Trauma informed practice in CMHF initiatives V1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding the Application of Trauma-Informed Practices in Community Mental Health Framework Initiatives.
IRAS ID
340503
Contact name
Anvita Srikakulam Vikram
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Exeter
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, 31 days
Research summary
Background: Healthcare services know that many people have felt past trauma and that their physical space and relations with others in these services can worsen the bodily, mental, and behavioural ways in which trauma shows up. So, trauma-informed practice (TIP) helps to lower this by taking steps (e.g., being clear, giving choices and actively listening) to make sure people feel safe, trusted, empowered, in control and have choices. There is a lot of focus on this topic but there is not much information about how this works in primary community mental health and wellbeing services (i.e., Community Mental Health Framework [CMHF] Initiatives). This consists of services with different types of staff who work together to help people who live in certain areas access mental health and wellbeing support quickly and easily.
Importance: Knowing how services use TIP would help build on guidelines, train staff, and improve care based on what people need and want. It would also give a full picture of how these services work and how to make them more trauma informed.
Aim: This study aims to explore how staff within CMHF initiatives use TIP and how clients of these services view this.
Method: All current staff and adult clients with past trauma who have used the Keystone Hub (Abingdon, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust) and Open Mental Health (Mendip, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust) would be able to participate. Elgible service staff will be invited to attend 1-1.5 hour group interviews (i.e., focus groups with a process mapping session) either online or in-person within their service during office hours. Eligible clients will be invited to attend one 1-hour interview online using Microsoft Teams. The study would last until September 2026. The results will be shared with others via scientific publications and as part of an educational award (Doctorate in Clinical Psychology).
REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
24/WS/0165
Date of REC Opinion
12 Dec 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion