Professional's Guide to Trauma-informed Decision Making

Professional’s Guide to Trauma-informed Ethical Decision Making offers helping professionals a framework comprising the 10 Principles of Trauma-informed Ethical Practice (Stark, Tapia-Fuselier, & Bunch, 2022) enhanced with prominent ethical decision making models. These principles build upon the SAMHSA (2014) conceptualization of trauma-informed care, address key concepts such as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their long-term impact, marginalization stress, the influence of military and law enforcement experience, and others.

Despite distinctions between the diversity of helping professions (in credentials, scope of practice, and theoretical approach), the same decision making models for trauma-informed care is a requirement for best practice. Thus, this volume is designed to address the needs of professionals serving diverse clientele, particularly those who’ve experienced trauma and adversity. Practitioners may utilize this text to as a guide to assist with ethical decision making when working with client survivors of trauma, and educators may select this text as required reading to support the development of trauma-informed clinicians-in-training.

Professionals working with mental health and substance use disorders are confronted routinely with multi systemic factors influencing the presenting concerns, including complex trauma, cultural tenets and practices, and societal stigmatizations.  It is important for professionals to have a clear understanding of the ethical implications for the work they do. This comprehensive and cutting-edge text — Professional's Guide to Trauma-informed Decision Making — is a must read because it offers a practical and indispensable roadmap on how to navigate presenting concerns well, while remaining client-centered, trauma-informed, and ethical.

 — Mita M Johnson, Ed.D. NCC, LPC, LMFT, LAC, MAC, SAP, ACS, LMFT-S, BCTHP