Basic safety first: trauma-informed care in a hostile environment
Open Access
- 30 March 2020
- journal article
- editorial
- Published by Royal College of Psychiatrists in BJPsych Bulletin
- Vol. 44 (2), 41-43
- https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2019.91
Abstract
Summary This editorial introduces and reflects on a Praxis article in the trainees' section of this issue. The article, 'Assessing asylum seekers, refugees and undocumented migrants' by Waterman et al, begins with a clinical scenario describing an emergency presentation at a ‘place of safety’. The authors are to be congratulated for navigating a compassionate path through the complexities of law, health and new diagnostic categories. The resources found in the article, drawing on the principles of trauma-informed care and the work of Judith Herman, can help trainees to be more confident in promoting the basic rights of survivors of trauma, which might form a first step in the re-establishment of trust and empowerment.Keywords
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