Title
TRAUMA INFORMED CARE
Shifting the focus from "What's wrong with you?" to "What happened to you?"
Did you know Adverse Childhood Experiences, or “ACEs,” can have a lasting effect throughout a person’s lifetime?
What are Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)?
Psychological trauma is an occurrence which is outside the normal everyday human experience and which would be notably distressing to almost anyone, a single event or series of events that cause lasting emotional effects, such as a natural disaster, physical, sexual or emotional abuse, or neglect. Trauma affects a child’s development as the brain grows. In adulthood, people who have experienced ACE’s have a greater likelihood of poor mental or physical health.
What ACEs Are Not
ACEs do not alone determine an individual’s future health outcomes, as each of our experiences are unique to each of us, depending on how we feel about a traumatic event and what kind of care we receive after a trauma.
Just because a person has experienced ACEs, it does not mean that the person is going to have poor mental or physical health.
HOW COMMON ARE ACEs?
ACEs
are common
According to the CDC, about 61% of adults surveyed across 25 states reported that they had experienced at least one type of ACE, and nearly 1 in 6 reported they had experienced four or more types of ACEs.
ACCORD's Commitment
We believe in the strength, dignity, and potential of all people. ACCORD provides an environment that promotes safety, healing, and self-determination.
When you visit ACCORD, you should be welcomed with a friendly smile or “hello.” Staff will listen and give you a chance to tell us how we might be able to help you. Staff won’t have all the answers, but they will do what they can to help your family.
Staff receive annual and ongoing training on providing trauma-informed care.
Trauma-informed care is a compassionate approach used by human service providers that teach workers to ask, “What has happened to this person and how can I help?” We look at the strengths of the individual, person, child, family to provide a safe and supportive space for healing to begin.
ACCORD staff will provide space free of judgement to ensure your physical and emotional safety. We will be honest with you and provide you with all of the options available to you. We will listen to your experiences without judgement, criticism or interruptions to build on the strengths and skills you already have to allow you to make a choice that is best for your situation.
People start to heal the moment they feel heard.
-Cheryl Richardson-
The CDC's Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR), in collaboration with SAMHSA's National Center for Trauma-Informed Care (NCTIC), developed and led a new training for OPHPR employees about the role of trauma-informed care during public health emergencies. The training aimed to increase responder awareness of the impact that trauma can have in the communities where they work. Participants learned SANHSA'S six principles that guide a trauma-informed approach, including:
6 GUIDING PRINCIPLES TO A TRAUMA-INFORMED APPROACH
Adopting a trauma-informed approach is not accomplished through any single particular technique or checklist. It requires constant attention, caring awareness, sensitivity, and possibly a cultural change at an organizational level. On-going internal organizational assessment and quality improvement, as well as engagement with community stakeholders, will help to imbed this approach which can be augmented with organizational development and practice improvement. The training provided by OPHPR and NCTIC was the first step for CDC to view emergency preparedness and response through a trauma-informed lens.