Many patients have experienced some form of trauma, which can have lasting adverse effects on physical and mental health. Adopting a trauma-informed care (TIC) approach is integral to improving health outcomes and creating better patient-provider relationships.
“Trauma-informed care is really about creating a space where every person, including people who have experienced trauma, feel safe, feel included, and feel understood as a whole person,” says Stephanie Hargrove, PhD, clinical psychologist and assistant professor at Duke. A comprehensive approach must include making changes at all levels within a health care practice, including nonclinical staff, who have significant interactions with patients and are critical to ensuring patients feel safe.
Hargrove recently shared tips, based on six core principles of TIC developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, for how providers can incorporate TIC into their organization’s clinical practices and policies.
Continue to the full article on the Duke Health website to read the tips.