What does “trauma-informed” mean?

Each of the service providers at Panorama Wellness Group would call themselves trauma-informed.  That is important to each of us, but what does it mean to you as a client here in Langley?

It might help to first explain what trauma is.  We hear the word used a lot, but it’s often one of those words that we don’t really know how to explain.

It is personal

When something unexpected happens that we are not prepared for, we experience a traumatic event.  If we can start to absorb that definition of trauma, then we realize that what may seem like nothing to me, can be traumatic to you.  We appreciate the words of Peter Levine (a trauma specialist) when he says that “people can be traumatized by any event they perceive (consciously or unconsciously) to be life-threatening”.  So a tree falling in a storm may feel threatening to a child, as an adult you just see it as a result of a storm, but if they believe that they can’t deal with the possibility that it could have fallen on their house, then it is traumatic to them. 

It can come in many forms

If we take the example of the tree falling above, we can start to see how the causes of trauma can be put into different categories.

Obvious causes would be something like war, rape, or experiencing or being a witness of violence. 

Less obvious causes are ones that highlight the idea that trauma is something that is perceived by the one that is experiencing the event.  So a car accident or divorce may not seem like a traumatic event to you, but to someone who did not feel prepared or equipped to deal with the event or the results of those events, it is traumatic. 

It will be expressed through your body

A common misconception is that trauma is something that is in your head, and therefore you should just be able to use self-talk or rationalization to get over it.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Again, Peter Levine says “trauma is something that happens initially to our bodies and our instincts.  Only then do its effects spread to our minds, emotions, and spirits”.

Quite often, we respond to trauma by feeling anxious or nervous.  We may not notice it at first, but almost any response you experience you have to your traumatic event is related to the burst of energy that you experienced during the original event.  Your body was prepared to respond to the perceived danger that you experienced, and quite often that energy can be locked into your body as you try to recover from the event.  For example, it is quite common to have people come to counselling to deal with anxiety or a sense of being frozen in life and then realize that it stems from something that happened in their lives that they felt they were not prepared for or posed a threat to their physical or emotional wellbeing.

It leaves you feeling as if you’ve lost your voice.

One of the things that a traumatic event tends to do to us is leave us feeling as if someone or something else had a bigger voice in our lives…the event left us without the ability to choose how we experience our lives.

With this definition of trauma in mind, each of us at Panorama Wellness Group are purposeful in paying attention to the whole of you, rather than “let’s just get this done”.  It starts with offering a safe and calm environment for you to work in, whether that’s in our office or online.  We want to proceed carefully, checking in with you, asking what your preferences are in the work that we’re doing together, and giving you the ability to have a safe experience and start to regain your voice.

How does this translate into the services that we provide?

Counselling

As mentioned above, a trauma-informed approach in counselling may begin with ensuring that you have a number of ways to practice grounding or mindfulness exercises, and self-care.  The attention to these tools is important to us so that as we begin to process traumatic events, or help you with the issue that you’ve brought to the table, you won’t walk away overwhelmed or not knowing how to manage emotions that come up.

One of our counsellors put it this way

“Trauma informed is being aware of how trauma impacts the individual as a whole and recognizing that each client has their own set of unique strengths and resiliency. I work with my clients to help them recognize these strengths while creating a safe environment for clients to express, explore, and process trauma in their timing, not mine.”

Occupational Therapy

Being trauma-informed as an occupational therapist incorporates a lot of what our counsellors provide.  There is a mental health component to what our OTs provide, so they are giving you grounding tools and coping mechanisms to help you find a way to do the things that are important to you. 

They also are trying to find ways to help you feel like you have control in your life again.  They work with you to help you to return to the activities, tasks and roles that are valuable and meaningful to you after an event that has changed what your life looks like.  That looks like finding practical ways to move within your house or work, and giving you choices in making that work the best for you.  All of this is done at a pace that is manageable for you, helping you get a voice and choices in your life again.

Massage Therapy

A trauma-informed massage therapist doesn’t just start working on the physical pain that you present with.  They pay attention to what is going on in the room and with you.  They are listening both to what you are telling them and what your body is saying as they are providing the massage.

Consent is key when you are working with a massage therapist who is trauma-informed.  They are focussed on giving you a voice, and being explicit in providing you the opportunity to say if something doesn’t feel good, ways that you are uncomfortable or comfortable with the manipulations they are doing, and being purposeful in asking for your consent when your body gives a different message than you verbally did. 

Note:  We are currently looking for an RMT to join our team.  If you are a massage therapist that is wondering what it means to be trauma-informed, there is a great article here that goes into more detail of what that would look like as a therapist.

At Panorama Wellness Group, it is crucial that each of the practitioners here offer a trauma-informed perspective to the services that we provide to you in Murrayville and Langley, BC.  It’s one of the reasons why we have a multi-disciplinary group – because being trauma-informed means we are approaching your health from a variety of aspects, rather than in isolation.  Your emotional, physical and mental wellbeing is important to each of us, along with the goal of helping you find a voice in your life and doing that in an environment that provides a sense of calm and safety.

If you have any questions about this or anything else related to how we work, please contact us at info@panoramawellnessgroup.ca.