Trauma-Informed Care
Also written as: TIC — Trauma-Informed Care
A service delivery framework that recognizes the widespread impact of trauma, integrates knowledge about trauma into policies and practices, and seeks to avoid re-traumatisation.
Full Definition
Trauma-informed care (TIC) is an organizational and clinical approach that assumes individuals accessing mental health services are likely to have a history of trauma. Rather than asking 'What is wrong with you?' TIC reframes the question as 'What happened to you?' The framework is built on four assumptions (realisation, recognition, response, and resistance to re-traumatisation) and six principles (safety; trustworthiness and transparency; peer support; collaboration; empowerment; and cultural, historical, and gender issues), as articulated by SAMHSA. Editors must always hyphenate 'trauma-informed' as a compound adjective. The phrase 'trauma-sensitive' is used in some educational and non-clinical settings and should not be used interchangeably in clinical documents.
Usage
Usage note: Always hyphenate 'trauma-informed' before a noun. Distinguish 'trauma-informed care' (a universal framework changing the organizational culture) from 'trauma-specific treatment' (targeted interventions for trauma disorders like PTSD).
In Context
- "All staff received training in trauma-informed care prior to the program's launch." — Community mental health center staff training record
- "The organization adopted a trauma-informed care framework to guide intake, assessment, and service delivery." — Organizational policy document