Words Have Power

Professionals can actively create a safe emotional environment by using some of the strategies below.

Deficit Perspective / Old way of thinking	Trauma Informed Response
What is wrong with you?	What happened to you? How did you cope?
This person is weak.	This person is resilient.
They want attention.	They are trying to connect the best way they can.
I shouldn’t raise the issue of trauma or they will get upset.	Talking about trauma (without forcing disclosure) gives opportunity to discuss, normalize and learn coping strategies. Failing to ask may reinforce society’s denial of either prevalence or impact of trauma.
They have poor coping methods.	They have survival skills and we can further support them by offering ideas for additional coping strategies.
They’ll never get over it, or they are permanently damaged.	People can continue to learn effective coping strategies, and can recover from trauma.