Identifying Childhood Trauma and Improving Trauma-Informed Care in Behavioral Health

Purpose: To improve Trauma-informed care by improving the identification and communication of childhood trauma.

Background: Childhood trauma can affect people throughout their lifespan. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) is a reliable and valid tool to identify childhood trauma. Trauma identification and communicating among caregivers is an important part of Trauma-informed care. Trauma-informed care has been shown to be an effective way to care for patients who have experienced trauma in their lives.

Methods: This was done by training nurses on Trauma-informed care, the CTQ, and the importance of communication of a patient's trauma history. The nurses were responsible for providing the CTQ to the patients to fill out in the privacy of their rooms. The CTQs were then collected and scored, and the results were reported to the communication log that the staff utilized.