Blooming futures: a trauma informed approach to promote resilience in children
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
While trauma-informed care (TIC) is emphasized in occupational therapy education, its implementation within outpatient pediatric clinical practice remains inconsistent. As a result, critical contextual factors, such as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and potentially traumatic events (PTEs), are often overlooked or ineffectively addressed by members of the multi-disciplinary team. This doctoral project aimed to enhance the knowledge, confidence, and awareness of occupational, physical, and speech therapy practitioners in integrating trauma-informed approaches and screening measures into routine practice.A mixed-methods design was utilized to evaluate the changes in practitioner knowledge, confidence, and awareness, as well as observed client impacts, following implementation of a one-day in-service training, a trauma-informed screening tool, and a practical, discipline-specific toolkit. Anticipated outcomes include increased consistency in the application of trauma-informed strategies across the multidisciplinary care team, with the ultimate goal of enhancing client resilience and promoting long-term health and well-being.
Occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs), in collaboration with their multidisciplinary team, are uniquely positioned to recognize and respond to the functional impacts of trauma. Through everyday therapeutic interactions, they have critical
opportunities to build trust, support skill development, and foster resilience. This program promotes practitioner confidence and consistency in delivering individualized, resilience-based care that addresses trauma-related needs and restores occupational engagement across the lifespan.
Description
2025
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International