Nebraska Coalition
for Women's Treatment

Trauma Informed Nebraska

PROJECT INFORMATION

Vision Statement

Committed to Whole Person, Whole Response, Whole Recovery

Mission Statement

To oversee the development and implementation of a statewide, consumer-driven, recovery-oriented trauma-informed project

Project Goals

• The utilization of consumers/survivors in all aspects of trauma improvements and practices;
• Administrative commitment and capacity to become a trauma-informed system;
• Service provision that is aware of the origins of trauma, effects of trauma on survivors and their loved ones, and the possibility that re-traumatization may occur if safe, effective, sensitive services are not available;
• Brief, focused, non-threatening screening for trauma conducted as early as possible;
• Consistent, ongoing trauma assessment as an integral part of the clinical picture and used as a part of the treatment and discharge planning;
• Decreasing the stigma surrounding survivors of trauma;
• Policy and procedures that incorporate trauma awareness and use the "expectation, not the exception" guideline in daily treatment practices and;
• The hiring and development of "trauma champions" in behavioral health services.

Definitions

What is trauma?

Psychological trauma involves events or experiences that confront the person directly or as a witness where there exists an immediate perceived threat of death, extreme human suffering, severe bodily harm or injury, coercive exploitation or harassment, or sexual violation.

What are responses to trauma?

Response to traumatic event involves intense fear, helplessness, or horror. Psychological trauma has a direct impact on the brain, body and stress response system. This disrupts the cognitive, emotional , physical, spiritual and relational functioning. Persons with severe and persistent behavioral health problems, including mental illness, and/or substance use disorders, often have experienced trauma. Many suffer from post-traumatic symptoms which exacerbate their other behavioral health problems, impair their psychosocial functioning and interfere with the quality of their lives.

What are traumatic events?

Traumatic events can include rape, physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, war combat, urban street violence, torture, motor vehicle accidents, natural disasters and violence associated with crime.

How can retraumatization occur?

Inadvertent retraumatization can occur in any treatment setting’s usual operating procedure. Some overt examples of retraumatizating events include being hand-cuffed, strip-searched, restrained, confined or "taken-down". More subtle examples of retraumatization include power dynamics in a treatment relationship that leave a person feeling that providers are in control over one’s life; having abuse reports disbelieved by providers, or having intense feelings, such as rage, suppressed and labeled as pathological. Such experiences can result in humiliation, fear, distress and may serve as a cue or trigger to traumatic memories and responses.

Meaning of Recovery

Recovery means finding a genuine basis for hope and personal, relational and spiritual renewal after a traumatic event. Recovery does not mean complete freedom from post-traumatic impairment. Many survivors live healthy and rewarding lives while managing their post-traumatic symptoms. Trauma survivors, their families, and their professional treatment and support providers work toward achieving the goal of recovery by cultivating understanding and providing safety, support, and practical and psychotherapeutic assistance.

Trauma-Informed Services

"Trauma-informed" services are not specifically designed to treat symptoms or syndromes related to sexual or physical abuse or other trauma, but they are informed about, and sensitive to, trauma-related issues present in survivors. A "trauma-informed" system is one in which all components of a given service system have been reconsidered and evaluated in the light of a basic understanding of the role that violence plays in the lives of people seeking mental health and addictions services. A "trauma informed" system uses that understanding to design service systems that accommodate the vulnerabilities of trauma survivors and allows services to be delivered in a way that will avoid retraumatization and will facilitate consumer participation in treatment. It also requires, to the extent possible, closely knit collaborative relationships with other public sector service systems serving these clients and the local network of private practitioners with particular clinical expertise in traumatology" (Harris & Fallot, 2001).