What Social Work Students Need to Know About Trauma-Informed Care

Written By Amanda Smith
Excellent social workers practice trauma informed care.

The conflict between the will to deny horrible events and the will to proclaim them aloud is the central dialectic of psychological trauma. —Judith Herman, MD in Trauma and Recovery (1992)

Trauma-informed care (TIC) is a collaborative, strengths-based framework to help healthcare providers—including social work students—understand how trauma has affected the life of an individual seeking services.

Trauma-informed care seeks to improve the delivery of services in a way that not only honors and values the individual's experience but helps to avoid re-traumatization.

Social work students may learn about and encounter a wide range of different types of traumas. These may include:

• Pregnancy, birth, adoption, or abortion
• Childhood abuse or neglect
• Developmental trauma
• Domestic, interpersonal, or relational trauma
• Intergenerational trauma
• Accidents or natural disasters
• War and terrorism
• Human trafficking and slavery
• Medical trauma
• Crime
• Gender or sex-based trauma
• Racism or discrimination
• Poverty

Social work students may also be in a position where they witness trauma or traumatic events.

NASW Values are Trauma-Informed Care Values

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) have identified ethical principles and values that also point us to effective trauma-informed care.

These values are:

• Service
Social work is a helping profession. Our service to others helps to bridge the gap between trauma and healing.

• Social Justice
Social injustice, discrimination, racism, and poverty can all be a source of trauma for clients. The social worker recognizes the role of social justice and restorative justice as a source of healing for many individuals.

• Dignity and Worth of a Person
The social worker recognizes the inherent dignity and worth of the persons they serve. For clients who have experienced trauma, social workers demonstrate that dignity of the person by saying, “I want to learn about your trauma by listening to your story.”

• Importance of Human Relationships
Without the relationship, there is no trauma-informed care. A social worker will help to establish a partnership with the client that facilitates healing and recovery.

• Integrity
Social workers know that integrity with clients is one important factor that helps to build trust. Without trusting relationships, we potentially re-traumatize clients and harm the profession.

• Competence
The social worker cannot be an expert in every type of trauma or experience related to trauma, but they will make a lifelong commitment to learning. An excellent social worker is dedicated to increasing their knowledge about trauma and will develop the professional skills needed to address problems on the micro, mezzo, and macro domains related to that specific trauma or trauma experience.

The Trauma-Informed Care Role of Social Workers and Social Work Students

Social workers are in a powerful position to help deliver trauma-informed care where they work. In particular, social workers and social work students may be responsible for:

• educating clients and colleagues about trauma
• validating and normalizing experiences surrounding trauma
• helping clients to observe and describe the emotions that come up in trauma memories
• anticipating and meeting needs when possible
• advocating for the client within the community or agency
• teaching self-advocacy skills to the client
• creating or updating a client “bill of rights”
• practicing cultural humility and curiosity around traumatic experiences
• refusing to fragilize or infantilize clients
• assessing or reassessing policies and practices that affect individuals who have experienced trauma
• engaging in self-care and asking for additional support or supervision when needed

Trauma-Informed Care is not

• The sole responsibility of social workers or social work students. Excellent trauma-informed care is a collaborative, interdisciplinary effort among health professionals.
• A simple, quick intervention designed to undo the effects of trauma.
• An evidence-based treatment for symptoms or behaviors related to trauma.

Assessment Questions/Statements for Trauma-Informed Care

• Tell me your story.
• Help me to understand what's happening right now.
• Is there something I can do to make this better/easier?
• What is important for me to understand about your trauma experience?
• What haven’t I asked about that’s important for me to know about you?
• I want to hear more.
• What do you need from me right now?
• What can I do to help?

Evidence-Based Treatment for Trauma

• Prolonged Exposure
• Cognitive Processing Therapy
• Logotherapy
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)
• Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
• Seeking Safety

Amanda Smith
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