a person has been exposure to actual or threated death, serious injury, or sexual violence, or when a close other has been exposed to this kind of threat. Some experiences that would generally not be considered trauma would be the loss of a job, the end of a relationship, a disagreement with someone, changes at school or in workplace, getting reprimanded for poor behaviour, etc. Although these situations could most certainly cause marked distress and disruption to a person’s life, they are not considered traumatic. Being trauma informed means understanding what trauma is not.

Some common reactions to trauma can include:

·        Strong negative emotions, such as anxiety, fear, guilt, shame, grief, depression, and anger.

·        People can reexperience their trauma through memories and ‘flashbacks’ in their mind. During severe flashbacks the person behaves and acts as though they are back in the traumatic incident.

·        Nightmares, which may be of the traumatic event, or nightmares where the person’s thought content does not exactly match the trauma that they experienced.

·        Avoidance. After experiencing trauma, people can often aim to avoid any reminder (internal or external) of the traumatic event.

·        Generally increased anxiety levels.

·        Changed world view. What was once simple and easy (e.g. going out for dinner, going to the local shopping centre) can now be perceived as threatening and dangerous.

·        Reduced sense of connection to close others.

These trauma symptoms and reactions may not make much sense to you, or to the family of those affected by trauma. Many of these changes can be difficult for the family of the person who experienced trauma to understand. Certainly, for the trauma sufferer themself, they may also not understand why they are feeling the way they are following a traumatic event, or why they are responding the way they are responding. Sometimes the symptoms of trauma can lead to further problems in the life of the trauma sufferer (e.g. relationship problems and absenteeism from work). Being trauma informed means understanding how trauma might be impacting a person’s life ‘at large’.

When trauma causes a certain level of impact on a person’s life, a trauma informed Psychologist may consider the diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This diagnosis is given when a significant number of trauma symptoms are present, and they are having a marked impact on a person’s life. For example, the traumatized person may avoid conversations, they may not want to talk to certain people, movies or sounds can trigger an anxious response, when they feel overwhelmed, they can become angry and irritable. Being trauma informed means understanding when a person’s reactions and behaviours may be stemming from their trauma experience. If you or your loved one has been experiencing symptoms following a traumatic event, this may indicate the development of trauma symptoms, or PTSD.

When dealing with people who have experienced trauma, or even when we don’t know a person’s history or experience, it’s important to be aware of the potential for others to be struggling with trauma symptoms. When others react in ways that we don’t understand, it’s important to be “curious, not critical” of those reactions. Asking the question internally, “I wonder why they responded that way”, rather than, “they should not respond that way”. Being trauma informed means having openness and patience, and allowing the trauma sufferer to build trust.

We hope this blog has helped you to better understand trauma and trauma informed care. If you have any other questions about trauma or if you would like the assistance of a trauma informed psychologist following a traumatic event, please reach out using the contact details on the website. 

Click here to learn more about Dr Mark Bartholomew, our services or you can take a look at our Blog page.