What does it mean to be a Trauma Informed Agency?
Interview with Director of Clinical Services, Brie Meade, LCSW
“Through trauma treatment, our goal is to help the brain and body recognize that you are here now, in a safe space.”
A trauma informed approach (TIA) focuses on what happened to our clients rather than what’s wrong with clients. When practicing trauma informed care, clinicians are not only concentrating on trauma from a major incident (think natural disaster or combat), but also smaller life events and circumstances that result in emotional pain and discomfort. We treat clients holistically, considering our client’s life experiences, their histories, patterns, and behaviors. We focus on strengths and challenges in addition to symptoms.
Survival instincts kick in - and trauma responses play out
We go back to the beginning. A lot of human behaviors are tactics and adaptive strategies we need to survive – and thrive. Many are patterns we’ve developed over time, perhaps since childhood. People often come to therapy because they feel stuck. It’s our job as trained clinicians to explore why and to help identify strategies and solutions to help clients feel better and to be more flexible and productive. For example, clients may talk about procrastinating. They may share that people think they’re “lazy.” They might wonder themselves why they can’t get things done. A TIA looks at factors contributing to a person’s feeling of “stuckness” including past events, relationships, and circumstances, and examine how formally “adaptive” strategies may now be quality of life interfering. An explanation of this behaviour may reveal that the person’s avoidance was once an adaptive strategy to manage fears of failure.
Behaviors and symptoms are often connected to our history. If we can discover the origin (when did we get stuck in performance situations in the past? Whom did we try to please and how did that work out?), then we can better understand now to reframe our current situations and do things differently.
A trauma informed lens allows clincian and client to notice ways in which symptoms like anxiety, sadness, and fear may be activated by reminders of the past. The work “in the room” is aimed to help the client recognize when their present activation may be influenced by their past - examining old behavior patterns and learning how to change them. Once we realize we’re no longer the 5th grader being bullied on the playground – or the 14-yr old being gossiped about in the lunchroom, we can be in the present where we are and be able to harness our skills and agency to behave more effectively.
Big T and Little t trauma
Sometimes we think about easily identifiable trauma like major car accidents or the death of a loved one. All of us, however, experience “little t” trauma. “Little t” trauma may look like not having our emotional needs met as children, feeling left out, or an embrassing situation. These “little t” experiences, however, can also have a significant impact on a person’s world view and in turn their behaviors. Experiencing an emotionally invalidating environment as a child may contribute to a person feeling low self-worth. That low-self worth may impact work performance and social relationships.
Fight or Flight vs. Rest and Digest
People may come to therapy for “Big T” Trauma. When something “big” or scary happens the impact is clear. But for the “little ts” the impact may not be immediately clear nor as recognizable – the impact may also not be as pressing. We also may not realize the impact these emotional events have on the body and brain (our nervous system) over time. When trauma survivors experience flashbacks, for example, the sympathetic nervous system (the fight-or-flight mechanism) is activated even if the person is in an objectively safe situation. The memory of the experience triggers the somatic response. In therapy, our clinicians work to give clients tools to turn off or tone down the sympathetic response – to help clients recognize that they’re safe in that moment – and to activate the parasympathetic nervous system – the “rest-and-digest” response. We help clients “digest” the traumatic memories and experiences in order to process and move forward with new skills, strength, and confidence.
I love my work here at Center at 353. What attracted me to the mission was working with a group of wonderful colleagues while providing access to quality mental health services. Especially at a time when the need for help is only getting stronger, it is so rewarding to be in a place that is providing exceptional services to everyone in our community.