What Does Trauma-Informed Actually Mean?
A concept that welcomes you with compassion
This is part 3 of our 6-part Trauma-Informed Care Series.
What Does Trauma-Informed Actually Mean? (you are here)
Signs of Trauma-Informed Care (What It Looks and Feels Like) (coming soon)
Trauma-Informed Care: Red Flags (coming soon)
The Space Between Us: Shared Responsibility in Trauma-Informed Care (coming soon)
This post breaks down what “trauma-informed” actually means. It’s not about treating trauma directly, but about creating safety, trust, and respect in care environments, for everyone.
What Is Trauma-Informed Care, Really?
These days, you’ve likely heard the word trauma just as often as trauma-informed. Many clinics and wellness spaces say they offer “trauma-informed care.” But what does that actually mean?
Let’s unpack the basics.
Trauma-Informed Doesn’t Mean “Treating Trauma”
First, let’s clear something up: trauma-informed care is not the same as trauma-focused therapy. It’s not a treatment style or a technique for healing trauma directly.
Instead, trauma-informed is a lens, a guiding approach that understands the lasting impacts of trauma and thoughtfully adjusts how care is offered.
It means that the space, the interactions, and the overall structure are built with an awareness that many people carry visible or invisible wounds, and that those wounds deserve care, not aggravation.
Much like how a paediatric office has smaller chairs and bright posters to put children at ease, a trauma-informed space considers how to support anyone who may carry the effects of trauma, whether or not they’re seeking care for it.
Core Principles of Trauma-Informed Care
While different sources offer slightly different models, the foundations remain consistent. One commonly cited framework comes from Drs. Maxine Harris and Roger Fallot, which outlines five guiding principles:
Safety: Trauma-informed care recognizes that safety is not just physical, it’s also emotional, relational, and internal. Even when nothing looks threatening, someone might not feel safe. Each interaction is a chance to create a sense of safety.
As Stephen Porges (Polyvagal Theory) reminds us: “Safety is not the absence of threat. It is the presence of connection.”Trustworthiness: Trust isn’t assumed. It’s built. Slowly. Especially when someone’s experience of trust has been broken or never fully formed, the care process must honour that. Tiny drops of trust, over time, can become a well.
Choice: People deserve options. The power to say yes, no, or not now. Trauma-informed care is rooted in informed consent and shared decision-making, without pressure or assumptions.
Collaboration: The practitioner and the person receiving care are partners. The care process is not something done to someone, it’s done with them.
Empowerment: Healing environments must affirm people’s agency. Trauma-informed care supports individuals in reclaiming their own power, including the power to choose what kind of care they want, when, and how.
The 3 C’s of Trauma-Informed Practice
Clinical psychologist Leanne Johnson developed the 3 C’s Model, which brings trauma-informed care into the real world, especially in relational settings:
Connection: Healing doesn’t happen in isolation. Safe, respectful relationships are a critical ingredient in recovering from trauma.
Co-Regulation: The practitioner shows up with a calm, grounded presence, not to fix or correct, but to regulate. When someone is dysregulated by stress or past pain, your calm helps theirs.
Co-Reflection: A steady environment helps rebuild trust. Predictability and consistency matter, especially for those who’ve known chaos or instability.
Most spaces won’t name these explicitly, but truly trauma-informed environments live these principles, even quietly.
At Tsumugi Healing Arts, we strive to embody the 3 C’s in every setting, especially in our Signature Community Acupuncture, which was designed as a space for shared, connection-based healing.
Other Models You Might Hear About
Other frameworks exist, and depending on where you read, you might also come across the 4 R’s (from SAMHSA):
Realize the widespread impact of trauma and how recovery happens
Recognize trauma signs and symptoms in everyone
Respond by integrating trauma knowledge into policies and interactions
Resist re-traumatization by avoiding practices that inadvertently cause harm
There’s also a 5 R’s model sometimes used in refugee and social care contexts:
Repatriation, Resettlement, Reintegration, Rehabilitation, and Resilience.
These focus more on systemic recovery and rebuilding after collective trauma.
The Heart of Trauma-Informed Care
You don’t need to memorize every model or acronym. What matters is this:
When a clinic or space says they’re trauma-informed, it means they acknowledge the deep impact trauma can have, and they’ve taken steps to build a space that’s safe, respectful, and choice-oriented for everyone.
Trauma-informed care isn’t just for people with “big trauma stories.” It’s a way of offering care that honours humanity, yours, mine, ours.
We’ll look at what trauma-informed care actually looks like in practice from intake forms to treatment sessions to clinic culture.