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What is Trauma Informed Care?

North Star Oregon • Jul 22, 2024
Everyone goes through different life experiences that shape them. When those experiences are particularly distressing and they impact our worldview and reactions to situations, we refer to them as traumas. At our disability support agency in Oregon, we practice trauma informed care with the individuals we work with. 

Let’s unpack what trauma informed care is and how it’s practiced in a disability support setting. It’ll be easy to see why we implement it at North Star Oregon!

Trauma Informed Care

Trauma informed care acknowledges people’s entire life situations when caring for them. This includes prior distressing events, present circumstances, and triggers. It utilizes this knowledge to avoid retraumatization and provide the best care possible. We see it mentioned in healthcare settings often, but it’s also applicable to support settings for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).

While many people view traumas as singular events, some traumas are caused by ongoing situations. One such situation that can cause trauma is systemic racism. When people are unfairly viewed negatively due to their race, they’re treated differently by society. As a result of this mistreatment, they may be less likely to trust law enforcement, medical providers, and direct support professionals.

Direct support professionals aren’t the only ones who need to be aware of trauma informed care principles. Every staff member at an organization should be educated on them, including those who don’t typically interact with program participants.

It’s also important to incorporate a general understanding of trauma into policies and procedures. While everyone’s traumas are different, there are some common triggers that could be avoided with the right practices.

Trauma Informed Care Principles

There are five main principles of trauma informed care. The first one is awareness of the effects of trauma on those who survived it. Some people aren’t moved by distressing events, and others are never the same again. People who experience trauma may go on to experience depression, panic attacks, substance use disorders, and suicidal thoughts. They may also feel emotionally numb, agitated, exhausted, confused, or dissociated.

The second trauma informed care principle is physical and emotional safety. In order to heal, survivors need to feel like they can be vulnerable without repercussions. Emotionally safe relationships are those free of judgment, criticism, and negativity. Instead, they involve active listening and honesty. Physically safe relationships are easier to picture - using restraints only as a last resort, using care when moving an individual, and never resorting to physical violence.

Another principle includes trustworthiness in processes and relationships. There is never a reason to lie to another person - after all, people with I/DD deserve to know the truth about their care, programming, and who they’re working with. It’s also important for people with disabilities to know how different processes that affect them work, like adding North Star Oregon to their ISP. When people feel like they can trust us, it reduces the chances of retraumatization and helps us form better relationships.

The next principle is empowerment in all decision-making processes. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities have a right to make decisions about their own care. Having that power taken away from them can be triggering or even traumatizing. While we can help people make the best informed decisions for themselves, we should also empower them to have a say.

The last principle of trauma informed care is the inclusiveness of all. This doesn’t just include people with intellectual and developmental disabilities - this also means people with additional disabilities and people from marginalized races, ethnicities, and religions. We must consider a person’s entire background when thinking about ways they may have experienced trauma. For example, they may not have had their religious practices incorporated into their care plan in the past. By understanding ways in which people are systemically left out or mistreated, we can ensure that this doesn’t happen in our care.

Why Use Trauma Informed Care?

Trauma informed care can increase adherence to support programs and medical treatment by making individuals feel heard and understood. It also rebuilds trust in authority figures that may have been broken due to traumatic events or situations. If a person with disabilities was abused by support staff in the past, for instance, they may have trouble working with a new care provider. When they’re able to see that this will not happen again, they are able to start the healing process from this trauma and have better outcomes with attendant care, day programming, and medical treatment.

Each principle of trauma informed care helps with the process of healing from trauma. They’re all designed to make a program participant feel safe, providing agency to each individual with disabilities. Trauma informed care treats people as dignified and capable, making sure their needs are seen and heard.


How to Implement Trauma Informed Care

There are a few easy ways to add trauma informed care principles to our programs. Here are just a few:

 

  • Teach program participants to validate themselves - who they are, who they’re becoming, and how much progress they’ve made so far.
  • Empower program participants to make healthy choices for themselves
  • Remind program participants that they get to decide what they share about themselves and with whom
  • Implement proven calming techniques like deep breathing, yoga, exercise, and music.


Trauma Informed Attendant Care in Oregon

At North Star, we’re committed to providing trauma informed attendant care to individuals with I/DD throughout Oregon. Our care includes support with daily living activities, health related tasks, and any other goals our participants want to achieve. Contact us today to see if your loved one is eligible to have North Star Oregon added to their ISP!


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