We see the term ”trauma-informed” on HR posters, in waiting rooms, and tossed around as if it's the new "woke" but in reality, claiming something to be trauma-informed has deep implications for the patients interacting with these services and providers. With the increase in using this buzzword, the true meaning and follow through it requires is getting diluted, therefore diluting the quality of care patients receive.
There is an assumption that being trauma-informed means having empathy, using active listening skills, and showing compassion for patients. However, being trauma-informed is not simply being a good person. This should be the bare minimum in practices, not an extra term providers use to boost their JEDI initiatives.
With the overuse and dilution of "trauma-informed", we've settled for praising compassion, which reflects the dire state of patient care. While empathy and other soft skills are helpful, they aren't actually what makes something trauma-informed. Yes, being empathetic can support someone who has experienced trauma, but that's not a specific accommodation to their experiences.
Being trauma-informed requires an in-depth understanding of how trauma works from a behavioural and neuroscientific perspective, how it manifests, and how spaces can create an environment to support patients with trauma (Center for Healthcare Strategies, 2021). Human decency is simply not enough to be trauma-informed.
The American Psychology Association (n.d.) defines trauma as an event that leads to significant, long-lasting feelings that disrupt normal function. Trauma can affect people through lasting adverse effects, leading to substance use, mental health conditions, and poorer health outcomes (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, 2024). This requires trauma focused therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy, eye movement and desensitization reprocessing (Center for Addiction and Mental Health, 2018) and practitioners who understand how to support patients without re-traumatization (Center for Healthcare Strategies, 2021). All of this goes beyond basic kindness. If we continue the assumption that trauma-informed means empathy instead of a tailored clinical understanding of trauma and its impacts, patients who truly need trauma-informed care will lose out on the critical care they need.
Besides the overuse of the term, trainings that claim to teach service providers how to be trauma-informed reaffirm the bare minimum definition we see so much today. This not only perpetuates the false notion of trauma-informed equating common respect but falsely allows practitioners to pat themselves on the back for learning skills that should have already been there. This premature sense of achievement leads to stalls in professional development as doctors and other healthcare staff believe they have checked off trauma-informed training. The fact is that the robot HR modules on active listening do not scratch the surface of what it means to be trauma-informed. It is not a one-time thing, but an ongoing process of learning based on new research in trauma and the ever-growing way new generations embody these experiences.
To separate these false ideologies of being trauma-informed from the actual learnings and practices that warrant the term, we must first start by demanding more from the way we perceive what trauma-informed care truly is. After this, trauma-informed trainings must adopt this standard and integrate it into their teachings.
Experiencing trauma is a deeply impactful experience that warrants care beyond passive sympathies. Patients deserve real care that meets their unique needs and practitioners that understand what being trauma-informed entails. Bettering practice for patients goes beyond an HR poster or slapping a term on a clinic website. If we want the overall state of our healthcare system to improve, we must raise our standards and promote trauma-informed care that is actually that, trauma informed.
By Marissa Lear I Academic Committee Member
References:
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Trauma. American Psychological Association. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://www.apa.org/topics/trauma
Center for Addiction and Mental Health. (2018). Trauma. CAMH. https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/trauma
Center for Health Care Strategies. (2021). What is trauma-informed care? Trauma-Informed Care Implementation Resource Center. https://www.traumainformedcare.chcs.org/what-is-trauma-informed-care/
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2024, November 8). Trauma and violence. Samhsa.Gov. https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health/trauma-violence
