Trauma-Informed Care for Addiction Patients: Understanding Trauma and Relapse Prevention Therapy

Running head: ADDICTION
Trauma informed care
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ADDICTION
Answer 1-
According to the resource file, the concept of ‘Trauma-Informed Care’ encompasses a
discipline that comprehends and reflects the prevalent nature of trauma, while promoting an
all-inclusive environment of recovery and healing. It is not merely associated with services
and practices that may unintentionally re-traumatize the affected people (CCSA, 2014).
Psychological trauma comprises of some kind of damage to the mind that is a consequence of
distressing events and are often generated due to overwhelming stress that exceed the ability
of the affected person to cope with it. In other words, trauma-informed care identifies the
incidence of trauma symptoms and concedes the part trauma plays in the life of an individual,
together with the service staff. Organisational culture are also changed in this care approach
that emphasises on accurately responding and/or respecting the impacts that trauma exerts at
all levels. Delivery of trauma-informed care also comprises of providing a detailed
explanation on the objective of asking sensitive questions to the clients.
Furthermore, experiences of trauma are quite prevalent among people who are
subjected to substance abuse or other mental disorders. Hence, the primary objective of
trauma-informed care for addiction patients must focus on expressively expediting recovery
and healing, while assisting the patients to develop networks between their involvements with
trauma and challenging substance use concerns. Thus, the key purpose of trauma-informed
care is not to manage or reduce symptoms and/or issues correlated with physical, sexual,
and/or emotional abuse, but to deliver support services in a fashion that is reachable and
suitable to people who have had experienced trauma (CCSA, 2014).
Answer 2 (a)-
An analysis of the chapter 2 (understanding trauma) helps in defining trauma as
unswerving personal experiences of occasions that involve genuine or defenceless serious

2ADDICTION
injury or death; menace to a person’s physical veracity, beholding an incident that comprises
of the above experiences, gaining insight into violent or unexpected death, grave damage, or
hazard of death, as experienced by some close associate. In other words, memories that are
allied with trauma are unspoken, pre-verbal and cannot be recollected. However, trauma can
be generated by provocations from the surrounding environment. The detailed aversive
response provided by the people facing trauma most often comprise of helplessness, intense
fear and horror. Trauma is also manifested in the form of agitated and disorganized
behaviour. Trauma is often categorised into five different types namely, developmental,
repetitive or complex, single incident, historical, or intergenerational trauma (Bccewh.bc.ca,
2013).
Some major dangers and causes of trauma are namely, embarrassment, harassment,
physical assault, partner battery, sexual abuse, discrimination, bullying, paternalism, victim
of alcohol abuse, or witnessing death. Childhood trauma has also been found to aggravate the
likelihood of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Additionally, trauma is prevalent among
76% Canadians, with 9.2% meeting the PTSD criteria. 63% of women undergoing treatment
for substance abuse also report sexual violence and physical violence. Government reports
also indicate history of trauma among 25% youth who engage in substance abuse behaviour.
However, often clinicians fail to accurately identify the potential causes that result in trauma,
thereby relating the events to some clinical problems, thus impeding the recovery process
(Bccewh.bc.ca, 2013).
Answer 2 (c)-
Appendix 1 (Bccewh.bc.ca, 2013): In preparation for meeting with someone coming
for mental health and/or substance use support, I will ground myself by aligning my values