Trauma Informed Care

Question 1

What acronym is used for the first principles of trauma informed care?

Answer 1

CAVES
- Connect
- Arousal
- Validation
- Empower
- Safety

Question 2

What does ‘connect’ refer to?

Answer 2

‘Connect and stay involved’

Eg. regular appointments, checking in still despite having referred to psychology/specialists

Question 3

What does ‘arousal’ refer to?

Answer 3

‘Foster capacity to soothe physiological arousal’

Eg. combating the dysregulation of biological stress response

Question 4

What are the two methods of soothing physical arousal?

Answer 4

1. Bottom-up tools (using body to calm down brain eg. mindfulness, movement, describing sounds)
2. Top-down tools (using brain to calm down body eg. talking, telling stories, using art/metaphors)

Question 5

What does ‘validate’ refer to?

Answer 5

‘Validate person and perceptions’

Eg. curbing shame and self-loathing by reinforcing that violence is never acceptable

Question 6

What does ‘empower’ refer to?

Answer 6

‘Collaborate and empower’

Eg. offering choice + control (where in abuse they had neither), helping patient to see that their behaviours (addictions, compulsions) are coping/defence mechanisms designed to keep them safe

Question 7

What does ‘safety’ refer to?

Answer 7

‘Prioritise safety’

Eg. optimise safety in place/relationships etc., conduct risk assessment for current risks, avoid asking the patient to retell their traumatic experience