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Spring 2009 | Vol 12 No 3

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Sheila Lacroix

Trauma-informed care

National Center for Trauma-Informed Care

SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services established the NCTIC to offer technical assistance for supporting and implementing trauma-informed care throughout publicly funded U.S. systems and programs. The site offers an overview of the concept and examples of trauma-specific interventions that can be incorporated into existing services.

National Child Traumatic Stress Network

The NCTSN promotes standards for trauma-informed care for service providers in child-serving systems. See the Tools You Can Use box on the main page to access resources from NCTSN and other organizations. The NCTSN resources are provided for different audiences, including the public, educators and mental health and medical professionals. Most are downloadable.

Homelessness Resource Center (SAMHSA)

In addition to publishing resources, this site serves as a portal to resources from other agencies. If you search the term “trauma-informed,” you will access to resources such as 10 Tips for Recovery-Oriented, Trauma-Informed Agencies and A Long Journey Home: A Guide for Creating Trauma-Informed Services for Mothers and Children Experiencing Homelessness.

BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health

The 2002 report Violence and Trauma in the Lives of Women with Serious Mental Illness: Current Practices in Service Provision in British Columbia indicates that existing approaches to dealing with violence and mental health are primarily biomedical and neglect histories of abuse and vulnerability to ongoing abuse. This approach risks retraumatizing women in treatment through misdiagnosis, lack of support and marginalization. The findings and recommendations are relevant to developing trauma-informed mental health services. To locate the report, see Publications/Resources.