Original subtitles

This presentation assumes some Basic knowledge about trauma-informed care

and you may have Received This from a prior presentation In the series or From another presentation.

So we'll review trauma-informed care pretty quickly and then move on

to Some specific Examples to really bring it home and apply it practically

As you may recall, trauma-informed care represents a general Strategy for interacting with persons

adults Or children who have experienced major trauma in their Lives

There are several Key components to trauma-informed care

One is safety It's incredibly Important to Establish a sense of psychological as well as physical safety

When you're interacting with a Traumatized child

So that they Feel Comfortable and feels They can trust You and share what's on their mind

Transparency is the second major pillar in this really refers to Sharing information with The child

Informing them of what you're thinking

What you want to do, why you want to do it, what's going to happen next so that they don't feel

the anxiety of being out of control and uncertain of what will happen next?

Ideally, in all Circumstances where it's possible

we'd like to get the child consent

not only deliver the information but then get their consent to proceed

Whenever possible

Respect for the traumatized child is really paramount During their trauma

they may have been consistently disrespected Dehumanized, Terrorized, And isolated

So we need to go out of our way to show them respect

And concentrate on their strengths and their resilience.

And that leads to empowerment, which is another pillar of trauma-informed care

We need to look beyond seeing traumatized Children as the victims

They're more than victims. They're survivors

They're very resilient. They're very strong

And we need to empower them to realize how strong and resilient they are so they can begin to rebuild

their sense of self-esteem and self-agency

Probably the biggest tenant of trauma-informed care involves the idea that trauma-informed

Providers Recognize the impact the trauma Has On a child Or an adult

the way it changes their Views of the World themselves.

And so that we can be understanding this we can respond appropriately and take steps

to Minimize bating child distress And making things Difficult for them while we're interacting With them

As you know, trauma has a profound impact on a person's Views of themselves

as the world around them, of other people

And this translates To Changes in their attitudes

Their expectations of others

The way they interpret your reactions, your words, your facial expressions, and the way they behave

All of these things Are influenced by Prior experiences And when a child has been traumatized

Their behaviors, attitudes, and thought may adapt to a very hostile environment and change

in a way Way that Is helpful to them to survive In a very hostile Environment, but which may be Maladaptive

In other environments Such as ones that are safe and Caring, for example, when working with your agency

So a child may originally have felt strong, in control of their lives and with a lot of potential

They may have seen the world As a very safe place and other People looking out for them

after their significant trauma, specifically in Sexual exploitation Or trafficking

They no longer See the world as a safe place They no longer see themselves

as Powerful and in control Instead, they see themselves as vulnerable, weak, and Dehumanized

With very low self-esteem They see other people as wanting to harm them

and not wanting to help them,They want to exploit them

So they expect From you and from Others that you will judge them

Dehumanize them, terrorism, harm them

And they may use that Expectation, it Will affect the way that

their attitudes toward You and their behavior toward you

They may be hostile to media withdrawn, They may be very wary.

Because They've learned to adapt to a hostile world

So the influence of trauma on a Child's Thoughts and behaviors and attitudes can be profound

And we As specialists need to be able to understand that so that we can step back

And say this child's behavior doesn't reflect their feelings towards me

They're responding to their traumatic past

And that helps us Remain nonjudgmental, open, and empathic

Trauma-informed care is also rights-based

Fundamental human rights reserve serve embodied and trauma-informed care

in the way, we need to interact with exploited and trafficked children

We've talked about the child's right to obtain information

in a way that they can understand developmentally appropriate in their language

They need to be given the opportunity to express their views

and Be heard not only to listen but To have a voice themselves

We may not be able to honor what they want, but we need to give them a voice

And engage them Listen to what they're saying

They have a right to privacy And confidentiality

So that They are not questioned in front of other people who might mean them harm

that other people don't Have access to the Information Who shouldn't have access to it

Their right To care about them that is free of bias and Discrimination

Is Extremely important, especially for children who have been traumatized

Through Exploitation and trafficking Because on so many different levels, many Of these children experience bias

And discrimination for Some of their vulnerabilities

as well as aspects of Trafficking or exploitation That are stigmatized

They have a right to dignity And self-respect

and a right to have everyone respect their cultural and religious beliefs and practices

So these theories are very important in Trauma-informed Care, Rights-based care

They're extremely Important And you're familiar with them

But how does it actually work? How do you Apply this theory to practice?

And that's what I want to explain right now

Let's start off with an example

Let's pretend you're a law enforcement officer and you're investigating

a Case of live stream Online child Sexual exploitation And the child involves

a nine-year-old girl whose mother Has her perform sexual acts at the Direction of online buyers

And this occurs in the child's home The mother has put an ad online

and so people buy 20 minutes, and 30 minutes of online Time with this child

And direct her To Perform Various sex acts

You're about to interview the child

The child has just entered your Office and has no idea why she's there

She's nine years old . She's in a strange place, and she has no idea Why she's there or who you are

What are the things you need to think about when you're preparing a trauma-informed Approach to this child?

Well, you need to be thinking about how she may be feeling inside

What would you Be feeling if you were in her place, would you be anxious?

She's probably anxious. She's probably scared She's probably Somewhat curious But afraid

We have to think about all that and try to allay some of those fears and allay That Anxiety

We know that we need To establish a sense of psychological safety

So what can we do In the environment and with our own behavior?

and The words we say to put her at ease And make her Feel like this is a safe place?

I can talk to you as a police officer I can tell you what's on my mind

And this is going to require That we build rapport and trust. We can't just dive into sensitive questions

Instead, we might want to take time to build rapport

Ask the child about things that she likes to do And things that she likes In her life

or Ask non-threatening questions, very open-ended so that she has a chance To realize that you care about her

that You are listening to her, and you're paying close attention and that'll establish a sense of trust

She needs to Have information, so you need to think about what information would Help her feel relaxed

would lay some of that anxiety And fear

Well, you can start by providing information about Who you are, what your role is, and Where you are

and that You're in the police station and Why you're there

In ways that she can understand, speaking slowly and sort of checking in to make sure that she understands

you might explain all that to her and say, you know I've just told you a whole lot

Do you have any questions about what I said?

Then you need to Explain What you want to do

I need to ask you some questions Why do you need to ask questions?

Well, I need To ask questions to get To know something about You, to see how I can help

That's the explanation You're giving her information now you need to get consent

You might want to explain a little bit more about the question. Some are sensitive, some are not

You don't have To answer the questions. You can answer the ones you want to, but you Have a choice.

Is it okay if I ask you questions?

So all of these

Things tie back into The theory Of trauma-informed care, the right to consent, and the right to information.

The safety and rapport Building, all of those things.

This is practically how you carry that out

Let's take Another example

You're the law enforcement officer interviewing Samuel

Samuel's father has sold child sexual abuse materials of Samuel on the Internet

Police have raided the home and arrested the father and the father of Samuel's only caregiver.

The mother and the Russell family are not in the picture.

You know That the child will be taken to a children's shelter because that's What happens in your area and in your region

Your country doesn't Have children's shelters for this purpose

And you're pretty sure that Samuel's not going to be happy about doing that

You want to Respect his right to be heard

He doesn't know what you're thinking About all this

And he says, well, what happens now? What are you going to say?

Well, you might want to start by putting it back in his court and saying

Samuel, what do you think should happen now?

You've explained that the father is no longer in the house

And so what Do you think should happen? And he maybe he says, I think I should go home

I like Home I want to be home, I want to be with my father

And then you could say, okay, tell me about that Tell me all the reasons

Why do you want to be at home and then say, you know, and I hear what you're saying

and I absolutely respect That, but I'm concerned

because your father's not going to be in the home, so he's not going to be there to take care of You

So going home is really not an option

And then you can explain what you need To do

And what is coming down the pike, that the children's shelter

is probably what You're going to be doing

And then listen to what he has to say, He may say, I want to go to the children's shelter

And then you Say, tell me more About that

What are your concerns? What are your fears?

The point is you're Giving him Voice

You can't have him go home There's nobody to take care of him at home

But you want to hear what he wants, why he wants it, and why He objects to your Plan

Ultimately, you're going to have To follow through With your plan

But the information you gained by talking to him about It and his fears, his Concerns can be very helpful

in assuring that when he does Go to a shelter, you maximize the likelihood that he has a good experience there

Let's take another example

Sophia has been identified by police as a victim of sexual exploitation when they conducted a raid on a nearby Hotel

You've been called to assess and provide services

You may be a social Worker, you may be a counselor, a victim advocate

but you've been called to assess and serve

While you're Preparing to Go in and talk to Sofia, you Overhear one staff member say to somebody else

If she hadn't made such bad decisions, she wouldn't be in this situation.

And they're referring to Sofia

What do you do? Sophia deserves care That's free of bias and discrimination

And that's not what's happening here This staff member Has clearly exhibited bias

In a Very sort of hostile way that could be very detrimental to the staff Around you and Ultimately to Sophia herself

It's really important that we Recognize Bias and Discrimination in our environment

and take steps to address it, too

especially In cases of human trafficking and sexual exploitation

Trafficked persons may experience a lot of bias and discrimination on multiple Levels

or maybe stigma related to, say prostitution

Or because they're From a different country or the type of work that they've been forced to do

It may be Related to Stigma and Bias, related to some of their vulnerabilities

and the fact that they've Run away from home and are homeless now, maybe

they're from a Specific Ethnic or Racial group that is Marginalized

Maybe their gender identity and sexual orientation are stigmatized.

So many people who have been trafficked Or exploited suffer bias And discrimination on multiple levels

And we need to be very careful that We take steps

and extra effort to deliver care that's free of bias and discrimination

Okay.Back to Sofia

So you've heard if you hadn't made such bad decisions, you Wouldn't be in this situation

What would you do?

Well, you're not going to start yelling at the person who's made this inappropriate remark

in front of Everybody else, that's just going to lead them to be defensive

and shut down and not listen to what you're saying And it's Basically rude

So what you might want to do Though, is trying to address the

The situation is a private way

You might ask them if you can speak to them privately for a minute

and then say something along the lines of, you know, I overheard You talking about our client, Sophia

And it made me very uncomfortable

I think this child needs our help and support.

Not our blame and judgment

We have no idea what trauma she's Experienced and how she got to this Point

She deserves compassionate care. Just Like all our clients

You're a great case manager who treats youth with dignity and respect.

Can you do that for this child as well?