Australia is a beautiful country,
Wild and rugged,
And the weather,
Increasingly we are having natural disasters such as fires and floods that are having devastating effects on our environment,
Our animals,
Creatures and humans and their homes and families.
Together we lead the way when we can collaborate far and wide to expand society's collective knowledge in this field of post-traumatic stress,
Stress-related compassion fatigue that affects us as we navigate the adversities of our lives.
We understand trauma and we understand that there are certain factors that can lead to post-traumatic growth,
Doesn't always have to be post-traumatic stress.
So let's begin with Module 1,
Introduction to Trauma-Informed Care.
In this module,
We'll be exploring the basics of trauma-informed care.
This will help you to build an understanding of the six trauma-informed care principles that will be covered in detail throughout this course.
What is trauma-informed care?
It is a strength-based framework that is grounded in an understanding of and responsiveness to the impact of trauma that emphasises physical,
Psychological and emotional safety for both providers and survivors and that creates opportunities for survivors to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment.
This is a quote by Hopper,
Basug and Olivette from 2010.
So trauma-informed care is an evidenced,
Informed approach that can be used by individuals and organisations who work with individuals,
Families,
Teams and communities that have experienced a potentially traumatic event at some point in their time of their life.
Essentially,
Being trauma-informed requires that every aspect of the organisation or service delivery is mindful of the potential trauma histories of the people that engage with the organisation.
At a minimum,
Trauma-informed organisations aim to provide an increased sense of safety and strive to avoid any re-traumatising of trauma-impacted people.
So whatever your role or organisation,
Trauma-informed care provides a valuable set of principles to help adapt and guide your work whenever you are interacting with a trauma-impacted individual and their communities.
It's not something that only mental health professionals can do.
It's not a skill that qualifies you to provide therapy or counselling.
It is not pressuring people to speak about the details of the trauma.
It's not something that you only use when working with people who are acutely distressed by their trauma experience.
It's not a form of psychology debriefing or critical incident stress debriefing,
Which is not a recommended approach for supporting people after trauma.
And it's not mental health first aid or psychological first aid.
The principles of trauma-informed care are building trauma awareness,
Promoting safety,
Helping to rebuild control,
Focusing on strengths,
Promoting connection and a belief in recovery.
Through being trauma-aware and using the core principles of trauma-informed care to guide practice,
A trauma-informed worker can establish an environment within which recovery from trauma becomes possible.
When workers are aware of trauma and its impacts,
They can understand various behaviours that trauma-impacted people may present with,
Work with people to address challenges and barriers to their recovery,
Allowing trauma-impacted individuals to share and discuss their experiences on their own terms,
Emphasise the importance of choice and self-determination for the trauma-impacted individual,
Actively support people to identify and manage stresses and problems,
Drawing links between their trauma exposure and patterns of difficult experiences.
In helping to rebuild a sense of control,
Organisations can create predictable,
Stable environments that facilitate the trauma-impacted person's ability to rebuild a sense of control over their own lives.
So let's now look towards a focus on strengths.
Trauma-informed workers come from a strengths-based perspective,
Seeking to encourage self-empowerment in the trauma-impacted individuals they work with.
It is understood that experiences of trauma,
Particularly where exposure may be ongoing,
Can lead to difficulties with problem-solving,
Marshalling resources,
Prioritising and following through with actions.
In many cases,
A person's foundational skills and resources have been eroded,
And learning new responses is challenging due to having to cope with the ongoing impacts of trauma.
Developing skills for psychosocial resilience is integral to sustainable recovery from trauma.
