A new nurse overhears the clinical specialist talking about trauma-informed care and asks for more information about it. What information would the clinical nurse specialist provide? Select all that apply

Question

a. Patients who are disruptive or aggressive often have been severely traumatized.
b. It is critical that our interventions do not themselves add to the patient's trauma.
c. Trauma is ever present in modern life, and patients cannot heal unless sheltered from it.
d. Trauma survivors self-sooth excessively, leading to narcissism and demanding behavior.
e. Trauma survivors are further traumatized by restraint and other coercive interventions.
f. The role of trauma in one's current life should be a focus in assessment and treatment.

Answer 1

A, B, E, F
Trauma-informed care operates on several key principles. First, many people who act out have significant trauma histories, and such trauma histories may be hidden or underappreciated. Second, the experience of trauma makes the trauma survivor more susceptible to future trauma. Third, to be therapeutic, our interventions must themselves not be traumatizing to the trauma survivor. Fourth, a number of our interventions are in fact traumatizing, particularly those that are coercive or restrictive (e.g., restraints, involuntary intramuscular medications). However, although life is stressful, it is neither possible nor desirable to attempt to shield survivors of trauma from all the demands and trauma that might occur in life; such experiences can also lead to growth. Trauma survivors tend to have difficulty self-soothing when under stress and as a result are more likely to cope via maladaptive means.