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Tag: Trauma-Informed Practice

  • Trauma-Informed Blogging Tips

    Trauma-Informed Blogging Tips

    trauma -informed practice is an approach that recognises the widespread impact of trauma and emphasises creating a safe and supportive environment for individuals who have experienced trauma. Trauma-informed blogging is directed at an online audience. Here are a few tips to consider when engaging in trauma-informed blogging:

    1. Educate yourself: Take the time to educate yourself about trauma, its impact, and how it can manifest in individuals. This will help you approach sensitive topics with empathy and understanding.
    2. Create a safe environment: Foster a safe and supportive environment for your readers by clearly communicating boundaries, providing trigger warnings when necessary, and establishing guidelines for respectful and compassionate discussions.
    3. Use inclusive language: Be mindful of the language you use in your blog posts. Avoid stigmatising or blaming language and opt for inclusive and empowering terms that validate and respect the experiences of those who have gone through trauma.
    4. Be practically inclusive: Recognise and respect the cultural, historical, and gender-specific needs and experiences of individuals who have experienced trauma. Understand and address the unique challenges they may face in accessing support and recovery.
    5. Share resources: Consider sharing resources such as helpline numbers, crisis hotlines, and mental health services at the end of your blog posts. These resources can provide additional support for those who may need it.
    6. Encourage self-care: Remind your readers of the importance of self-care and provide practical tips and suggestions for managing the impact of trauma. This can include mindfulness exercises, grounding techniques, or suggestions for seeking professional help.
    7. Seek consent: If you plan to share personal stories or experiences of others, always seek explicit consent beforehand. Respecting individuals’ privacy and autonomy is crucial when it comes to trauma-related content.

    By incorporating these practices into your trauma-informed blogging, you can create a space that fosters healing, understanding, and empowerment for your readers.

  • The Power Threat Meaning Framework

    The Power Threat Meaning Framework

    According to the British Psychological Society (n.d.) the Power Threat Meaning Framework applies to everyone. This framework was initially created as an alternative to more traditional psychiatric nomenclatures. This model is trauma-informed and it is utilised by high profile hospitals such as Rampton Hospital (Willmot and Siddall, 2022). 

    The framework consists in asking four initial questions, which answers can then be re-used to answer the two final questions. Willmot and Siddall (2022, pp. 32-33) state that the framework can also be ‘applied to understanding the needs of people who offend or behave in challenging ways’.  The framework makes some assumptions about trauma:

    Power 

    The framework looks into the negative operation of power in a holistic way based on a person’s narrative. It is recognised that power can be biological/embodied, coercive, economic, social, cultural, and interpersonal. It also recognises that much of this reality is configured to privilege ‘white, male,  heterosexual, wealthy, educated, and mentally healthy people’ (Willmot and Siddall, 2022, pp. 32-33). 

    Threat

    Threat within the scope of this framework refers to the risks related to abuses of power which can prevent a person from meeting their core needs. There are several types of threats such as physical, economic,  health, social, emotional, quality of life, disability, or deprivation threats. These threatening events or potentials can lead to relational dysfunctions, disrupted attachments, abandonment fears; feelings of betrayal, shame, guilt, insecurity, and entrapment. 

    Meaning

    The framework is also person-centred, and recognises that every individual is unique. This leads to the assumption that people interpret events and give meaning to these events in unique ways. For instance, male and women due to societal stereotypes might have different expectations for behaviour. Different cultures give different meaning to different events, for instance, some cultures would engage in honour-abuse of girls who have been sexually assaulted. Therefore, the social, environmental, and political contexts all influence meaning. 

    Framework

    The framework posits that much of what we know as psychopathology are responses people develop to perceived threats in order to cope and/or survive (Willmot and Siddall, 2022). Ultimately, people at times develop specific habits, behaviours, or personality patterns as a result of their unmet needs. Hence, this framework seeks to ask some questions which answers can elucidate the unique perspective of the individual, potential power abuse triggers, as well as unique needs that must be met. These are the questions:

    • What has happened to you? (i.e. How is power operating in your life?)
    • How did it affect you? (i.e. What kind of threats did this pose?)
    • What sense did you make of it? (i.e. What is the meaning of these situations and experiences to you?)
    • What did you have to do to survive? (i.e. What kind of threat responses are you using?)
    • What are your strengths? (i.e. What access to power resources do you have?)
    • What is your story? (i.e. Pulling of these reflections together)

    These questions allow for the understanding of how a person has experienced abuses of power, the threats that resulted from such dynamics, the unique meaning a person gave to these events, and the specific threat responses that were developed as a result, as well as the strengths. Having this information in place, proactive support plans can be formulated ensuring that all interventions are  trauma-informed, and person-centred. 

    References

    British Psychological Society (n.d.) ‘Power Threat Meaning Framework’ [Online]. Available at https://www.bps.org.uk/power-threat-meaning-framework (accessed 29 April 2022). 

    Willmot, P. and Siddall, Y. (2022) ‘Trauma, Violence, and Gender’, in Willmot, P. and Jones, L. (eds) Trauma-Informed Forensic Practice, London, Routledge, pp. 32-48 [Online]. Available at https://www.routledge.com/Trauma-Informed-Forensic-Practice/Willmot-Jones/p/book/9780367626914 (accessed 29 April 2022). 

    Photo by cottonbro: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-in-black-pants-and-black-shoes-sitting-on-brown-wooden-chair-4101143/