Camp Fire’s approach to trauma: What it means to be trauma-informed
You’ve heard us say it many times:?Growing up is hard.?That’s the why behind everything we do. But when we say hard…just how hard are we talking??
Right now, really hard. Like, clinically hard. We’re in a youth?mental health?crisis, and one of the underlying causes is trauma.??
What is trauma???
The?National Child Traumatic Stress Network?gives us a simple definition of trauma:??
“When a child feels intensely threatened by an event [they] are involved in or witnesses, we call that event a trauma.”
Trauma has many sources: Child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, community violence, bullying, medical events, disasters or other emergencies, loss of a loved one, racism/discrimination, family instability, worldwide pandemics — the list goes on. Researchers are even beginning to make the link between?climate change and trauma.??
Not every stressful event automatically leads to trauma, and individual circumstances (age, cultural beliefs, the presence or absence of a support system, etc.) around an event may lead to differing effects in different people.?
?“A particular event may be experienced as traumatic for one individual and not for another,”?explains the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration?(SAMHSA).?
What happens to us in early childhood influences the people we become. “[But] it isn’t just something that happens to kids,” said Nikki Roe Cropp, Camp Fire’s Senior Director, Program Effectiveness. “It’s a human experience.”???
Many of us experience adversity that has a lasting impact on our physical and emotional health — no matter our age. The book?What Happened to You??by brain development and trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perr and Oprah Winfrey suggests healing can begin with a shift to asking, “What happened to you?” rather than “What’s wrong with you?” or “Why are you behaving that way?”??
What happened to us in childhood is a powerful predictor of our risk for health problems down the road and offers scientific insights into the patterns of behaviors so many struggle to understand.??
What does trauma do to the brain???
When we experience something traumatic, our brain stem takes over to help us survive. Our stress hormones kick in and enable us to do whatever needs to be done to get through (fight, flight, freeze, fawn). The cognitive and emotional processing parts of our brains take a back seat.?
These are helpful responses in the moment, but when the danger is past, the brain and body aren’t always able to shift back into a non-reactive mode. Our brains can stay on high alert, keeping us stuck in those emergency reaction patterns, making us act, feel and think in ways that others find hard to understand.
That stuckness is particularly damaging to developing brains. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network explains:??
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“When a child is experiencing traumatic stress, these reactions interfere with the child’s daily life and ability to function and interact with others. … Without treatment, repeated childhood exposure to traumatic events can affect the brain and nervous system and increase health-risk behaviors (e.g., smoking, eating disorders, substance use, and high-risk activities). Research shows that child trauma survivors can be more likely to have long-term health problems (e.g., diabetes and heart disease) or to die at an earlier age.”??
The key phrase here is “without treatment.” Trauma may be almost unavoidable, but it’s definitely not untreatable. There are many evidenced-based treatments for traumatic stress, and there are many ways that those of us who aren’t mental health professionals can help, too.??
We call those ways a “trauma-informed approach.”??
What is a trauma-informed approach to working with youth??
“Trauma-informed care is being aware of what young people are bringing with them,” said Ben Matthews, Camp Fire’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access Manager.??
Indeed, SAMSHA defines a trauma-informed approach as:??
“A program, organization, or system that is trauma-informed?realizes?the widespread impact of trauma and understands potential paths for recovery;?recognizes?the signs and symptoms of trauma in clients, families, staff, and others involved with the system; and?responds?by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices, and seeks to actively?resist re-traumatization.”?
SAMHSA lays out six principles for trauma-informed programs:??
How does Camp Fire use trauma-informed principles??
Our trauma-informed knowledge and practices will grow as we continue to find ways to help connect kids to nature, others and themselves. We may not be able to make growing up?easy, but with trauma-informed approaches, we can make it kinder, more connected and full of hope.????
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