Definitions

1. Trauma: Events that meet DSM-IV criteria for a traumatic event:
The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following were present:

(a) the person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that Involved actual or threatened death or serious, injury or a threat to the physical Integrity of self or others

(b) the persons response involved in tense fear, helplessness, or horror. Note: In children, this may be expressed instead by disorganized or agitated behavior.

Examples: rape, sexual abuse, physical abuse, assault, combat, torture, motor vehicle accident, natural disaster.

2. Sanctuary Trauma: Events that occur in the psychiatric setting, and which, meet DSM-IV criteria for traumatic event.

3. Sanctuary Harm: Events that occur in the psychiatric setting, and which, while not meeting DSM-IV criteria for a traumatic event, are nevertheless distressing, frightening, humiliating, and/or insensitive, especially given the vulnerability of the consumer. These events may also serve as trauma cues, or "triggers," that evoke memories of and/or responses to previous traumatic experience.

Examples: being handcuffed, strip-searched, restrained, subjected to a "take-down," confined.

Important Trauma Variables
Child vs. Adult Trauma Occurrence
Single vs. Repeated Events
Natural vs. Man-made
Stranger vs. Family/Friend Perpetrator
Preexisting Vulnerability Due to Mental Illness