Integrated Care for the Traumatized

Book excerpt: Integrated Care for the Traumatized puts forth a model for the future of behavioral health focused on health care integration and the importance of the Whole Person Approach (WPA) in guiding the integration. This book fills a void applying the WPA integration to the traumatized that enables the reader to learn from experienced trauma practitioners on how to assess and treat trauma as humanely and compassionately as possible. This approach of expanding the possibilities of behavioral health by centering upon the whole person is an old idea that is emerging as a modern solution to over specialized practices. Among other things this WPA approach, completed with spirituality, psychology, medicine, social work, and psychiatry, helps traumatized and their families function in the social environment. The book has four sections: Foundations, Interventions for Individuals, Interventions for Communities, and Future of Integrative Care for the Traumatized. Each chapter discusses the importance of working within an integrative and WP approach, with descriptions of integrative models, research evidence and applications that are already working. These chapters can help students, families, and seasoned professionals to improve upon and expand their practice with the traumatized in both the individual and community contexts.