Trauma-Informed Care

Texoma Community Center strives to develop and equip all staff with Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) knowledge and competency-based skills in TIC to provide quality health care. Trauma-Informed Care means treating the person as a whole, taking into account past trauma and the resulting coping mechanisms when attempting to understand behaviors to provide effective treatment as well as improving the quality and impact of care.

What is Trauma-Informed Care?

      A trauma-informed approach to care is a framework of thinking and interventions that are directed by a thorough understanding of profound neurological, biological, psychological, and social effects trauma has on an individual- recognizing that a person’s constant interdependent needs for safety, connections, and ways to manage emotions/impulses. The Trauma-Informed Care Approach realizes the widespread impact of trauma, recognizes trauma is pervasive, understands potential paths for recovery, and realizes recovery is possible!

Guiding Principles To Trauma-Informed Care

Safety – Throughout the organization, staff and the people they serve feel physically and psychologically safe.

​Trustworthiness and transparency – Organizational operations and decisions are conducted with transparency and the goal of building and maintaining trust among staff, clients, and family members of those receiving services.

Peer support and mutual self-help
 – These are integral to the organizational and service delivery approach and are understood as a key vehicle for building trust, establishing safety, and empowerment.

Collaboration and mutuality
 – There is true partnering and leveling of power differences between staff and clients and among organizational staff from direct care staff to administrators. There is recognition that healing happens in relationships and in the meaningful sharing of power and decision-making. The organization recognizes that everyone has a role to play in a trauma-informed approach. One does not have to be a therapist to be therapeutic.

Empowerment, voice, and choice
 – Throughout the organization and among the clients served, individuals’ strengths are recognized, built on, and validated and new skills developed as necessary. The organization aims to strengthen the staff’s, clients’, and family members’ experience of choice and recognize that every person’s experience is unique and requires an individualized approach. This includes a belief in resilience and in the ability of individuals, organizations, and communities to heal and promote recovery from trauma. This builds on what clients, staff, and communities have to offer, rather than responding to perceived deficits.

​Cultural, historical, and gender issues
 – The organization actively moves past cultural stereotypes and biases (e.g.,  based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, geography), offers gender responsive services, leverages the healing value of traditional cultural connections, and recognizes and addresses historical trauma.

Resources and Videos

Cited sources:
Trauma-Informed Care Resource Guide (2017) https://www.crisisprevention.com/Blog/November-2018/Trauma-Informed-Care
 Trauma-Informed Care Implementation Resource Center https://www.traumainformedcare.chcs.org/ Videos produced by FreshFly and Ruben de Luna Creative. https://youtu.be/KkeLz-fI0Mo
 Video project on Principles of Trauma Informed Recovery, https://vimeo.com/107478500
 National Council for Behavioral Health, Shareables and Infographics, https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/consulting-best-practices/national-council-shareables/