Susan Broderick, assistant research professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, wrote this for Juvenile Justice Information Exchange:
For the past several years, researchers and practitioners around the country have been promoting “trauma-informed” projects and policies. The emergence of the label seems to date back to the findings of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, published back in 1997. While the phrase has caught on like wildfire, there appears to be little consistency as to what this actually means. For some skeptics, it seemed that “trauma-informed” was replacing “evidence-based” as the mantra to the masses – something that had to be mentioned in all grant applications in order to get funding. Admittedly, I was one of those skeptics.
Last week I had the good fortune of meeting Dr. Robert Anda, one of the principal researchers of that study. After providing an overview of the study, he went on to explain the significance of the findings. Of particular importance, he explained, was that by better understanding the relationship between certain adverse childhood experiences and various negative life outcomes, there is a way to change course. “What is predictable is preventable.” What a powerful message.
Anda also spoke of the theory behind “trauma-informed” practices: “Instead of looking at what’s wrong with someone, we look at what happened to that person.” This makes perfect sense, even to a skeptic like me, because we can only truly change behavior when we understand what caused the behavior. He went on to emphasize that this does not mean we ignore personal responsibility. In fact, he stressed that accountability is still very important.
For the rest of this very interesting op-ed, go to: http://jjie.org/op-ed-trauma-informed-care-is-more-than-a-mantra/
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