Trauma-Informed Approach

The MCC Library hosted a webinar on April 15, 2021 on Adverse Childhood Experiences & A Trauma-Informed Approach with guest speaker Angie (Geren) Burleson, Project Director of AZ Adverse Childhood Experiences Consortium. 

Webinar Learning Objectives:

1. Define trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
2. Identify community support efforts of the AZ ACEs Consortium
3. Apply a trauma-informed approach

 Here is the recording of the webinar:

What is trauma?

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, defines individual trauma as "an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being."

Trauma has no boundaries with regard to age, gender, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Trauma is a common experience for adults and children in American communities, and it is especially common in the lives of people with mental and substance use disorders. For this reason, the need to address trauma is increasingly seen as an important part of effective behavioral health care and an integral part of the healing and recovery process."

-Trauma and Violence, SAMHSA

What is a trauma-informed approach?

“A program, organization, or system that is trauma-informed realizes the widespread impact of trauma and understands potential paths for recovery; recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma in clients, families, staff, and others involved with the system; and responds by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices, and seeks to actively resist re-traumatization.”

- SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach

"training_emergency_responders_final", CDC Center for Preparedness and Response