Trauma-Informed Care
Trauma Informed Care at Penn State Health
Being trauma-informed at Penn State is crucial for creating a culture that acknowledges the prevalence of trauma and identifies the need to address it. Over the years, the Trauma Informed Care (TIC) Committee has worked hard to bring trauma awareness into the way we care for our patients, serve our community, and create a supportive environment for our staff.
Trauma-Informed Education
The TIC Committee has brought Trauma-Informed Care into our hospital culture through many avenues, one of which being through our training and education.
We offer many trainings that encompass and teach a variety of topics, all of which are presented through a trauma-informed lens. We aim to highlight the importance of balancing between validating the experiences of our staff and patients and encouraging positive change. We teach a variety of skills and provide tools that staff can use to facilitate growth and support for patients, as well as for themselves. We discuss removing judgment and replacing it with empathy and curiosity.
We challenge our staff to develop and utilize self-awareness and accountability to recognize our own relationship with our mental health and strive for growth and healing.
Here is a list of the current TIC educations that are offered, and you can find these in Compass. If you or your team are interested in a specific training, reach out to Andi to schedule something!
- Listening to Trauma
- Symptoms and Diagnoses of Trauma
- Compassion Fatigue
- Health Literacy
- Cycles and Reenactments
- Grounding Skills
- Personality Disorders
- How to Not Take Things Personally
- Self-Care Tune-Up
- Effective Communication
- Professionalism in the Workplace
- Trauma-Informed Care (General)
Trauma-Informed Committee Support
We have an established system of staff support, built to respond to things such as sentinel events, staff assaults, staff burnout, and customized educational and support opportunities. With this in place, we can address any immediate concerns that our staff may be struggling with, provide space for validation and community, and then connect our staff with appropriate outside resources to help them continue their healing and growth. We believe that when staff feel supported and are focusing on their own mental health, this will ultimately benefit our patients and create opportunities for better care.
Collaboration with Staff Support Resources
We work with established supports and resources across Penn State Health. We work with the BeWell team, utilizing their thorough list of resources, and we encourage our staff to utilize their dimensions of well-being. We collaborate with Chaplains and work with them to provide well-rounded support, and we recognize that in addition to that support, Chaplains use spiritual assessment tools to support the spiritual dimension of a person’s healing and recovery. We also recognize the Stress First Aid responders, the power of peer support, and aim to continue to collaborate with their mission and utilize their training to create consistency throughout the PSH system.
Trauma-Informed Resources (SAMHSA)
We base much of our evidence-based programming and structure on the work of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), as they are leaders in understanding, developing, and implementing Trauma-Informed Approaches organizationally. Much of our programming has roots in these Key Assumptions in the Trauma-Informed Approach:
The Four R’s
Realization
Understanding how trauma can affect individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
Recognizing that trauma can impact mental health and substance use disorders and often obstructs the achievement of desired outcomes.
Being aware that trauma is integral to all human service sectors.
Recognition
Recognizing signs of trauma through:
- Screening & assessment
- Supervision practices
- Workforce development
- Employee assistance
Response
Applying the principles of a trauma-informed approach to all areas of functioning of an organization, such as policies, procedures, staffing, and organizational culture.
Supporting a psychologically and physically safer environment.
Ensuring appropriate workforce training, leadership buy-in, clear and informed organizational mission statements, and trauma-informed manuals.
Resisting Re-Traumatization
Knowing how policies, practices, and interventions can interfere with the well-being of staff and clients as a result of inadvertently triggering traumatic experiences.
Acknowledging trauma and its context in all operations to avoid reinforcing or repeating a traumatic experience.
If you would like to explore the entire Practical Guide for Implementing a Trauma Informed Approach, you can review it here.
Voices of Penn State Health Staff
Here are voices from our Trauma Informed Care Committee members about what it means to be trauma informed:
“When we offer safety, compassion, and understanding to children (and adults), we are planting seeds of resilience. We may not see the growth right away, but in time those roots of trust, and hope can support them on their mental health journey.”
“Your trauma is not your fault, but healing is your responsibility.”
“As a BHS we create a safe place for all patients to speak about their mental health and the things that they have been through free of judgement and full of support. We give all patients a place to be heard and seen on our units and provide therapeutic support with whatever they may be going through at that time.”
“Behavior is the language of trauma. Children (and adults even) will show you they are in distress before they tell you.”
“The Quality and Regulatory Compliance Department at PPI fully integrate trauma-informed principles into its oversight and operations by embedding them into policies, audits, education, and regulatory alignment. We strive to be facilitators of a healing environment by elevating compliance from a regulatory necessity to a patient- and staff-centered safety initiative.”
“The best way to start helping our patients is by providing education about mental health, and by providing information to family members for them to have a better understanding about their symptoms or diagnosis. Giving the appropriate information helps our patients understand their symptoms and allows them to know that we care about them.”
“Understanding cultural differences in our communities, underserved or otherwise, can help determine everything from care to the very reasons they come to see us.”
“In Nursing we use this in assessing a patient’s ability to comprehend/understand their specific diagnosis/medications and deliver explanations at their level without making them feel less than for needing or having a diagnosis and medications. We listen to their questions/concerns, provide alternatives options to discuss with their provider (including choosing not to medicate and the possible outcomes of that) and emphasizing their importance in medical decision making, compliance and available support resources.”
“As a Clinical Assistant, I am in the role of making sure staff are up to date with trainings, skills and making sure that they are taking care of themselves. Having more staff involvement gives me the opportunity to ensure that each day our patients are given 100% by each staff member. I also have the ability to make educational training suggestions to staff members, so they are given the proper knowledge on how to best care for our patients.”