Making sense of the practice of trauma-informed care: A response to the need to implement trauma-informed care into front-line practice

Abstract

Trauma-informed Care is an approach that is gaining momentum in front line social work practice and allied professions that work directly with children, young people, adults, and their families who have experienced trauma. However, to date, clear ways to integrate Trauma-informed Care into practice specific to the Irish context are lacking. In this article, firstly, the author describes the development of Trauma-informed Care as an approach to ameliorate trauma exposure. Then, the barriers that impede the progression of integrating this approach into front-line practice are discussed. As a response, a university-based Continuing Professional Development programme has been developed. The theoretical framework that underpins the programme is presented that draws from the author’s doctoral research and extensive practice experience. The paper concludes that front-line practitioners play an integral role in wider service and systems-level Trauma-informed Care implementation.