What is Trauma-Informed Care?
- Casey Coursey Castor
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
You’re Not Alone — And What Happened Matters
If you’re an adult reading this and you’ve navigated difficult experiences — maybe childhood trauma, a breakup, a loss, addiction, or simply living in the push-pull of everyday life with anxiety and PTSD — this blog is for you. At Kentucky Trauma Therapists, our mission is clear: “We are dedicated to providing trauma-informed care to diverse & marginalized populations across the Bluegrass.”
That means we believe your story matters. Not just what’s wrong now — but what happened to you. Because trauma doesn’t just vanish when things “get better.” It leaves its mark: on your body, on your brain, on your relationships, and on your ability to trust safety.
So, what is trauma-informed care? How is it different than the kind of “just talk about your day” therapy you may have tried before? And how do therapies like EMDR and Trauma‑Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) fit into healing that story? Let’s unpack that together.
The Shift in Question
Classic talk therapy often asks: “What’s wrong with you?”
Trauma-informed care asks: “What happened to you?”
This seemingly small shift in phrasing carries major weight because it changes the path of healing. One route focuses on symptoms as the problem; trauma-informed care looks deeply at how your past shaped your present. According to the Center for Health Care Strategies: trauma-informed care “realizes the widespread impact of trauma and understands paths for recovery; recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma in patients, families, and staff; integrates knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices; and actively avoids re-traumatization.”
In practice, this means your therapist isn’t just listening to the surface — they’re trained to understand how trauma might show up as anger, avoidance, panic, hyper-vigilance, addiction, or even physical symptoms. They’re asking: What did you experience? How has it impacted you? What does safety look like again?
Core Principles of Trauma-Informed Care
Here are key principles that guide trauma-informed work (which form the foundation of our practice at Kentucky Trauma Therapists):
Safety (physical & emotional)
Trustworthiness & Transparency (you know what’s happening in your therapy)
Choice & Collaboration (you’re part of planning, not just passive)
Empowerment & Strengths (this isn’t about “fixing you” — it’s about helping you reclaim your capacity)
Cultural, Historical & Gender Awareness (we don’t ignore the full context of your life)
Imagine a therapy space where you walk in and feel physically safe (comfortable room, clear boundaries), emotionally safe (you’re heard, not judged), and where your past is held with respect rather than something to fix or hide.
How Trauma-Informed Care Differs from “Regular Talk Therapy”
Here are some concrete examples of the difference:
Traditional Therapy | Trauma-Informed Therapy |
Focus is mostly on identifying symptoms and changing behavior | Focus is on understanding how trauma shaped those symptoms and behaviors |
May rely on asking “What’s the problem today?” | Shifts to “What happened to you? How has that shaped what you’re experiencing now?” |
Risk of re-traumatizing — for example, asking about trauma without preparation | Intentionally avoids re-traumatization — establishes safety, pacing, and consent before exploring trauma |
Therapy may feel like a one-way “expert tells you what to do” | Therapy is collaborative — you are the expert on your life, your therapist supports your process |
Focus on symptom reduction alone | Focus on healing, empowerment, long-term resilience and building capacities (not just reducing symptoms) |
In short: trauma-informed care meets you where you are, listens deeply to your story, honors your resilience, and moves at a pace you can engage with — rather than racing ahead or ignoring what you’ve been through.
Evidence-Based Therapies We Use
At Kentucky Trauma Therapists, many of our clinicians are trained in trauma-specific, evidence-based therapies like EMDR and TF-CBT — which are especially effective for PTSD and complex trauma.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT): Meta-analyses show strong results in reducing trauma symptoms in children and adolescents, and growing evidence in adults too. PubMed Central+1
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing): The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs includes EMDR among first-line treatments for PTSD. Research shows moderate-grade evidence of EMDR’s effectiveness. VA PTSD+1
When trauma-informed care meets trauma-specific therapies, you get an environment that both understands your background and offers specialized healing approaches — not just “talk therapy,” but re-processing the trauma, safely integrating it, and building new capacity.
What Healing Might Look Like in Real Life
Here are some practical examples of how trauma-informed therapy might differ in everyday therapy:
Example 1: If you freeze when someone raises their voice (because you grew up where that meant danger), a trauma-informed therapist doesn’t just tell you “let’s do skills for anxiety.” Instead, you explore what that voice means in your body, how your nervous system learned that voice = threat, and you gradually build new experiences where your nervous system learns this time is safe.
Example 2: You experienced childhood loss and now avoid close relationships. Rather than treating avoidance as “bad behavior,” a trauma-informed therapist asks: “What did close relationships feel like back then? What did your body learn? Let’s build relationship-experiences where your nervous system learns you can show up and be safe.”
Example 3: You’re in recovery from addiction, and the therapist doesn’t just say “stay sober.” They also check your past trauma, your triggers, your nervous system’s responses, your sense of shame — because trauma and addiction are often deeply connected. Healing isn’t just avoiding substances, it’s building a new identity of safety, worthiness, and agency.
How to Know It’s Time for Therapy
If you relate to questions like these, trauma-informed care may be right for you:
“I keep doing things that work for others but not for me.”
“I feel fine on the surface but often wired, shut off, or disconnected.”
“I’m sober now but I still don’t feel safe—or I keep having memories I thought I was done with.”
“I get stuck in relationships or push people away, and I don’t know why.”
“My past is catching up with my adult life — even though I tried to move on.”
If you answered yes to any of these — you’re not broken. You’re human — and trauma-informed care can support you in accessing safety, health, and resilience.
Final Thoughts
Trauma doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means you were dealt something no one should have to handle, and you adapted. Trauma-informed care asks: “What happened?” — and then walks with you into what can happen: safety, connection, recovery.
At Kentucky Trauma Therapists, we believe in your capacity to heal. We believe your story matters. And we believe you deserve a therapy space that fully understands trauma — the body, the nervous system, the history — not just the symptoms.
Whether you choose in-person at our Richmond, Russellville or Bowling Green offices or find healing via telehealth, we are here for you, ready to walk the path of trauma-informed care together.
You are seen. You are heard. You are worthy of healing.
Next Steps
We’re here for you. You don’t have to do this alone. Reaching out for care is courageous, not weak. If you’re ready to explore trauma-informed therapy — whether in-person or via telehealth — here’s what you can do:
Call us at 364-203-9250 and ask about trauma-informed therapy.
We’ll help determine whether EMDR, TF-CBT, or other trauma-specific modalities fit your story.
We’ll tailor a plan that fits your life in Kentucky — your job, your schedule, your goals.
Begin a journey where you’re not only surviving trauma — you’re healing from it.
References & Resources:
Center for Health Care Strategies: “What is Trauma-Informed Care?” Trauma-Informed Care Center+1
SAMHSA: Principles of Trauma-Informed Approaches SA
VA/DoD Treatment Guidelines for PTSD & EMDR VA PTSD+1
Meta-Analysis on TF-CBT & EMDR for PTSD PubMed Central+1
Comments