working for mental health

MENTAL HEALTH COORDINATING COUNCIL

Building Workforce Capacity in Trauma Informed Care Altering States: Working for Wellbeing Conference 2012

Corinne Henderson

Senior Policy Officer

Mental Health Coordinating Council

Building Workforce Capacity in Trauma Informed Care

Defining complex trauma

Complex trauma generally refers to traumatic stressors that are interpersonal

They are premeditated, planned, and caused by other humans, such as violating and/or exploitation of another person

Christine A. Courtois.2010.

Understanding Complex Trauma, Complex Reactions, and Treatment

Building Workforce Capacity in Trauma Informed Care

The consequences of trauma often leads to a number of mental health and related problems, such as :

• poor mental and physical health

• substance abuse and misuse

• eating disorders

• self-harming behaviours, e.g. cutting and burning

• suicidality

• dysfunctional relationships and poor self-esteem

• poor educational outcomes

• and contact with the criminal justice system

Building Workforce Capacity in Trauma Informed Care

The national TICP AWG is leading the call for

a national trauma informed approach to care which embodies a paradigm shift in service delivery to create an environment that is more supportive, comprehensively integrated, empowering and therapeutic

Building Workforce Capacity in Trauma Informed Care

MHCC Learning & Development in collaboration with ASCA is in the process of developing two new Certificate IV courses - one for the mental health and community managed workforce and one for managers

Orientation to Trauma Informed Care aims to support the sector transform mental health and allied human services to better serve consumers with abuse histories

Building Workforce Capacity in Trauma Informed Care

The courses are tailored to meet the different needs of managers and workers and will include elements that will enable participants to:

• identify the factors involved in working with people impacted by trauma

• work effectively from a trauma informed perspective

• utilise self-care strategies when working from a TI perspective and contribute to the continuous improvement of TIC in service delivery

Building Workforce Capacity in Trauma Informed Care

The Purpose of the Guidelines is to inform a diverse audience

• about new ways of conceptualising and responding to trauma

• to enable new possibilities for recovery for survivors of trauma, and their children

• to highlight the need for service and practitioner cultures and practice to be sensitive to the needs of people with complex trauma

Building Workforce Capacity in Trauma Informed Care

1. Practice Guidelines for care and treatment of people with Complex Trauma reflect growing insights into the role of trauma in the aetiology of mental illness and new possibilities for clinical treatment

and

2. Practice Guidelines for Trauma-Informed Care and Service Delivery are directed to all services with which people with trauma histories come into contact

Building Workforce Capacity in Trauma Informed Care

Trauma Informed Care

is directed by a thorough understanding of the neurological, biological, psychological and social effects of trauma and violence

and

the prevalence of these experiences in people receiving mental health services

Building Workforce Capacity in Trauma Informed Care

It involves not only changing assumptions about how we organise and provide services, but creates organisational cultures that are personal, holistic, creative, open, and therapeutic

It is a practice that can be utilised to support service providers in moving from a caretaker to a collaborator role using a trauma informed recovery-orientated approach

Building Workforce Capacity in Trauma Informed Care

• Recognise and avoid the coercive interventions that cause traumatisation and re-traumatisation

• Recognise the high rates of PTSD and other psychiatric disorders related to trauma exposure in children and adults

• Provide early and thoughtful diagnostic evaluation with focused consideration of trauma in people with complicated, treatment-resistant illness

• Recognise that mental health treatment environments are often traumatising, both overtly and covertly

• Recognise that the majority of the mental health workforce are uninformed about trauma, do not recognise it, and do not address it

Building Workforce Capacity in Trauma Informed Care

• Provide awareness training on re-traumatising practices

• Focus on what happened to a person rather than on what is ‘wrong with them’ (i.e. their diagnosis)

• Where appropriate ask questions about current abuse

• Assess current risk and develop a safety plan for ongoing treatment or discharge etc.,

• Presume that every person in a treatment setting may have been exposed to abuse, violence, neglect or other traumatic experiences

Building Workforce Capacity in Trauma Informed Care

Thank youWe encourage you to visit the MHCC website at

www.mhcc.org.au/TICP

join our network and make use of the resources available.

Corinne Henderson, Senior Policy OfficerTel: 02 9555 8388 ext 101

E: corinne@mhcc.org.au

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Visit www.mhcc.org.au for more information