Trauma-and Violence-Informed Care (TVIC) ensures the safety of those seeking care by recognizing how trauma and experience of violence is closely linked to a person’s health and behaviour.
Trauma-and Violence-Informed Care is implemented to make practices and policies safe by preventing further harm to the individual. Principles of Trauma-and Violence-Informed Care have been created to address the most pertinent needs of those experiencing intimate partner and gender-based violence.
Here are the four principles of Trauma-and Violence-Informed Care and examples of how to implement them at an organizational and individual level:
- Understanding trauma, violence and its impacts on people’s lives and behaviours
- Organizational: Provide staff training on how violence and trauma affect the individual’s health and behviour
- Individual: Respond supportively to disclosures (Believe and validate the individual’s experience without judgement)
- Create emotionally and physically safe environments for all clients and providers
- Organizational: Create a welcoming environment from the beginning (starting with the intake process) and emphasize patient confidentiality and understand their priorities
- Individual: Build connection and trust with the individual
- Foster opportunities for choice, collaboration and connection
- Organizational: Involve people with lived experience in development of programs and services
- Individual: Listen actively and consider their choices together
- Use a strengths-based and capacity-building approach to support clients
- Organizational: Provide options in programs and services that can be tailored towards the patients’ needs
- Individual: Recognize and help identify the individual’s strengths
Source: Wathen, C.N. & Varcoe, C. (2019). Trauma- & Violence-Informed Care: Prioritizing Safety for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence. London, Canada.
