The World Health Organization estimates around 4% of the world has experienced post-traumatic stress disorder at some point in their lives. Trauma, left untreated, can not only hurt your health but also your quality of life and relationships. However, if you are struggling with trauma, this doesn’t mean you are doomed to struggle with untreated trauma for the rest of your life. Trauma-informed care offers an effective treatment option for people dealing with trauma. In this article, you’ll learn more about trauma-informed care, such as what are the 4 Rs of trauma-informed care, and so much more below!
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What are the 4 Rs of Trauma-Informed Care?
Trauma-informed care offers patients a way to address their trauma so they can heal and move forward in life. Below are the four Rs of trauma-informed care that provide the framework for the approach.
1. Realize
The first R is realized. It’s important to realize how widespread trauma can be, both in how you can be affected by a traumatic experience, and how many people struggle with trauma. For example, trauma can be physical such as experiencing domestic violence or a dangerous car accident, or trauma can also be emotional. It’s important to understand that there are unfortunately many instances of traumatic experiences from war, to abusive relationships, experiencing a deadly accident, and more.
2. Recognize
The next R is recognize. Sometimes, trauma can be difficult to spot. However, it’s important to recognize and look out for the common signs and symptoms of trauma. There is a range of physical, emotional, and psychological trauma symptoms you can experience, from depression and anxiety, to difficulty trusting people or certain situations. Trauma-informed care can help you identify these symptoms and effectively manage them so they don’t negatively impact your health, relationships, and overall quality of life.
3. Respond
Respond is the next R, and involves how you respond to using the knowledge you’ve learned in your daily life. In other words, how you respond and integrate the knowledge you learned in trauma-informed care into your life to help you heal from your trauma and take steps to transformation and move forward in life. This can look like a number of things such as identifying and responding to triggers or understanding that you are safe and no longer in an unsafe situation from your past abuser, dangerous situation, etc.
4. Resist Re-traumatization
Last but not least, the final R of trauma-informed care is resisting re-traumatization. This includes implementing certain practices to prevent future hurt or trauma that you’ve already gone through. This R ensures you are aware of your past triggers so you can safely identify if you are putting yourself at risk of re-traumatizing yourself. For example, if you experienced physical abuse from a loved one in your past that caused you trauma, this R will help you identify and create safe guards to eliminate interaction with that individual. Otherwise, you run the risk of re-traumatizing yourself with that individual who is not safe and healthy for your well-being.
Help Is Available
Now you know more about the question “what are the 4 Rs of trauma-informed care”. Trauma-informed care is an effective treatment to help individuals who’ve experienced trauma realize how prevalent trauma is, recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma, respond to their life with what they’ve learned in treatment, and resist re-traumatizing themselves. If you or someone you know is struggling with unresolved trauma, or another form of mental health condition, it’s critical to understand that help is available.
At Hammocks on the Edisto, we are committed to helping patients heal and take back control over their health and quality of life. Gone are the days of suffering in silence with your addiction. You should never feel too afraid or ashamed to ask for help in leading a healthier life. We provide a wide range of addiction treatment to ensure you receive the best possible care for your unique recovery needs. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support your recovery journey.
