Developing Trauma-Informed Care Champions: A Six-Month Learning Collaborative Training Model

Abstract

This paper describes a six-month learning collaborative for service providers seeking to implement trauma-informed care (TIC) into their agencies. Although the professional literature on trauma-informed care has grown substantially over the past 10 years, little research has focused on how to effectively train agencies in creating a trauma-informed culture shift. Participants were trained as “TIC champions” to help facilitate the creation of trauma-informed approaches in their agencies. Through a parallel process, they learned the skills for planning and implementing a trauma-informed approach in their agency. At the completion of the training, trainers observed champions becoming more confident in their ability to assist their agencies in creating a trauma-informed culture shift. Though quantitative studies evaluating the learning collaborative are needed, initial findings suggest the collaborative approach is an effective means of guiding champions through the process of becoming trauma-informed.