Experiences of Trauma-Informed Care in a Family Drug Treatment Court

Abstract

Social service fields have been revolutionized by the recognition of widespread exposure to trauma and its harmful consequences for the populations they serve. Organizations have responded by adopting trauma-informed care (TIC) practices. To date, most research on TIC has been conducted with providers, not clients. We build on existing research by studying the experiences of clients in a cross-system family drug treatment court (FDTC) that implemented substantial TIC reforms. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 21 clients and 9 staff, we found that the dual therapeutic and punitive mandates of the FDTC, along with the court’s related structures of power and control, posed inherent challenges to enacting TIC principles related to control and collaboration. However, TIC reforms did promote a greater sense of transparency, safety, and support from strengths-based resources. We consider lessons for TIC reforms more generally and how therapeutic and punitive functions can enable or constrain TIC in mandated interventions.