Trauma-informed practice: a paradigm shift in the education of mental health nurses
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Trauma-informed practice: a paradigm shift in the education of mental health nurses

Jennifer Young Teaching fellow, Nurse psychotherapist, University of Stirling, Behavioural Psychotherapy Service Trauma Clinic, NHS Forth Valley, Stirling, Scotland
James Taylor Senior lecturer, Academic and professional lead for mental health, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, Scotland
Brodie Paterson Clinical director, Calm Training, Menstrie, Scotland
Ivor Smith Teaching fellow, nurse therapist, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland
Sandy McComish Former senior teaching fellow, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland

Childhood trauma may have long-lasting effects on self-regulation, mood and behaviour and can increase the likelihood of developing adult mental and physical health conditions. Growing awareness of this has led to mental health services becoming necessarily more trauma informed. This is reflected in a paradigm shift in nursing education, which is moving from a diagnostic model of trauma care to a psychological, trauma-informed approach. The emphasis is on what has happened to the person instead of what is wrong with the person.

The University of Stirling developed a new undergraduate nursing curriculum based on the six principles of trauma- informed care published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This has led to the development of the (T)AASKED model, the aim of which is to equip nursing students with the skills and knowledge to work in a trauma-informed framework and to improve the experience of mental health service users.

Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2019.e1359

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

jenniferyoung@nhs.net

Conflict of interest

None declared

Young J, Taylor J, Paterson B et al (2019) Trauma-informed practice: a paradigm shift in the education of mental health nurses. Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2019.e1359

Published online: 18 June 2019

Want to read more?

RCNi-Plus
Already have access? Log in

or

3-month trial offer for £5.25/month

Subscribe today and save 50% on your first three months
RCNi Plus users have full access to the following benefits:
  • Unlimited access to all 10 RCNi Journals
  • RCNi Learning featuring over 175 modules to easily earn CPD time
  • NMC-compliant RCNi Revalidation Portfolio to stay on track with your progress
  • Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
  • A customisable dashboard with over 200 topics
Subscribe

Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now


Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more