The Need for Trauma-Informed Care (Core competencies: 1.10; 1.11; 2.6; 2.9; 3.3; 4.6) Trauma is a near universal experience for people living with mental health and substance use challenges. In the National Council for Behavioral Health’s report on Training for Trauma-Informed Peers, over 90% of individuals in treatment were identified with a history of trauma. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health, 85% to 95% of women in the public mental health system report a history of trauma, including sexual, emotional, and psychological abuse—most commonly having occurred in childhood. Certified peer specialists can reasonably expect that when working with a peer, lived experience will include trauma and the intersectional experiences of trauma. Why care? Certified peer specialists care deeply. Working alongside peers, certified peer specialists continue to grieve, cope, and heal with one another. To do so, certified peer specialists must bring their full selves to the work of peer support. This means holding great capacity for compassion and empathy; mindfulness to advocacy; and seeking to support recovery, health, and wellness. People with unhealed trauma and people who continue to experience systemic trauma regularly experience: • A wide range of physical health challenges, disabilities, and chronic pain. • Barriers to finding and keeping a job; living in stable housing. • Urges to use substances to sedate, numb, and cope with the emotional pain of the past. • Interpersonal relationships. • Continuation of grieving and coping within systemic systems that are embedded with injustices. • A sense of despair, hopelessness, and powerlessness. This understanding, coupled with what is now known about systemic oppression, power, and privilege, creates a sense of ethical obligation and call to action for certified peer specialists.
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