#trauma-informed-care

#trauma-informed-care

Research into the trends of COVID-19 hospitalizations has revealed disproportionate levels of hospitalizations among Black and Hispanic populations (Pham et al., 2023). Recent studies have found similar disparities in children, with Black and Hispanic children being more likely to be hospitalized (Anglin et al., 2025). Notably, rates of previous trauma are higher in these populations (Pumariega et al., 2022), and being hospitalized can lead to additional trauma and negative psychological outcomes for children and their families (Meentken et al., 2021).

I met Jennifer in Medellín when she accompanied Mateo to one of his restorative justice sessions. She did not sit next to him. She chose a chair at the back of the session room, hands clasped tightly, eyes fixed on him as if watching something that could change direction at any moment. Mateo spoke calmly about his past. Jennifer listened with a tension that revealed what words had not yet surfaced. Mateo's story follows a pattern psychology knows well.

Is It Trauma or ADHD? When a child can't sit still, follow directions, or pay attention, ADHD may seem like the obvious explanation. We often run quickly to give stimulants first. But for a traumatized child, whose nervous system has been shaped by fear, unpredictability, or loss, those same symptoms may be the echoes of survival, not signs of a neurodevelopmental disorder.

Normally, a person goes about their life, making meaning of everything that happens to them, slotting it into a world that makes sense. Psychologist Bessel van der Kolk explains that a traumatic event short circuits this process. Trauma overwhelms a person, rendering them unable, in the moment, to integrate the event into their lives. In the context of spirituality, trauma is a hand grenade, exploding two of spirituality's primary functions: to help a person make meaning and feel at home in the universe.

On March 15, 2025, President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act-historically employed only during wartime-so that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could immediately remove Venezuelan citizens alleged to be terrorists from the United States. That same day, ICE deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador's Center of Terrorism Confinement, claiming he belonged to a street gang the administration had designated as a terrorist organization. These actions were part of Trump's movement to execute "the largest deportation effort in American history,"

Trauma-informed care is a healthcare approach that recognizes how past trauma can shape a patient's experience, prioritizing emotional and physical safety.