In the United States, many people experience potentially traumatic events across the life course, and some people experience long-term negative impacts from those events that affect the ways they engage with others and the care system. Given the high rates of trauma in the population, it is reasonable to believe that the older adults for which we provide care will also have high rates of trauma about which providers may or may not be aware. Trauma informed care is a system wide approach to care that aims to reduce re-traumatization and make health and social services more accessible to people who have past traumatic experiences. This presentation will cover risk factors for trauma in older adults, possible presentations of the effects of trauma, ways that individual providers and systems can become more trauma informed, and the differences between trauma informed care and trauma treatment.

This presentation was originally reviewed on April 21, 2022, and broadcast live online on April 22, 2022, from 9:00 AM - 12:15 PM ET. 

Trauma-informed care tends to focus on the symptoms of a person impacted by trauma. As a treatment-based model, trauma-informed care views these symptoms in isolation which potentially can make one feel like they are what happened to them. Thus, the term “trauma survivor.” As service providers we need to shift from a treatment-based model to a salutogenic approach that supports collective well-being. Healing-centered engagement expands how we think about trauma as an isolated experience and offers a holistic approach to restore well-being. A Healing-Centered approach is holistic involving culture, civic action, and collective healing. A Healing-Centered approach highlights the ways in which trauma and healing are experienced collectively. Healing-Centered Engagement expands how we think about trauma and offers a strengths-based approach to restore well-being. Participants will distinguish trauma-informed care from healing-centered engagement strategies, explore key brain regions as they play a vital role in addressing the wellbeing of Black boys and men, and practice how to apply a healing-centered engagement approach by analyzing a case study.

This presentation was originally reviewed on September 1, 2022, and broadcast live online on September 9, 2022, from 1:oo PM – 4:15 PM ET.