What Is Trauma-Informed Care and Why It Matters

Most people have heard the phrase trauma-informed care, but it is often misunderstood. Some assume it only belongs in therapy offices or mental health settings. Others worry it is not realistic in a busy medical practice.

I’m Dr. Rebecca Berens, family physician and founder of Vida Family Medicine. In this post, I want to explain what trauma-informed care actually means, why it matters in every medical setting, and how it improves care for both patients and clinicians.

Trauma-informed care is not a trend. It is a way of bringing safety, dignity, and humanity back into medicine.

Trauma Is More Than “Big” Events

When people think about trauma, they often imagine major events like violence, accidents, or war. Those experiences absolutely matter, but trauma is not limited to them.

Trauma can also come from experiences that build over time, such as:

• Chronic stress from food or housing insecurity

• Racism and other forms of discrimination

• Medical trauma from illness, procedures, or feeling dismissed

• Weight stigma and body shaming

• Any situation where a person’s dignity, safety, or control was taken away

For many people, simply walking into a doctor’s office can trigger memories of being ignored, shamed, rushed, or not believed. The medical system has built-in power dynamics that can make patients feel vulnerable before a single word is spoken.

The key point is this: you cannot tell who has experienced trauma by looking at them. Anyone sitting in an exam room may carry a history that shapes how safe or unsafe medical care feels.

That is why trauma-informed care starts with the assumption that everyone deserves care that protects their sense of safety, control, and dignity.

The Five Principles of Trauma-Informed Care

Trauma-informed care is guided by five core principles that shape how care is delivered.

1. Safety

Patients and clinicians need to feel physically and emotionally safe. This means people know they can ask questions, express concerns, or stop an exam or conversation at any time without fear of judgment or retaliation.

2. Trustworthiness and Transparency

Patients deserve to know what is being done and why. Clear explanations and no surprises help build trust and reduce fear.

3. Choice

Every test, exam, and treatment is a choice. Patients should always have the right to say yes or no after being given full information about benefits, risks, and alternatives.

4. Collaboration

Healthcare should be something done with patients, not to them. Clinicians and patients work together to decide what makes sense for that person’s goals, life, and values.

5. Empowerment

The goal is to support people in understanding their options and building skills and confidence to care for themselves, not to make them dependent on medical interventions alone.

When these principles guide care, patients feel respected, heard, and safer. That reduces re-traumatization and creates a stronger partnership between patient and clinician.

Why Traditional Healthcare Often Misses This

Modern medicine is built around efficiency, hierarchy, and measurable outcomes. Those things exist for real reasons, but they can unintentionally crowd out empathy and human connection.

Clinicians are often trained to move quickly through checklists, numbers, and protocols. Sensitive questions can feel routine to a doctor, but they may reopen painful memories for a patient. Exams and tests may feel necessary medically, but invasive emotionally.

There is also a widespread assumption that if a patient shows up, they automatically consent to everything that follows. That is not true. Consent should never be assumed. It must be offered and respected every step of the way.

On top of this, doctors are evaluated by insurance companies based on numbers like blood pressure, A1C, and cholesterol. Those metrics matter, but they do not capture the full picture of a person’s life, stress, or priorities. Sometimes what matters most to a patient is not optimizing a number but improving their quality of life right now.

Trauma-informed care makes space for that reality.

How Small Changes Make a Big Difference

Trauma-informed care does not require more time or complicated systems. Often it starts with something simple: asking permission.

Instead of automatically saying, “Step on the scale,” we can say, “I need some information to help guide your care. Would you feel okay stepping on the scale today?”

That one sentence gives back a sense of choice and control. Most people will say yes, but they now feel respected rather than ordered.

When patients feel safe, they share more honestly. When they trust their clinician, they are more likely to engage in care plans that actually fit their lives. That leads to better information, better decisions, and better outcomes.

In the long run, trauma-informed care saves time because it builds clarity and connection instead of resistance and fear.

Changing the Question

Trauma-informed care changes the most important question in medicine.

Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with you?”
We ask, “What happened to you, and how can we support you now?”

That shift brings compassion back into healthcare. It recognizes that people are shaped by their experiences, and healing happens best when patients feel seen, respected, and empowered.

Final Thoughts

Trauma-informed care is not a buzzword. It is a return to humane, ethical, and effective medicine.

It helps patients feel safer and more in control. It helps clinicians do better work with less burnout and more connection. And it builds healthcare relationships based on trust instead of fear.

At Vida Family Medicine, these principles guide everything we do. In the next post, I will share how we put trauma-informed care into practice every day in our clinic.

If you want healthcare that honors your whole story, we are here for you.

Need a physician who leads with compassion and respect?
Schedule a visit with Vida Family Medicine at www.vidafamilymed.com

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Dr. Berens explains trauma-informed care in more depth in our latest video.

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