Trauma-informed social work practice is an approach to social work that takes into account the impact of trauma on the lives of individuals, families, and communities. This approach recognizes that trauma can have long-term effects on a person’s mental health, physical health, and well-being, and that individuals who have experienced trauma require specialized care and support.
The goal of trauma-informed social work practice is to create a safe and supportive environment for individuals who have experienced trauma. This approach emphasizes the importance of building trust and collaboration with clients, as well as empowering clients to make decisions about their own care. Trauma-informed social work practice also recognizes the role that societal and institutional trauma can play in the lives of individuals, and seeks to create change at a systemic level.
One of the key principles of trauma-informed social work practice is understanding the prevalence of trauma. Research has shown that a significant percentage of the population has experienced some form of trauma in their lives. This trauma can range from individual experiences, such as physical or sexual abuse, to collective experiences, such as discrimination or systemic oppression. Understanding the prevalence of trauma is essential in creating an environment that is sensitive to the needs of individuals who have experienced trauma.
Another principle of trauma-informed social work practice is the importance of safety. Trauma can create feelings of fear, anxiety, and vulnerability, which can make it difficult for individuals to engage in social work services. Trauma-informed social work practice emphasizes the importance of creating a safe environment for clients, both physically and emotionally. This may involve providing privacy and confidentiality, ensuring that clients have control over their own care, and creating a space that is calm and welcoming.
Trauma-informed social work practice also emphasizes the importance of empowerment. Clients who have experienced trauma often feel disempowered and may have difficulty trusting others. Trauma-informed social work practice seeks to empower clients by providing them with information, support, and tools to help them make decisions about their own care. This may involve working collaboratively with clients, recognizing their strengths and resources, and supporting them in setting goals that are meaningful to them.
Cultural humility is also a key aspect of trauma-informed social work practice. Social workers must recognize the ways in which cultural differences can impact the experience of trauma, as well as the ways in which cultural beliefs and practices can be a source of strength and resilience. Cultural humility involves recognizing one’s own cultural biases and limitations, and working to create a culturally responsive and inclusive environment for clients.
Finally, trauma-informed social work practice recognizes the importance of collaboration and partnership. Addressing the impact of trauma requires a multidisciplinary approach, and social workers must work collaboratively with other professionals, such as mental health providers, medical professionals, and educators. Trauma-informed social work practice also recognizes the importance of community partnerships, and seeks to create partnerships with community organizations and leaders to create a more supportive and responsive environment for individuals who have experienced trauma.
In conclusion, trauma-informed social work practice is an approach to social work that recognizes the impact of trauma on the lives of individuals, families, and communities. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the prevalence of trauma, creating a safe and empowering environment for clients, practicing cultural humility, and collaborating with other professionals and community partners. By adopting a trauma-informed approach, social workers can provide more effective care and support to individuals who have experienced trauma, and contribute to creating a more just and equitable society.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are stressful or traumatic
experiences that can have a huge impact on children and young people
throughout their lives.
The ten widely recognised ACEs, as identified in a US study from the 1990s, are:
Abuse:
physical
sexual
verbal
Neglect:
emotional
physical
Growing up in a household where:
there are adults with alcohol and drug use problems
there are adults with mental health problems
there is domestic violence
there are adults who have spent time in prison
parents have separated
As well as these 10 ACEs there are a range of other types of
childhood adversity that can have similar negative long term effects.
These include bereavement, bullying, poverty and community adversities
such as living in a deprived area, neighbourhood violence etc.
We are committed to addressing all types of childhood adversity, and this is anchored in our long-standing, national approach of Getting it right for every child.
Why ACEs matter
Childhood adversity can create harmful levels of stress which impact
healthy brain development. This can result in long-term effects on
learning, behaviour and health.
Evidence from ACE surveys in the US, UK and elsewhere demonstrates
that ACEs can exert a significant influence throughout people’s life.
ACEs have been found to be associated with a range of poorer health
and social outcomes in adulthood and that these risks increase as the
number of ACEs increase.
Research from Wales found that people who reported experiencing four or more ACES are:
4x more likely to be a high-risk drinker
16x more likely to have used crack cocaine or heroin
6x increased risk of never or rarely feeling optimistic
3x increased risk of heart disease, respiratory disease and type 2 diabetes
15x more likely to have committed violence
14x more likely to have been victim of violence in the last 12 months
20x more likely to have been in prison at any point in their life
Consideration of ACEs is therefore crucial to thinking about how to
improve the lives of children and young people, to support better
transitions into adulthood, and achieve good outcomes for all adults.
What are we doing to address ACEs
As set out in the Programme for Government 2018 to 2019,
we are committed to preventing ACEs and helping to reduce the negative
impacts of ACEs where they occur and supporting the resilience of
children, families and adults in overcoming adversity.
We are take forward action in four key areas:
1. Providing inter-generational support for parents, families and children to prevent ACEs
2. Reducing the negative impact of ACEs for children and young people
3. Developing adversity and trauma-informed workforce and services
4. Increasing societal awareness and supporting action across communities
We held an ACEs ministerial event
in March 2018 in Glasgow involving people working across a wide-range
of related sectors and Year of Young People Ambassadors. This explored
what was working well, where further action is needed and opportunities
for collaboration.
Through our Getting it right for every child approach,
families and children can be supported by services to prevent and
reduce adversity and the negative outcomes associated with it.
We will build on our existing policies, including:
focusing on achieving equity in education through the Scottish Attainment Challenge and, in combination with the Pupil Equity Fund, allocating funding directly to schools to close the poverty-related attainment gap
putting children’s wellbeing first through the Child Protection Improvement Programme, keeping them safe from abuse and neglect by ensuring effective child protection procedures are in place
Our policies in the following areas are also relevant:
Addressing ACEs is also about better supporting adults who have been through adversity and trauma.
We are working with NHS Education for Scotland and have announced £1.35 million funding to deliver a national trauma training programme.
This will help Scotland’s current and future workforce develop skills
and services that respond appropriately to people’s adverse childhood
experiences and other traumatic experiences.
Consideration of ACEs is increasingly informing the development of national policy. For example, the Justice in Scotland: Vision and Priorities 2017 to 2020
identified ACEs as a key issue. A range of actions are being taken to
reduce their impact e.g. measures to reduce parental incarceration by
moving to a presumption against short prison sentences.
We are also working with the Scottish ACEs Hub (co-ordinated by NHS Health Scotland) which aims to raise awareness and understanding about ACEs and progress national action. For example, the Scottish ACEs Hub, in conjunction with Education Scotland, held a conference in March 2018 on addressing childhood adversity to support children’s learning and wellbeing.
Loss and bereavement are universal human experiences that have been the subject of study and research for many years. Theories of loss and bereavement have been developed to help us understand the various psychological and emotional processes that individuals go through when they experience a loss. This essay will explore some of the key theories of loss and bereavement, and their applications in social work practice.
One of the most well-known theories of loss and bereavement is the Kübler-Ross model, also known as the five stages of grief. Developed by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, the model proposes that individuals go through five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. While the model has been criticized for being too rigid and not taking into account individual differences in grieving, it remains a widely used framework for understanding the emotional and psychological processes that individuals go through when they experience a loss.
Another important theory of loss and bereavement is the dual process model, developed by Margaret Stroebe and Henk Schut. The dual process model proposes that individuals oscillate between two types of coping strategies: loss-oriented coping and restoration-oriented coping. Loss-oriented coping involves dealing directly with the loss, while restoration-oriented coping involves focusing on other aspects of life, such as work or hobbies. The model emphasizes the importance of balancing these two types of coping strategies, and recognizes that individuals may move back and forth between them as they work through their grief.
Attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby, has also been applied to the study of loss and bereavement. Attachment theory proposes that humans have a natural tendency to form close bonds with others, and that these bonds are essential for our emotional well-being. When an attachment figure is lost, individuals may experience intense feelings of grief and distress. Social workers who work with individuals who have experienced a loss may use attachment theory to understand the significance of the lost attachment figure, and to help individuals work through their grief by developing new attachments and social supports.
Finally, the meaning-making model, developed by Robert Neimeyer, emphasizes the importance of making sense of loss and finding meaning in the experience. The model proposes that individuals can find meaning in loss by engaging in activities such as writing or talking about their experiences, creating rituals or memorials, or finding ways to give back to others who have experienced a similar loss. Social workers who work with individuals who have experienced a loss may use the meaning-making model to help individuals find ways to make sense of their loss and to find meaning in their experiences.
In conclusion, loss and bereavement theories provide social workers with valuable frameworks for understanding the emotional and psychological processes that individuals go through when they experience a loss. By understanding these theories and their applications in practice, social workers can better support individuals who have experienced a loss and help them work through their grief in a healthy and meaningful way.
In a world where modern medicine often focuses on treating symptoms with pills and procedures, Dr. Gabor Maté, a renowned Canadian physician and psychotherapist, offers a radically different perspective. In his international bestseller When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress, Maté argues that the root cause of many chronic illnesses—such as cancer, addiction, and depression—lies not in genetics or biology alone, but in suppressed emotions and unhealed trauma. Drawing from decades of clinical experience and scientific studies, Maté’s work challenges the conventional separation of mind and body in Western medicine, urging us to address the emotional wounds that silently shape our health.
1. The Mind-Body Connection: Chronic Illness Starts with Emotional Repression
Maté asserts that the roots of most chronic illnesses are psychological and emotional, a perspective that starkly contrasts with mainstream medical practice. He points out a troubling statistic: 70% of adults in the United States are on medication, yet chronic diseases, obesity, addiction, and mental illness continue to rise. Why are we struggling despite advancements in science? Maté argues that modern medicine’s fatal flaw is its failure to integrate the mind and body. “The repression of anger leads to the chronic secretion of stress hormones, such as cortisol, that suppress the immune system,” Maté explains, citing research from his website (drgabormate.com). This suppression, he notes, has been linked to a wide range of conditions, from cancer and rheumatoid arthritis to migraines and fibromyalgia.
In his over two decades of family medicine, including seven years in palliative care, Maté observed a consistent pattern: patients with chronic illnesses often exhibited emotional shutdowns, particularly an inability to express anger. They were driven by a compulsive sense of responsibility for others, often at the expense of their own needs, and struggled to say “no.” This emotional repression, Maté argues, creates a physiological environment ripe for disease, a theory supported by studies showing that individuals who suppress emotions are at a 30% higher risk of developing depressive symptoms (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2003).
2. Trauma Begins in the Womb: The Lasting Impact of Early Stress
One of Maté’s most profound insights is that trauma can begin even before birth. He explains that a stressed mother’s emotional state directly affects the fetus, shaping its brain development and physiology. “A stressed mother affects the physiology and brain development of the fetus,” Maté notes. “The impacts of that stress can be seen decades later by how they respond to stress as adults.” In Western societies, where many pregnant women work well into late pregnancy, this stress can imprint on the baby, influencing its future mental and emotional health.
Maté’s own life story as the Budapest-born son of Holocaust survivors underscores this point. As an infant, his mother left him in the care of strangers for weeks to save his life during the Holocaust, an experience he believes left him with lifelong themes of abandonment, loss, and rage (theconversation.com, 2025). This early trauma, he argues, is not an isolated case but a universal phenomenon that shapes who we become, often manifesting as chronic illness or mental health struggles later in life.
3. Addiction as a Coping Mechanism: Reframing the Problem
Maté’s perspective on addiction is both compassionate and revolutionary. “Addiction isn’t the problem, it’s the solution,” he states. He views addiction—whether to substances, behaviors, or even work—as a coping mechanism for unhealed emotional trauma. “We turn to substances or behaviors to soothe wounds,” Maté explains, a theory backed by a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, which found that 70% of individuals in drug treatment programs report having experienced trauma.
Rather than asking “Why the addiction?” Maté urges us to ask “Why the pain?” This shift in perspective encourages self-compassion and a deeper understanding of the emotional wounds driving addictive behaviors. For Maté, healing addiction requires addressing these underlying emotions, a process that goes beyond the surface-level interventions of most treatment programs. His own struggles with addiction and ADHD, which he has openly discussed, lend a personal authenticity to his approach, making his insights resonate with those who feel misunderstood by traditional medical frameworks.
4. Depression and the Weight of Suppressed Emotions
Maté challenges the conventional view of depression as a chemical imbalance, such as low serotonin levels. Instead, he identifies suppressed emotions as the true root cause. “When you bury your pain, sadness, or anger, it doesn’t disappear,” he warns in the thread. “It lives in your body, silently shaping your thoughts.” This emotional repression leads to feelings of hopelessness, emptiness, and depression, a connection supported by the 2003 study mentioned earlier, which linked emotional suppression to a higher risk of depressive symptoms.
Healing, according to Maté, requires reconnecting with these buried emotions and feeling them without judgment. This process can be daunting, as it involves confronting pain that has been avoided for years, if not decades. However, Maté emphasizes that this emotional reconnection is essential for recovery, offering a path to liberation from the cycle of depression.
5. People-Pleasing as a Sign of Deeper Wounds
At first glance, people-pleasing might seem like a harmless trait, but Maté sees it as a symptom of deeper emotional wounds, often rooted in childhood. “Those raised in emotionally unstable environments learn to prioritize others’ needs before their own as a survival tactic,” he explains. This behavior, while adaptive in childhood, leads to a loss of connection with one’s own needs in adulthood, perpetuating a cycle of emotional suppression.
To break free, Maté recommends a three-step process: learning to identify your own needs, setting healthy boundaries, and reclaiming your sense of self. This journey requires processing suppressed emotions, which can be facilitated through therapeutic methods like Internal Family Systems, Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy, and Maté’s own approach, Compassionate Inquiry. These methods, he notes, help individuals reconnect with their bodies and emotions, paving the way for true healing.
A Path to Healing: Reconnecting with the Body
Maté’s work is a powerful reminder that healing is not just about treating the body—it’s about addressing the mind and emotions as well. His insights challenge us to look beyond the surface of our struggles and confront the emotional wounds that shape our health. Fortunately, as Maté points out, healing is more accessible than ever before. The first step, he suggests, is free: reconnecting with your body and sensations. From there, therapeutic methods can provide the tools to process suppressed emotions and reclaim your well-being.
For those feeling stuck, Maté’s message is one of hope. Various resources available that can help individuals change their habits, routines, and mindset, fostering strength and discipline. Maté’s work, combined with such tools, offers a roadmap to break free from the hidden costs of suppressed emotions and live a healthier, more authentic life.
Conclusion: A Call to Emotional Awarenes
Gabor Maté’s insights into the mind-body connection are a wake-up call for a society grappling with rising rates of chronic illness and mental health struggles. By linking conditions like cancer, addiction, and depression to suppressed emotions and unhealed trauma, Maté challenges us to rethink our approach to health. His five key insights—ranging from the psychological roots of illness to the origins of people-pleasing—reveal the profound impact of emotional repression on our lives. But more importantly, they offer a path forward: by reconnecting with our emotions, setting boundaries, and seeking therapeutic support, we can break free from the cycles of pain that hold us back. In a world that often prioritizes quick fixes, Maté’s work reminds us that true healing begins with listening to what the body—and the heart—have to say.
Hope is a fundamental and dynamic force within social work practice, offering both clients and practitioners a means to navigate adversity and envision a better future. It serves as a crucial psychological and emotional mechanism that allows individuals to maintain a sense of purpose and direction in the face of hardship. Social work, as a discipline, fundamentally aligns with the promotion of hope, emphasizing empowerment, self-determination, and resilience. Despite its frequent mention in social work literature, the concept of hope remains ambiguously defined and under-theorized. The need to articulate a clearer framework for understanding and applying hope in social work practice is essential, as it can significantly influence intervention strategies and client outcomes. This article explores the role of hope in social work, analyzing its conceptual framework and practical applications while addressing its implications for research, direct practice, and professional education.
The nature of hope is multifaceted, often described as a cognitive, emotional, and relational process that enables individuals to persist through hardships. It is shaped by both intrinsic factors, such as personal experiences and beliefs, and extrinsic factors, including social support and cultural influences. While many scholars emphasize its future-oriented and rational characteristics, others highlight its role as an instinctive or spiritual force that transcends individual cognition. Psychologist C. Richard Snyder’s theory of hope identifies two key components: agency (the motivation to achieve goals) and pathways (the strategies to reach them). This theory underscores the importance of goal-setting and problem-solving in fostering hope. However, more recent perspectives emphasize that hope is not merely an individual trait but a collective force influenced by social and cultural contexts. Hope can be cultivated through communal support, shared narratives, and collective resilience, making it an integral component of social work interventions at both the individual and systemic levels.
Hope is ‘essential quality in social work’ – Collins (2015)
In the field of social work, hope serves as a transformative tool that fosters resilience, well-being, and recovery. It provides individuals with the motivation to seek help, adapt to difficult circumstances, and maintain a sense of optimism despite adversity. It is particularly significant for individuals coping with terminal illness, mental health challenges, and social marginalization. Studies have shown that instilling hope can enhance psychological resilience, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, and improve overall quality of life. Hope-oriented interventions have been linked to better outcomes for individuals facing extreme adversity, such as refugees, survivors of trauma, and those experiencing homelessness. Additionally, social work interventions that emphasize hope have been linked to better outcomes for refugees, trauma survivors, and individuals experiencing extreme adversity. By helping individuals find meaning and purpose, social workers can create environments where hope thrives, facilitating positive behavioral and emotional changes that contribute to long-term well-being.
Social workers operationalize hope through various relational and strengths-based practices. These approaches include role modeling, narrative therapy, group work, and solution-focused interventions that help individuals identify their strengths and set achievable goals. By fostering a hopeful perspective, social workers encourage clients to view challenges as opportunities for growth rather than insurmountable obstacles. In clinical settings, social workers often assist clients in redefining hope, particularly when facing chronic illness or disability. Rather than framing hope solely around unrealistic expectations of recovery, practitioners help clients cultivate hope in ways that align with their realities, offering reassurance without fostering denial. This nuanced approach ensures that hope remains a motivating force without becoming a source of false optimism. Through compassionate and client-centered interactions, social workers build trusting relationships that serve as the foundation for meaningful and lasting change.
From a strengths perspective, ‘a focus on the dreams, hopes, and visions of people encourages them to begin thinking subjunctively about what might be and how it might come about’ (Saleebey, 2000: 133; see also Saleebey, 2013).
Children and young people, particularly those in marginal situations, require distinct approaches to hope-building. Adolescents facing socioeconomic hardships, family instability, or mental health issues often struggle to maintain a hopeful outlook on their future. Social work research highlights that youth develop hope through social support, meaningful relationships, and engagement with their environment. By creating safe spaces where young people can explore their aspirations and strengths, social workers empower them to take control of their narratives and envision positive futures. For marginalized young people, hope often emerges through resistance and aspirations that challenge systemic oppression. Thus, social workers must navigate the complexities of hope, recognizing that it may manifest in unconventional ways, including dystopian perspectives in response to trauma and disenfranchisement. By integrating creative and culturally responsive interventions, social workers can facilitate hope-building experiences that foster self-efficacy, motivation, and resilience among young individuals who might otherwise feel powerless in their circumstances.
For social workers themselves, maintaining hope is essential to sustaining their practice. Working in environments characterized by systemic barriers, high caseloads, and emotionally taxing situations can take a toll on a practitioner’s well-being. Burnout and compassion fatigue can erode practitioners’ sense of hope, making self-care, supervision, and professional support critical components of social work. A hopeful organizational culture, coupled with a strengths-based educational framework, can reinforce social workers’ commitment to change and social justice. By fostering a professional environment that prioritizes emotional resilience and peer support, organizations can enhance social workers’ capacity to maintain their own sense of hope while empowering their clients. Additionally, reflective practices such as mindfulness, ongoing education, and engagement in social activism can help practitioners reconnect with their core values and sustain their passion for social work.
‘If we want the best for our clients, then the well-being and best interest of the workers needs to be considered … to instill hope in others one must have a sense of their own hope’ – McCarter (2007)
The conceptual framework presented in this article positions social work relationships as sites of hope. It suggests that hope is not an abstract ideal but a concrete, relational process shaped by critical reflection, cultural sensitivity, and social justice imperatives. Social work relationships provide a crucial space where individuals can explore their aspirations, build resilience, and challenge social injustices. By integrating hope into social work practice, professionals can empower individuals and communities, fostering resilience and meaningful change. Moreover, social workers must be attuned to the broader socio-political landscape, advocating for policies and practices that create equitable opportunities for hope to flourish. Recognizing the intersectionality of hope with issues such as poverty, discrimination, and trauma enables social workers to address systemic barriers while promoting individual and collective empowerment.
Social work must continue to explore and document the mechanisms through which hope operates in practice. Future research should focus on developing evidence-based strategies for nurturing hope across diverse populations and contexts. Understanding how hope interacts with factors such as socioeconomic status, cultural identity, and mental health can inform more effective and inclusive interventions. Ultimately, social work is a profession deeply intertwined with hope, and embracing this dimension can enhance its transformative potential for both practitioners and those they serve. By making hope a central component of social work theory and practice, the profession can continue to inspire positive change and empower individuals to build brighter futures.
Social work as a discipline is rooted in the holistic understanding of the human experience. However, its engagement with the spiritual aspects of clients’ lives has often been limited, despite the potential benefits of spiritual growth for well-being. Transpersonal theory offers a perspective that embraces the spiritual dimension, emphasizing growth beyond ego-bound identity to a higher state of consciousness. This article explores the compatibility of transpersonal theory with social work, examining its conceptual underpinnings, practical applications, and its potential to advance the field.
Understanding Transpersonal Theory At its core, transpersonal theory asserts the existence of a consciousness beyond the ego, accessible through psychospiritual development. This perspective encourages individuals to harness their inherent capacity for healing and growth by transcending limiting beliefs and fostering an interconnected awareness of the self and the cosmos. The transpersonal journey, according to the theory, entails dis-identification from the ego, integration of diverse perspectives, and the cultivation of traits such as compassion, wisdom, and gratitude.
Motivation within transpersonal theory operates at individual, group, and cosmic levels. For example, individuals may seek meaning through “spiritual strivings,” while group dynamics emphasize collective purpose and sacred connections. On a broader scale, the theory underscores humanity’s drive to protect what is sacred and contribute to a greater whole.
Application in Social Work Transpersonal theory aligns with social work’s core values, such as the dignity and worth of individuals, the importance of relationships, and the pursuit of social justice. It emphasizes cultural humility, fostering nonjudgmental acceptance and a commitment to understanding clients’ unique spiritual experiences. Moreover, transpersonal approaches can help clients confront internalized oppression, promoting self-awareness and compassion that extend to social justice efforts.
In practice, transpersonal therapy employs diverse techniques such as Jungian expressive arts, existential therapy, hypnotherapy, and systemic family therapy. These methods encourage self-reflection, healing, and spiritual integration. Social workers trained in transpersonal approaches are better equipped to address clients’ spiritual needs, creating a more holistic therapeutic environment.
Research and Evidence Despite skepticism about the scientific validity of transpersonal practices, research has begun to illuminate their benefits. For example, Stanislav Grof’s work with psychedelic substances revealed profound transpersonal experiences involving ego transcendence and enhanced empathy. Other studies have linked spirituality to improved mental health, though further exploration is needed to address safety concerns and deepen understanding.
Methodologies used in transpersonal research, such as phenomenological approaches, align with social work’s emphasis on qualitative and mixed methods. These tools not only validate the role of spirituality in therapy but also challenge the limits of conventional scientific paradigms.
Comparing Perspectives The eco–systems perspective in social work shares similarities with transpersonal theory, as both recognize the interconnectedness of individuals and their environments. However, transpersonal theory uniquely focuses on the spiritual domain, offering a pathway for those seeking deeper existential understanding. While not universally applicable due to societal resistance to spirituality, its integration into social work could broaden the profession’s scope and efficacy.
Advancing the Profession Transpersonal theory’s emphasis on spirituality complements social work’s mission to address diverse aspects of human experience. By incorporating transpersonal approaches, social workers can enhance their ability to foster clients’ holistic well-being. However, the field must balance this integration with its commitment to evidence-based practice, expanding research methodologies to capture the nuances of spiritual growth.
Conclusion Transpersonal theory enriches social work by addressing the often-overlooked spiritual dimension of human experience. Its alignment with social work values and its potential to transform practice make it a valuable addition to the profession. As the field evolves, embracing transpersonal approaches could foster a more comprehensive and compassionate understanding of the human condition.
Beyond Barriers 