Defining Trauma – Give SAMHSA Your Feedback

Increasingly, multiple federal agencies representing various service sectors have recognized the impact of trauma on the children, adults, and families they serve. In 2011, in its strategic action plan, SAMHSA designated Trauma as one of its key initiatives. This led SAMHSA to revisit its trauma-related concepts and programming and their applicability not only to behavioral health but to other related fields.
In May 2012, after an extensive literature and policy review, SAMHSA convened a group of national experts to assist in the development of a working definition of trauma and trauma-informed approaches, and principles and guidelines for implementing a trauma-informed approach to services. The experts included trauma survivors, practitioners from multiple fields, researchers and policy makers.
SAMHSA is now seeking input from the public and is inviting those interested in this issue to read and provide feedback on the complete concept paper, SAMHSA’s Working Definition of Trauma and Principles and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach.

The feedback forum will be open from the period beginning Monday, December 10th and ending at midnight Eastern Time on Friday, December 21st 2012. This forum will provide an open and transparent process by which stakeholders can offer their comments about the definitions, principles and guidelines and suggestions on how they can be improved.
Feedback received on the forum is an important part of the public dialogue on this issue. Your feedback will be carefully considered in the shaping of the definitions of trauma and trauma-informed approach, the principles, and the guidelines of a trauma-informed approach.
Process for Public Feedback: For ease of review, the paper is divided into three sections. Each section has a separate link and unique forum to provide comments and, if you wish, to vote on comment offered by others. You have up to 10 votes to endorse other comment and you may revise your votes throughout the comment period. The links to the 3 parts are:

1. Definition of Trauma
2. A Trauma-Informed Approach
3. Guidelines for Implementing a Trauma-Informed Approach

SAMHA looks forward to receiving your feedback. Thank you.

The post above is reprinted with permission from the SAMHSA blog.