SocialWorkSynergy

By Lesa Fichte

 

Offering great examples and some practical solutions for when the problem is “not in my doctor’s office,” this post gives both an overview of Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) and helpful resources.

 

 

“Yep, this topic is one of my passions: trauma-informed medical care, trauma-informed systems of medical-care, and the problem of its frequent absence in health-care settings.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Here are some examples of what is not trauma-informed medical care:

 

 

-An RN case manager calls my husband after he is home from the hospital after a severe heart attack. Three times during the conversation she asks him why he went to the hospital. Each time he responded he thought he was going to die…We filed a complaint…but what happened [to cause] such an insensitive encounter to occur?

 

 

-I had a recent appointment at a specialist’s office [where I] had to switch to a different doctor in the practice as mine left. The nurse said nothing but “hello, have a seat” – no eye contact during the entire time. She then proceeded to ask me a long list of standard medical status questions. She displayed no compassion or concern for the fact that I stated my symptoms had worsened significantly the last three months…It was about how it was done and that it was not trauma-informed/trauma sensitive as I was very anxious about the worsening symptoms, the impact on my quality of life, and what the future held for me…”   con’t

 

 

SocialWorkSynergy is pleased to reblog this post from Behind the Human Curtain, by our colleague at the UB School of Social Work, Lesa Fichte.

 

 

 

Lesa Fichte, LMSW, ACSW, is Director of the UB School of Social Work Continuing Education. She has developed a great program of workshops and trainings, including the trauma certificate program.  UB SSW Continuing Education meets the ongoing training needs of the clinicians and human service personnel who work with trauma survivors.

 

Note: If you have any response, Lesa would love to hear from you.  To centralize all comments, please share your ideas on her blog, Behind the Human Curtain  (comments have been disabled on our SocialWorkSynergy site).