What is the Trauma Informed Care Project?
Many of Alameda County’s consumers and family members who are served through our behavioral health system have experienced trauma from multiple sources over long periods of time. Some examples of this trauma include: poverty; neighborhood violence; child abuse and neglect; domestic violence; historical trauma; war/relocation; mental health discrimination and internalized stigma; prison, and homelessness. Often, those exposed to trauma lack natural supports or ways to heal. Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services (ACBHCS) has funded the one-year Trauma Informed Care Capacity Building Project as a response to the need to better support those who have experienced and continue to experience such traumas.
This project was funded to increase awareness of what works to support healing for those who have experienced trauma and to increase the number and variety of trauma informed practices used by our providers. This year we will review trauma informed care research and practices (found locally and nationwide) and collaborate with BHCS providers, consumers, and family members to:
- Offer resources to consumers and family members that build self-care skills and are easy to access and use.
- Offer tools and strategies to providers that increase trauma informed care practices that are welcoming, minimize re-victimization, and validate the strengths of survivors, by encouraging skill-building, empowerment and self-determination.
- Establish a leadership network or learning collaborative to sustain the effort of healing trauma in Alameda County.
This project was inspired by our Behavioral Health Care consumer leadership, the ACBHCS Training Department, and a Visioning Group consisting of the ACBHCS Pool of Consumer Champions in collaboration with ACBHCS providers and family members. Our ACBHCS Trauma Informed Care Capacity Building Project is managed by WestCoast Children’s Clinic (WestCoast). WestCoast has provided mental health services to families and children for over 30 years. Their Training and Research & Evaluation departments are well known for their work identifying, evaluating, and implementing innovative approaches to mental health and wellness. download Joomla extensions for SEO free