A Question of Disparity: Changing Our Response to Trauma Survivors within Systems of Care

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of trauma is apparent in every aspect of our society, perhaps most acutely in our institutions and systems of care. While there is growing acknowledgment of trauma as an important public and mental health issue, much of the research literature still tends to focus more on the clinical aspects of the trauma experience rather than on survivors’ lived experiences or the meaning of these experiences for individuals. In this study, we explored the experiences of trauma across the life span, from childhood to adulthood, from survivors’ own experiences.

This study included two distinct populations: (1) random sample of individuals (n = 351) who have experienced trauma, and (2) smaller nonrandom group of individuals (n = 62) who experienced trauma and also have been diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI). We examined and compared (a) abuse/violence history (in childhood and adulthood, and overall total), (b) institutional violence, (c) recent trauma experience, and (d) perspectives on healing from trauma. Three main findings of the study were, the SMI sample reported higher rate of recent trauma experience, higher incarceration rate particularly for males, and less positive perceptions of healing from the trauma they had experienced. The results are used to introduce the concept of, and to argue for, the utilization of trauma-informed and trauma specific approaches by providers of services.

KEYWORDS:

• Trauma
• Mental Health
• trauma informed policies
• adult survivors