Trauma informed care: A grounded theory through the eyes of caregivers
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The experience of mental health care for children and young people exposed to complex trauma: A grounded theory through the eyes of their caregivers
IRAS ID
238752
Contact name
Lisa Caygill
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Teesside University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 1 days
Research summary
The experience of mental health care for children and young people exposed to complex trauma: A grounded theory through the eyes of their caregivers.
Exposure to trauma in childhood, through the experience of abuse and/or neglect within familial relationships, may have profound effects on psychological functioning and development which can continue throughout the lifespan. Detrimental impacts of early trauma cannot be erased; however they can be moderated by subsequent experiences. Children who later receive appropriate care, nurture and have opportunities to form attachments can heal from the adverse effects of trauma.
Many children exposed to trauma access local authority care in the hope that they will be placed in an environment of safety and containment where an alternative caregiver will nurture positive wellbeing and development. Caregivers have an imperative role in the healing process, but this can be challenging as children may re-enact dynamics of previous traumatic relationships leading carers to experience secondary trauma.Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) are essential in supporting children who have experienced early trauma and their caregivers. Yet research suggests services may not adequately meet their needs due to the complexity of their clinical presentation and are at risk of causing iatrogenic harms. Consideration of what has happened to the child not what is wrong with them presents an alternative approach to mental health care that is trauma-informed.
This research seeks to explore caregivers experiences of accessing mental health services, both NHS and local authority, for their children and young people exposed to early trauma. This is a unique context in which the systemic experience of mental health care is currently under researched. Grounded theory will be used to develop a new theory that provides an understanding of this context and how caregivers envisage an approach to mental health care that is trauma-informed.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/NE/0097
Date of REC Opinion
24 Apr 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion