What is Trauma-Informed Therapy?
It might be weird to hear the phrase "trauma-informed" when it comes to therapy - it feels redundant. Shouldn't the goal of any therapeutic practice be to think about the client's trauma? Well, yes! Therapists, regardless of principles, want to make sure that their clients feel safe and understood. "Trauma-informed" isn't to say other practices don't care about trauma, but rather that this practice puts the complications that arise because of trauma first and foremost.
What does trauma-informed therapy look like?
In my previous blog post, I went over how music therapy can help overcome trauma, but I'd like to dive deeper into the guiding principle behind my practice. Trauma-informed care (TIC), as it applies to medical practices beyond therapy, aims to understand the patient, their potential triggers, and their trauma so as not to overwhelm or trigger them accidentally.
As a therapist, you'd like to see your clients overcome mental hurdles that result from traumatic events. Everyone's trauma is different, everyone's response is different, and it's essential to recognize it as such! For a long time, therapists would treat trauma as if it were one homogeneous symptom that could be treated the same way each time - which worked for some people, but not everyone. Most therapists (music and otherwise!) now approach trauma in a more informed setting, treating each individual with the proper care and respect they need.
TIC follows five guiding principles as a framework for solo practitioners and organizations to utilize to prevent retraumatization: safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness, and empowerment. Let's look at what these mean!
Safety - This is ensuring that you're not only mentally safe but also physically safe. The security of a therapist's client is of the utmost importance.
Choice - Emphasizing your agency, your rights and responsibilities while receiving therapy and ensuring that what we do is your choice.
Collaboration - Making sure that you feel empowered enough to decide to be vulnerable and make informed decisions about your therapy. Therapy isn't a one-sided affair; while therapists are here to listen to you and help you when you need it, you need to extend your hand out so we can grab it and lift you up.
Trustworthiness - Establishing clear and concise boundaries while being clear and concise about what tasks we'll undertake during a session. This one is crucial; many people suffering from trauma have difficulty opening up due to trust issues. The least I can do as a therapist is be open and honest 100% of the time while respecting your boundaries.
Empowerment - Letting you feel empowered to make choices in your life, to feel validated in your body, and affirmed that you are okay!
Each of these principles is holistically connected and built on the other naturally. For example, you can't feel safe unless you feel like you have the choice to do therapy, and you can't feel validated in that choice unless you collaborate on your treatment plan, and the key to collaboration is trust. All of this is to make you feel empowered in your choices, not just in therapy but in your life as well. If you're interested in how these principles play into my music therapy practice, feel free to contact me for a free consultation!