Trauma Informed Care (TIC)
"Gun violence is a leading cause of premature death in the U.S. Guns kill more than 38,000 people and cause nearly 85,000 injuries each year."
-American Public Health Association (APHA)What is TIC?
Trauma Informed Care is an approach that looks at the prevalence of traumatic experiences and the effects that it has. Professionals that use this approach are there to help the survivor build resiliency, avoid re-traumatization, and support them. Trauma-Informed Care can be defined as a “strengths-based framework that is grounded in an understanding of and responsiveness to the impact of trauma” and the approach stresses the safety for the professional and survivor mentally, physically, and psychologically to “rebuild a sense of control and empowerment” (Hopper et al, 2010). There are four R’s of Trauma-Informed Care: realizing, recognizing, responding, and resisting re-traumatization and there are six principles: awareness, safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, and empowerment. Every person experiences trauma differently and there are many forms of trauma, meaning that effective trauma specific treatment may vary.
"The issue of gun violence is complex and deeply rooted in our culture, which is why we must take a public health approach to ensuring our families and communities are safe."
-American Public Health Association (APHA)TIC & Survivors of Gun Violence
For survivors of gun violence, effective treatments and how TIC and its principles are demonstrated may look different depending on the type of trauma that they endured (mass shooting, gang-related, neighborhood, mugging, etc.).
Survivors of mass shootings have improved long-term outcomes with the help of community connections and access to mental health support.
According to Julieta Macias (LCSW-C, PhD), clinicians can use many different tools when working with a survivor of gun violence. Cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and cognitive processing therapy are used as well as techniques such as mindfulness and meditation to help calm physiological responses. Remembering trauma or being in a place that reminds the survivor of it can elicit rapid heart rate, shallow breathing, high blood pressure, and more, so learning these calming techniques can be a huge help.
When a professional is treating survivors of gun violence with trauma informed care, collaboration and focusing on their strengths is important. Giving survivors their choice back is crucial. One thing that is important to many survivors of gun violence is sharing their stories. This does not have to be limited to counseling settings either, a lot of the time they want their story to be told. It is important that the professional working does not assume something about the survivor or limit them
Awareness: it is important for the professional working with the survivor to understand gun violence and its impact
Safety: finding emotional and physical safety for the survivor, this is especially important if the survivor comes from a place where gun violence is common
Trustworthiness: trust between the survivor and professional
Choice: the professional allowing the survivor to make their own choices
Collaboration: the professional and survivor need to work together
Empowerment: the professional needs to make sure that the survivor is empowered and is building their skills, gun violence is a huge trauma that some survivors may take control and buy a gun for themselves. It is important for the professional to help them.
To learn more about school mass shootings, the impact on children, & TIC, click here