When it counts the most: Trauma-informed care and the COVID-19 global pandemic

CONTEXT: Evidence from the COVID-19 crisis suggests that children and youth are more likely to be subjected to maltreatment and exposure to family violence, while experiencing limited access to the usual services that support vulnerable families and provide targeted services to meet their needs. The current global pandemic itself can also be experienced as a traumatic event. Trauma-informed care draws attention to the potential impacts, from the individual to the global, that myriad traumatic experiences can illicit and proposes using these understandings as foundational to the development and implementation of policy and practice. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this opinion paper is to offer insights to guide practices and policies during this unprecedented global crisis through a discussion of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2014)’s six trauma-informed care principles: trustworthiness and transparency; safety; peer support; collaboration and mutuality; empowerment and choice; and cultural, historical and gender issues. FINDINGS: Specific recommendations based on these six principles and applied to the current situation are presented and discussed. These principles can serve both in the immediate crisis and as preventative measures against unforeseen future traumatic contexts. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 renews the imperative to maintain and strengthen trauma-informed practices and policies. We argue that never before has trauma-informed care been so important to promote the health and well-being of all and to protect our marginalized populations at greatest risk.