In a world where “trauma,” “trauma-informed,” and “trauma-focused” terms are not only becoming increasingly used, but also better understood, sometimes one needs to take a step back and take stock of why we are doing the work that we are doing. Reflecting and remembering why the identification of trauma and being trauma-informed and-focused in our work and lives is important. There is a myriad of things that we can re-visit and evaluate for both their usefulness and effectiveness in trauma work. One of the tools that can be used in the varied fields of human services are the universal trauma screens. Though professionals may have a trauma lens and assume that everyone has experienced trauma at some point in his/her life, this doesn’t take us very far when we are serving children and families in mental/behavioral health, social services, educational, justice, and health settings. How do we, as helping professionals, sensitively ask questions to gauge what a person has experienced so that we can determine if they need assistance in processing their trauma symptoms and/or experiences?
One of the most effective ways to do this is to utilize a validated trauma screening tool, particularly one that can be used by a variety of professionals, no matter their clinical training or background. Trauma screening tools allow us to ask a brief, pre-determined set of questions to identify potential trauma events or symptoms. These give helping professionals guidance in making decisions as to whether further trauma assessment is warranted for the person before us. We must keep in mind that we may not delve into the specifics of the traumatic events and/or symptoms reported on the trauma screen, but the positive screen itself is enough to warrant a referral to a mental health professional for further assessment. Also, according to SAMHSA, “Negative screens do not necessarily mean that an individual doesn’t have symptoms that warrant intervention,” (https://store.samhsa.gov/sites.../priv/sma14-4816.pdf). A trauma screening tool is only as effective as the procedures used to specify next steps for client referral and assessment. Ideally, those who are administering screens have had some training in how to administer the screen, score it, and how to implement next steps based on the screen results. It should be clear to those completing the screening what defines a positive or negative score. Steps regarding what happens with both positive and negative screens should be well-defined and followed by screen administrators.
Trauma screening can ensure that human service professionals are identifying those who are in need of further mental health or substance use assessment and helps them to get to those assessments more quickly and efficiently than they would be otherwise. Trauma screening can identify potential issues early on, giving mental health professionals an opportunity to help the client before symptoms and behaviors escalate, causing a mental health crisis for the client (as well as the system serving that client). This earlier intervention for trauma can be much more effective for the client, the client’s support system, and the mental health practitioners—reducing the number of resources needed to manage crises, and instead focus on resources to help the client maintain their health in their community. Systems that utilize universal trauma screening on a regular basis can be much more proactive in ensuring that their clients are receiving care in a more efficient and effective manner.
Comments (0)