#trauma-informed-care

#trauma-informed-care

Normally, a person goes about their life, making meaning of everything that happens to them, slotting it into a world that makes sense. Psychologist Bessel van der Kolk explains that a traumatic event short circuits this process. Trauma overwhelms a person, rendering them unable, in the moment, to integrate the event into their lives. In the context of spirituality, trauma is a hand grenade, exploding two of spirituality's primary functions: to help a person make meaning and feel at home in the universe.

On March 15, 2025, President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act-historically employed only during wartime-so that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could immediately remove Venezuelan citizens alleged to be terrorists from the United States. That same day, ICE deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador's Center of Terrorism Confinement, claiming he belonged to a street gang the administration had designated as a terrorist organization. These actions were part of Trump's movement to execute "the largest deportation effort in American history,"

Trauma-informed care is a healthcare approach that recognizes how past trauma can shape a patient's experience, prioritizing emotional and physical safety.

Therapists must be trauma-informed and sexuality-literate to assist in the recovery of sexual trauma survivors, particularly addressing complex responses like fight, flight, freeze, and fawn.