Health · England
Care that helps you feel safe
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Frightening or harmful experiences can affect how you feel later.
You deserve respectful care and support.
Understanding you
Trauma-informed support takes your experiences and feelings seriously.
People should ask what you need.
They should not assume they know your story.
Your voice matters
People should explain choices clearly.
They should plan with you and respect your beliefs and identity.
Information you understand
Ask what will happen next.
You may need pictures, more time or someone you trust.
Tell people how you communicate.
Personal care
People should explain care before touching you.
Agree how you can ask to pause or stop.
Ask for privacy and support with choices.
What you share
You should not be pressured to describe frightening events.
You can say what would help you now.
Ask who can see your information.
Understanding distress
Pain, illness or your surroundings can also affect how you feel.
People should check what is happening.
You should not be shamed or punished.
Specialist help
You can ask for mental health support.
Specialist therapy is different from everyday trauma-informed care.
Ask a trained professional about your choices.
If someone is hurting you
Tell someone you trust or ask the council for safeguarding help.
Call 999 if someone is in immediate danger.
Your support plan
Write down what helps you feel safe and understood.
Agree who can read this.
Ask for a review if your support is not helping.
What you can do next
Ask people to explain care and listen to your wishes.
Ask for help if you do not feel safe.
Read NHS information about trauma-informed practice Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- NHS: trauma-informed practice Web page
An explanation of the approach and its six principles.
- Lincolnshire NHS: practical trauma-informed care Web page
Examples of choice, communication, planning and supporting a person receiving care.
- NHS: consent to treatment Web pageFuller information
Understanding information, making choices and giving permission for treatment.
- NICE: PTSD treatment recommendations Web page
Detailed professional guidance to discuss with the treating team.
- NHS: abuse and neglect of adults at risk Web page
Recognising harm and asking for help.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Trauma-informed care and support
Understand an approach that builds safety, trust and choice, respects communication needs and avoids causing further distress.
Adults · England · Information for individuals, families and supporters
What trauma-informed means
Trauma can follow experiences that feel harmful or life-threatening and can have lasting effects. People respond differently. Trauma-informed care considers how past experiences may affect trust, communication and feeling safe now. It aims to make services easier to use and reduce avoidable distress. It is an approach to support, not a diagnosis or proof that someone has experienced trauma. Start by asking what the person needs.
Use the six principles in everyday care
Safety means protecting physical and emotional wellbeing. Trust means explaining what will happen and keeping agreements. Choice means offering understandable options. Collaboration means planning together. Empowerment means supporting the person's own voice and decisions. Cultural consideration means respecting identity, beliefs and background without stereotypes. These principles should affect actual care, appointments and staff practice, rather than only appearing in a policy.
Make communication and choices accessible
Speak directly to the person and ask what helps them understand and respond. This may include pictures, signs, extra time, a quieter room or a chosen supporter. Explain changes in advance where possible. Ask about preferences for who provides care, including gender where relevant. Be honest about what can be offered and discuss alternatives. Respect the person's age, identity, faith and cultural needs.
Explain touch, examinations and personal care
Explain each step before starting and seek consent. Agree how the person can ask to pause or stop, including through gestures or pictures. Ask what positioning, privacy or preparation would help. A learning disability does not automatically mean a person cannot decide. If there is doubt about capacity, the correct assessment must address that particular decision at that time, with support to participate and lawful decision-making where needed.
Let the person choose what to share
People should not be pressured to describe traumatic events to receive respectful care. Ask what would help now and whether they want to share relevant information. Avoid repeated retelling where an agreed summary can help. Explain who can see records and when information may need to be shared to protect someone from harm. Do not promise absolute secrecy. Keep records factual and include the person's own words and preferences appropriately.
Respond to distress without blame
Use a calm approach, reduce demands where possible and offer space or support the person finds helpful. Ask about pain, illness, sensory needs, communication difficulties and the environment as well as past experiences. Do not explain every change as trauma or dismiss physical symptoms. Avoid humiliation, threats and punishment. Review any restrictive response through the appropriate professional and legal processes, seeking less restrictive ways to meet needs safely.
Understand the difference from trauma treatment
Everyday trauma-informed care does not replace assessment or treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, known as PTSD, or other mental health difficulties. Ask the GP or mental health team about persistent distress affecting daily life. NICE recommends treatments such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy and, in appropriate circumstances, EMDR. A trained practitioner should assess suitability, explain choices and adapt support. Supporters should not attempt to make someone relive memories as a home exercise.
Check safety in the present
If abuse or neglect may be happening now, take it seriously and ask what the person wants to happen. Contact a trusted professional or the council's adult safeguarding team for advice and help. Call 999 if someone is in immediate danger. Explain any information-sharing decisions as clearly as possible. A trauma-informed approach should help protect people from current harm as well as recognise past experiences.
Agree a plan and review it
Record useful communication, consent and care preferences, what may increase distress, and what the person finds helpful. Agree who can receive this information and how it will be updated. Ask new staff to read the plan before providing care. Review whether the person feels listened to and can use services more comfortably. Staff and family supporters may need training and support to keep care consistent.
Words you could use
“Please explain what will happen, listen to what helps me feel safe, and give me real choices about my care.”
More useful links
- NHS: trauma-informed practice Web page
An explanation of the approach and its six principles.
- Lincolnshire NHS: practical trauma-informed care Web page
Examples of choice, communication, planning and supporting a person receiving care.
- NHS: consent to treatment Web pageFuller information
Understanding information, making choices and giving permission for treatment.
- NICE: PTSD treatment recommendations Web page
Detailed professional guidance to discuss with the treating team.
- NHS: abuse and neglect of adults at risk Web page
Recognising harm and asking for help.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 9 November 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- OHID: working definition of trauma-informed practice Web page
Definition, six principles and the distinction from specialist trauma treatment.
- NHS Safeguarding: trauma-informed practice Web page
Safety, trust, choice, collaboration, empowerment and cultural consideration.
- Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust: trauma-informed care Web page
Accessible choices, communication preferences, confidentiality limits and reducing repeated retelling.
- NHS England: Mental Capacity Act and learning disability Web page
Supported decision-making, personal adjustments and decision-specific assessment.
- NHS: consent to treatment Web pageFuller information
Informed voluntary consent and the person's decisions about treatment.
- RCGP: safeguarding toolkit Web page
Choice, listening and avoiding attributing every difficulty to trauma.
- NHS Safeguarding: mental capacity Web page
Consent, lawful decision-making and less restrictive alternatives.
- NICE NG116: post-traumatic stress disorder Web page
Assessment, treatment choices and trauma-focused therapies delivered by trained practitioners.
- NHS Safeguarding: raising a concern Web page
Contacting the local authority and calling 999 in immediate danger.