Trauma Informed Response

A response is how colleagues and decisionmakers respond when someone shares their experiences. A supportive and informed response can help create a safer, more inclusive environment, while a dismissive or harmful response can reinforce inequities.  The goal is to support responses that foster safety, build trust, and contribute to healing—while avoiding actions that may unintentionally cause further harm. 

Retraumitization

An appropriate response to a disclosure of discrimination should avoid re-traumatization.

Retraumatization occurs when a person re-experiences a previously traumatic event, either consciously or unconsciously.​ It is described as 'past trauma made present'​ and can be system-induced.  People often display signs and symptoms of Retraumatization.​ 

Systems (i.e., polices, procedures and institutions) can induce trauma by:

  • Having victims continually retell their story ​ 

  • Treating victims as a number ​ 

  • Seeing victims as labels (i.e. addict, schizophrenic) ​ 

  • Not providing choices in service or treatment ​ 

  • Not acknowledging work-related stress ​ 

  • Not providing access to services 

  • Offering practices ​without accessibility considerations ​ 

  • Offering practices that are isolating or exclusionary 

  • Offering marginalizing practices ​ 

  • Offering practices without cultural considerations ​ 

  • Discrimination 

Relationships (i.e., power, authority, control​) can induce trauma by/with:  

  • Not seeing/hearing ​victims 

  • Non-transparency and with veiled truths ​ 

  • Doing things ‘for’ rather than ‘with’ ​ 

  • Using punitive treatment, coercive practices, and oppressive language ​ 

  • Racial profiling ​ 

  • Being non-collaborative ​ 

  • Victim blaming ​ 

  • Non-acknowledgment of historical narratives​ 

  • Microaggressions ​ 

  • Non-inclusive language and messaging ​ 

  • Non-acknowledgement of power dynamics

A Trauma Informed Approach

A trauma-informed approach recognizes the prevalence and impact of trauma, and integrates this knowledge into policies, procedures, and practices to avoid re-traumatization, promote resilience, and support healing. 

It is based on key principles such as safety, trustworthiness, peer support, collaboration, empowerment, and cultural sensitivity.

(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2014).​

It changes the opening question for those seeking services from ‘What is wrong with you?’ (patient or consumer) to ​‘What has happened to you?’ (survivor).​

(Salasin Salasin, S. (2011). Sine qua non for public health. National Council Magazine, 2, 18.)​

Remember: People affected by trauma from abusive relationships or violent experiences will frequently encounter services/supports that mirror the power and control they experienced in those relationships. Be mindful of not replicating that!  

Six principles of trauma informed practice

Intent vs Impact

A trauma-informed approach requires us to have a basic understanding of the impacts that trauma and violence can have on individuals seeking support.

A common mistake is to prioritize the harm doer's INTENT over the IMPACT on the person making the disclosure.

Remember: ​ Good intentions are a great place to start but cannot be the end goal. ​ 

How to centre the victim: Response strategies

If you receive a disclosure that you or someone else has caused harm, your response should NOT center your own feelings and emotions but center the needs and requirements of the person who has experienced harm. 

When receiving and responding to a disclosure, do the following:

  •  Maintain timeliness:  Respond to disclosures promptly and in a timely manner.  

  • Have an open mind: Be aware of potential biases 

  • Consider safety and positionality: Does it feel safe for a person to disclose harm to you? What is your position in this dynamic? 

  • Listen with empathy and patience: Be non-judgmental (even when you have reservations!) 

  • Validate the experience: Use compassionate and empathetic language  

  • Focus on impact over intent: How your response is received matters more than how you intended it 

  • Be honest and transparent: Clearly state what you can and cannot do 

  • Center the client: Prioritize their needs, narratives, decisions and emotions 

  • Ensure clarity of process: Just because you understand it doesn’t mean others do 

  • Be resourceful: Outline all available resources and referrals- Think outside the box! 

  • Be a support person: Don’t be neutral. Advocate for them wherever possible 

  • Document objectively: Record facts, avoiding emotional language. 

  • Support in system navigation: The process for addressing grievances can be complex and overwhelming; simplify it and support them through it. 

  • Maintain confidentiality:  Maintain utmost confidentiality (unless serious threat of harm to self or others). 

  • Follow up: Check in, provide updates, and continue support 

When receiving and responding to a disclosure, do not do the following: 

  • Centre yourself: This is about their experience, not yours​ 

  • Interrogate:  Asking questions is fine, but don’t make it feel like an investigation​ 

  • Assume understanding:  Clarify the process in accessible terms​ 

  • Take over:  Avoid the ‘Savior Complex’; let them decide what help looks like 

  • Be vague – Clearly communicate what steps you can take​ 

  • Dismiss or minimize – Even if you don’t fully relate, their experience is valid​ 

  • Explain their feelings away: Don’t make them doubt their feelings and emotions​ 

  • Be a 'Gatekeeper': Don't try to control which case is deemed "appropriate" for validation, escalation, resources or opportunities and which is 'not' 

Reflection Questions for Trauma Informed Response

  • How would you incorporate the six principles of trauma informed practices in your response when you receive a disclosure of discrimination?  Write down some strategies that you would use for EACH of the principles outlined. 

  • Can you think of a time when you or someone else shared an experience of discrimination, and felt that the people who were supposed to help caused further harm instead? What might have been a more supportive, trauma-informed response (consider principles and strategies learned in this section)? 

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