The Importance of a Trauma-Informed Approach in Foster Care

At Fostering People, we support children from diverse backgrounds, but one thing they often have in common is trauma from adverse childhood experiences. That's why we are committed to therapeutic fostering and using a trauma-informed approach so children living with trauma can heal.

But what is trauma, and why is a trauma-informed approach important in foster care? Keep reading to find out.

What is Trauma?

Many children in care have experienced prolonged adverse childhood experiences, such as abuse and neglect. These experiences affect each child uniquely and can impact all areas of their life now and in adulthood.

Childhood trauma causes emotional pain and mental health conditions like depression, anxiety and PTSD. There can also be physical symptoms and a reduction in cognitive function, making it more difficult for children with trauma to concentrate, retain memories and learn new things.

When ignored or left untreated, childhood trauma can lead to a lack of fulfilment when they reach adulthood. It may also lead them to fall behind their peers at school and, in the future, make it difficult to form relationships and impact employment.

All is not lost; we can mitigate the impacts of trauma by using a trauma-informed approach in foster care, giving children with trauma hope and a brighter future.

What Does Trauma-Informed Mean?

The trauma-informed approach means understanding children living with trauma and how it can impact all areas of their lives. It's about being mindful of triggers and providing a safe and stable foster home where they can freely express their emotions and be themselves.

Through a combination of this and collaboration with enhanced communities of support, children can begin to recover from their trauma and reach their full potential.

Safety and Stability

Recovery can only begin if children have a safe and stable home. A safe and stable home protects and promotes children's physical, mental, spiritual and emotional well-being. It's a platform for children to discover themselves, build relationships, find educational fulfilment, and feel empowered to succeed.

At Fostering People, we ensure the best matches between foster families and children by truly getting to know everyone. By doing so, we nurture the whole family and provide children with homes where their triggers are understood and alleviated so they can heal.

Building Trust Through Understanding

Another crucial aspect of the trauma-informed approach involves taking the time to look beyond the behaviour of children living with trauma. It means slowing down your response so you can recognise their triggers and understand their inner world; this helps you provide appropriate support.

At Fostering People, we train our foster parents to use the PACE approach. PACE stands for Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy. It encourages foster parents to be mindful of their interactions with children who have trauma, responding thoughtfully, creating trust and helping them through big emotions.

Playfulness – means two things. Firstly, it's adding appropriately timed moments of silliness and playfulness into your daily interactions with children. This could mean creating a song about washing up or dancing whilst baking together. These moments give you an opportunity to bond and can make children feel at ease.

Secondly, playfulness means using soft tones and facial expressions when responding to children's behaviour if being silly in this situation would be inappropriate. For example, if they have fallen out with a friend, it would be inappropriate to make a joke. Instead, you could use open body language, ensure you're at their level and use a light-hearted tone.

Acceptance – means accepting the cause of a child's behaviour because you know there is an underlying explanation. It also means providing non-judgemental support so they can share their thoughts, feelings and emotions.

For example, the child in your care grew up in a home where they often felt hungry, they have been hiding food in their bedroom for weeks, and you find some moulding under their bed. At first, you may feel confused or annoyed, but the PACE approach encourages you to stop and think about the underlying reasons for this behaviour before responding. You can then explain to the child in your care that they don't need to hide food in their room because they can ask you for it if they feel hungry.

Curiosity – When children enter a new foster home, they may not feel comfortable or able to share their feelings, emotions, or experiences. So, it is vital to be curious and attentive to decode their behaviours and, by doing so, show the child that you care about their thoughts and feelings.

Curiosity means being mindful of children's behaviour and asking questions that help you better understand. For example, the child in your care comes home from school upset and rips up a card she received on her birthday from her best friend, which indicates she has fallen out with her friend and this could be triggering feelings of rejection. With this in mind, you can approach the subject with understanding and ask questions that show the child you care.

Empathy - means putting yourself in the child's position and imagining how they must be feeling so you can better understand their behaviour. You can then respond to the child using compassionate language.

For example, the child in your care wants to go swimming this weekend but has an ear infection, so they can’t go and they are upset. You can explain that you understand their frustration and why they are upset because you know swimming is their favourite activity, which could help them feel less alone in their feelings.