By Whitney Marris, LCSW, CTIPP's Director of Practice & System Transformation
The Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) envisions a future where individuals, families, organizations, communities, and systems stand empowered to realize their full potential.
Our vision presents a variety of concrete considerations that are critical to preventing and mitigating trauma and adversity, as well as promoting resiliency, recovery, healing, and growth so that all are supported to flourish and thrive.
What Shapes the Vision
The vision is intended to be as comprehensive as possible in what it proposes is needed to align our society with the broad-scale transformation we want to see happen without being overly complex, duplicative, or so granular that it is not a universally useful template for a diverse range of advocates and communities to utilize as a template to inform their work of advancing change.
The primary factors that give shape to the vision are the six core principles of a trauma-informed approach. The actions proposed align with and seek to operationalize these principles, with a grounding in building on what is already happening and what we know works based on keeping current with:
Proposed and enacted public policy
Insights from contemporary research
Demonstrated promising practices
Emerging findings from the field and efforts underway
Wisdom shared and unmet needs expressed by people with lived experience of trauma and adversity
Trauma-Informed, Resilience-Building, Healing-Centered, Prevention-Oriented, and Community-Led Approaches Benefit Us All
CTIPP recognizes that the utility of trauma-informed transformation transcends political divides and differences. Our vision presents a nonpartisan opportunity for all policymakers and all people to come together in collaboration and solidarity to address the root cause of many of society’s most pressing challenges. The universality, multidimensionality, and scope of the vision invites us to engage with one another across party lines with compassion and curiosity to mobilize around a shared commitment to doing things differently than we currently are to promote healing and growth that benefits our current and future world.
The Sum is Greater than the Parts: The Interdependence and Interconnectedness of All Dimensions in the Vision
To ease information digestion, support a deeper understanding of what initiatives are proposed to seek to accomplish, and improve accessibility and navigability for those engaging with the vision, the vision is organized into "dimensions."
We also recognize that it is realistically unlikely that any person or community would have the capacity, interest, and resources to take on every action outlined across all of the proposed dimensions. An initial focus on a few activities within one or two specific dimensions may help advocates and communities find an entry point into trauma-informed advocacy and change work, positioning them to continue building momentum and self-efficacy to take further action across dimensions over time.
We choose to use the term “dimensions” to conceptualize and convey this reality while also acknowledging the multifaceted and interconnected nature of all aspects of the vision. This language is important to us because we have seen how the siloed nature of the way our society, systems, and structures have come to operate can pose a significant challenge to the wide-scale change that the vision seeks to enliven.
Yet, a holistic, comprehensive approach to transformation that brings us closer to the world we envision extends beyond taking action in only one dimension and instead demands a collaborative, coordinated approach at the local and broader levels. The dimensions of the vision represent a “both/and” approach rather than an “either/or” mindset, meaning that enormous potential and opportunities abound for any and all who wish to contribute to change.
Our Vision as a Living, Breathing, and Growing Template
We live, and we learn. Just as the work of becoming trauma-informed is an ongoing, iterative process of learning and growth that is never really “done,” the vision we have proposed here is intended to be an ever-evolving anchor for our work. We intend to update and build upon what we have assembled within each dimension of this vision as learnings, circumstances, needs, and norms continue to evolve and emerge over time.
Notice something that feels important to specifically uplift across any of the dimensions below? We welcome your feedback to help us continue to clarify and shape the movement’s collective vision for a preferred future!
