What Is Trauma-Informed Therapy?
By David Hennessy, Clinical Psychologist
What Is Trauma-Informed Therapy?
A Shared Human Experience
Trauma can arise from a single overwhelming event or from repeated experiences of threat, neglect, instability, or lack of safety. What matters most is not only what happened, but how a person’s nervous system experienced and adapted to those events.
Trauma-informed therapy gently shifts the focus away from asking what is wrong with you, and instead explores what has happened and how your mind and body learned to cope. This perspective is consistent with modern trauma theory and public health guidance.
Core Principles of Trauma-Informed Therapy
Trauma-informed therapy is guided by several core principles that are now widely endorsed across mental health services.
- Safety First. Emotional and psychological safety come before techniques or disclosure. Therapy proceeds at a pace that respects the nervous system.
- Choice and Control. Because trauma often involves loss of control, therapy actively restores choice about what is discussed, how deeply, and when.
- Collaboration. Therapy is something we do together. Your lived experience is valued alongside clinical knowledge.
- Trust and Transparency. Clear explanations, predictable boundaries, and consistency support the rebuilding of trust.
- Strengths and Adaptation. Many symptoms are understood as understandable adaptations that once served a protective purpose.
What Trauma-Informed Therapy Looks Like in Practice
In practice, trauma-informed therapy places strong emphasis on stabilisation and regulation before any trauma processing occurs. This often includes learning grounding skills, noticing bodily sensations, and developing ways to soothe an overactivated or shut-down nervous system.
Evidence-based therapies such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing may be used, but always within a trauma-informed frame that prioritises safety, collaboration, and flexibility.
What the Evidence Says
Research into trauma-informed care continues to grow. Systematic reviews suggest that trauma-informed approaches are associated with improvements in psychological wellbeing and service engagement, while also highlighting variability in outcomes depending on setting and implementation quality.
The strongest evidence base remains with specific trauma-focused treatments delivered within a trauma-informed framework. This balanced position is reflected in both Australian and international clinical guidelines.
Gentle Realism About Healing
Trauma-informed therapy does not promise quick fixes. Healing is often gradual and nonlinear. Progress may show up as better emotional regulation, clearer boundaries, improved relationships, or greater self-compassion.
These changes are meaningful and tend to support longer-term psychological well-being.
Who Can Benefit
Trauma-informed therapy can be helpful for people experiencing anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, complex trauma, chronic stress, burnout, emotional overwhelm, or difficulties with trust and relationships. A formal diagnosis is not required to benefit from this approach.
Enquiries and Appointments
References
- Herman, J. L. (2015). Trauma and recovery. Basic Books.
- van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score. Penguin.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2014). SAMHSA’s concept of trauma and guidance for a trauma-informed approach.
- World Health Organization. (2023). Psychological interventions for post traumatic stress disorder in adults.
- Phelps, A. J., et al. (2022). Australian guidelines for the prevention and treatment of acute stress disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and complex PTSD. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1177/00048674211041917
- Lewis, N. V., et al. (2023). Trauma-informed approaches in primary healthcare and community mental healthcare. Health and Social Care in the Community. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/4475114
- Han, H. R., et al. (2021). Trauma-informed interventions. PLOS ONE, 16(6), e0252747. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252747
- Chu, Y. C., et al. (2024). Outcomes of trauma-informed care for women experiencing intimate partner violence. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 31(2), 203 to 214. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12976
- Phoenix Australia. Australian Guidelines for PTSD. https://www.phoenixaustralia.org/australian-guidelines-for-ptsd/
