Trauma Informed Practice and Care: Implications for Field Instruction

Abstract

This article summarizes the evolution in thinking about trauma and its impact on those who have experienced it. The nature of trauma-informed (TI) practice and care and implications for field instruction are then explained. This discussion is based upon the assumption that skills of social work field instruction that already have an evidence base lay the foundation for TI field instruction. Composite case examples drawn from the author’s experiences as a field liaison, a practitioner who works with trauma survivors, and an instructor in the generalist practice curriculum illustrate methods and skills of field instruction from a trauma informed perspective.