The Trauma Informed Care Practices Used at Icarus in Las Vegas
Are you or a loved one struggling with leaving traumatic events in your past? You might feel stuck right now, but there is a way out!
Trauma based Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a way for therapists to engage clients who must work through the aftermath of traumatic events without triggering them.
It’s a client-driven approach that is highly sensitive to the person’s needs and readiness for behavior change. Motivational Interviewing recognizes that trauma decreases the person’s desire to make changes and relies on client empowerment and trust.
Icarus Nevada’s health care practitioners use this technique at our Las Vegas mental health treatment facility. It’s remarkably effective when used with other evidence-based practices and frequently achieves positive outcomes.
Please read on to learn more about recovering from a traumatic experience and supporting self-efficacy through trauma-informed MI.
Trauma-Informed Motivational Interviewing to Improve Mental Health
Trauma survivors often turn to unsafe or unhealthy behaviors to cope with their world being flipped upside down. Trauma-informed care provides behavioral health support that recognizes the impact of trauma and ensures a safe environment.
It avoids re-traumatization or the creation of complex trauma issues and supports health-behavior change.
Here are some of the co-occurring disorders that benefit from trauma-informed motivational interviewing:
Panic or Anxiety Disorder
Trauma can cause or, in the case of someone who was already struggling, could increase anxiety or panic disorders. After they’ve experienced trauma, they may lack the coping strategies to deal with continuous worry and start to engage in avoidance behaviors.
Severe Depression
Childhood or past trauma can be an underlying factor in some types of depression. The cause can be challenging to identify and treat. However, the cycle is unbreakable without addressing the heart of the issue – the traumatic event.
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Eating Disorders
Someone who has experienced trauma may turn to disordered eating as a way of coping with emotional pain after the event. In some cases, it makes them feel they can control something when they have otherwise had a lack thereof.
Substance Abuse
Many people use presciption medications, street drugs, or alcohol to numb their emotions after they have experienced trauma. Substance use disorders are common co-occurring conditions requiring a trauma-informed practice like MI.
Gambling Disorder
Similarly to substances, some start gambling to escape their emotions or low self-esteem after they’ve experienced trauma. They don’t see gambling as a trap – they see it as a way to forget about the traumatic event for a while.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD is the direct result of witnessed or experienced trauma. Everyone heals uniquely, based on individual psychological makeup. Research suggests that some people have environmental influences or a genetic predispostion to developing PTSD.
It’s worth mentioning that, except for PTSD, traumatic experiences are not always the causes of the conditions mentioned above. It is just one possible cause.
5 Key Principles of Motivational Interviewing
What makes MI techniques such a powerful form of therapy? For starters, therapists with special training provide a supportive environment and use non-judgmental language. They build empathy by making time to have a clear understanding of clients by asking open-ended questions.
But the main reason this evidence-based therapy is so effective is its framework. A focus on the needs of clients helps them master the skills and tools they’ll use for the rest of their lives. Here are the 5 MI principles and examples of guiding questions:
Principle 1: Express Empathy
One of the key MI skills therapists must use is expressing empathy. They use reflective listening, one of the best techniques for validating clients’ feelings without judging them. Expressing empathy helps them build the safety clients need to feel respected. It’s the start of building rapport and starts with the first session.
An example of this is gaining access to client trust is asking them to share their dreams or goals: “What has your experience with trauma looked like?”
Principle 2: Developing Discrepancy
The next principle in this trauma-informed treatment approach is helping clients notice the gap between their current behavior and the goals they have for themselves. It can help them overcome ambivalence about changing. They also identify how their actions may not align with their heart’s desire.
The therapist might practice this principle by asking: “How do your current behaviors line up with your life goals?”
Principle 3: Avoid Argumentation
To promote health behavior change, therapists don’t confront or debate with clients. Instead, they stay non-confrontational. This approach avoids potential barriers to progress and keeps the conversation (called change talk) on course.
The therapist might ask: “What are your thoughts on the changes we’ve discussed so far?”
Principle 4: Roll with Resistance
Motivational interviewing therapists accept any resistance from the clients instead of pushing back at them. This trauma-informed care technique helps them work in collaboration with the person, helping them explore their ambivalence. Once the client starts to recognize those invisible boundaries, they can draw informed conclusions about their need to change.
The therapist might inquire this of the client: “What would make it easier for you to start making changes?”
Principle 5: Promote Self-efficacy
Motivational interviewing means building the client’s self-confidence in making lasting changes. The therapist’s main role now is supporting self-efficacy as clients begin understanding the need to change their mental health behaviors.
The empowerment clients gain from trauma-informed motivational interviewing makes it one of the most effective interventions extant.
A question now might be: “Which of your strengths could help you succeed in making changes?”
These 5 trauma-based motivational interviewing principles can help trauma survivors realize that it’s okay to move on from their traumatic past. The process of asking and then delivering follow-up questions gives clients the drive to further empower themselves for the rest of their lives.
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How Long Does Trauma-Informed MI Take to Get Results?
A person who has experienced trauma might ask how long before they start to make significant progress. The truth is that motivational interviewing is often a marathon. It’s not a quick sprint.
Like other interventions, it can take several sessions to see results. The good news is that even the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) discusses its effectiveness in an MI training fact sheet.
Here are some other trauma-informed care strategies that can integrate with motivational interviewing and assist the process:
Peer Support
Working with support groups, especially meeting others who have also experienced trauma and overcome it can further motivate clients. They also provide practical information and help reduce stigma
Other Therapies
Additional therapies, such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help people understand the underlying triggers that lead to emotional outbursts. Integrating other strategies with trauma-informed care can help people clear mindset and behavioral barriers.
Family Support/Intervention
Family members can help reinforce positive behaviors and encourage more prompt recovery from trauma. A therapist can encourage accountability, increase understanding, and rebuild trust. It’s also helpful in creating opportunities for building rapport in families damaged by a loved one’s trauma.
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Every person heals from trauma differently. Some folks brush things off with hardly a look backwards. Yet, another person feels the trauma so deeply that it changes them so much that they don’t recognize themself.
Does this sound like you? Now that you have the information about trauma-informed motivational interviewing, we hope you see that help is available. The Icarus Nevada therapy team has specialized training in MI and can help you make lasting changes and heal after trauma. You will feel calm and safety under our care.
Call us today; all calls are confidential and we are ready to help support your recovery.