Trauma Informed

High conflict divorce and custody issues are traumatizing. This is not a "normal" divorce. You may recognize your former partner has a pathological need to harm you. You are likely experiencing physical and psychological effects of post-separation abuse.

As you build a team to get you through divorce and custody litigation, you may want to focus on finding specialists who are "trauma informed" to ensure they are sensitive to what you are experiencing.

Trauma-informed means

• Recognizing the impact of trauma: It acknowledges that trauma can significantly affect a person's physical, psychological, and emotional well-being. 

• Shifting the focus: It moves away from a deficit-based view ("what's wrong?") to a strengths-based approach ("what's strong with you?"). 

• Prioritizing safety and trust: It creates physical, psychological, and emotional safety to build trust and provide a stable environment. 

• Avoiding re-traumatization: It aims to prevent the use of practices or services that may inadvertently trigger a past trauma response, such as specific sounds, smells, or procedures. 

How it is applied

• In practice: Professionals are trained to recognize triggers, listen actively, and collaborate with individuals to create an immediate plan for self-care, rather than offering simplistic advice or intrusive questions. 

• In organizations: It's a framework that is incorporated into the organization's culture, structures, and interactions with clients and staff. 

• By promoting empowerment: It actively encourages choice, voice, and collaboration to help individuals regain a sense of control and empowerment. 

Six principles of trauma-informed practice

[adapted from United Kingdom Office for Health Improvement and Disparities]

Safety

The physical, psychological and emotional safety of clients is prioritized, by:

• people knowing they are safe or asking what they need to feel safe.

• there being reasonable freedom from threat or harm.

• attempting to prevent re-traumatization.

• having policies, practices and safeguarding arrangements in place.

Trustworthiness

Transparency exists in the provider's policies and procedures, with the objective of building trust among clients and the wider community, by:

• the provider explaining what they are doing and why.

• the provider doing what they say they will do.

• expectations being made clear and the provider not promising something they cannot deliver.

Choice

Clients are supported in shared decision-making, choice and goal setting to determine the plan of action they need to heal and move forward, by:

• ensuring clients have a voice in the decision-making process of their services.

• listening to the needs and wishes of clients.

• explaining choices clearly and transparently.

• acknowledging that people who have experienced or are experiencing trauma may feel a lack of safety or control over the course of their life which can cause difficulties in developing trusting relationships.

Collaboration

The value of client experience is recognized in overcoming challenges and improving the system as a whole, by:

• using formal and informal peer support and mutual self-help.

• the provider asking clients what they need and collaboratively considering how these needs can be met.

• focusing on working alongside and actively involving clients in the delivery of services.

Empowerment

Efforts are made to share power and give clients a strong voice in decision-making by:

• validating feelings and concerns of clients.

• listening to what a person wants and needs.

• supporting people to make decisions and take action.

• acknowledging that people who have experienced or are experiencing trauma may feel powerless to control what happens to them, isolated by their experiences and have feelings of low self-worth.

Cultural consideration

Move past cultural stereotypes and biases based on, for example, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, geography, race or ethnicity by:

• offering access to gender responsive services.

• leveraging the healing value of traditional cultural connections.

• incorporating policies, protocols and processes that are responsive to the needs of individuals served.