Our Industry-Leading Teen-Centric Approach
At Family First, we recognize that our scientific and clinical understanding of the impact of trauma and how to treat it in individuals is rapidly changing and growing. Trauma was not formally recognized as a clinical diagnosis requiring treatment until 1980 with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In 2018, the World Health Organization announced a new diagnosis of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a new diagnosis to be included in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases Manual (ICD-11). Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) was born out of our emerging understanding of the importance of integrating this knowledge into clinical practice.
Trauma-Informed Care holds six key principles:
(Adapted from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s “Guiding Principles of Trauma-Informed Care.”)
Safety
Throughout the organization, our priority is to provide an environment where teenagers and staff feel physically and emotionally safe.
Trustworthiness + Transparency
Adolescents require an environment that is trustworthy and dependable. Utilizing appropriate transparency is a relational skill to foster and maintain trust.
Peer Support
Teens and Parents with shared experiences are integrated into the process of healing.
Collaboration
Treating adolescents with humanity and respect dictates that we invite them into the process of shared decision-making wherever possible to level the innate power differences in the staff-client relationship.
Empowerment
Adolescent and Parental strengths are recognized, built on, and validated — this includes a belief in resilience and the ability to heal from trauma.
Humility + Responsivness
Biases and stereotypes (e.g., based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, geography) and historical trauma are recognized and addressed.
Modalities
Our clinical team receives ongoing advanced training and consultation in single event trauma (PTSD) and complex trauma (C-PTSD). This commitment to education is of the utmost importance to uphold the six key principles of trauma-informed care and provide best-in-class treatment for teenagers and their families.
