The Six Principles of Trauma-Informed Care

Course overview

Course Description: This course examines the six guiding principles of trauma-informed care as established by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): safety, trustworthiness and transparency, peer support, collaboration and mutuality, empowerment and choice, and humility. Participants will explore each principle in depth, including the distinct types of safety (physical, psychological, emotional, social, and moral), the role of trust and transparency in building therapeutic relationships, and the difference between empowerment and cheerleading in clinical practice. The course addresses how these principles are applied across clinical, organizational, and supervisory contexts to reduce re-traumatization and foster healing environments for clients and staff alike. This course on trauma-informed care is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. This course is appropriate for intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop or increase their knowledge of trauma-informed care principles and their application in clinical settings. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require clinical continuing education courses for license renewal. Authors: Texas Health and Human Services Learning Objectives: This course will provide a professional with detailed information about the six principles of trauma-informed care. Specifically, the practitioner will: 1. Describe the five types of safety and explain how physical and emotional safety influence neurological functioning, clinical engagement, and the delivery of trauma-informed services. 2. Apply the principles of trustworthiness, transparency, peer support, and collaboration to establish therapeutic relationships and improve service delivery. 3. Differentiate between empowerment and cheerleading, and demonstrate how humility, voice, and choice are integrated into trauma-informed practice to promote client autonomy and culturally responsive care. Citation: Texas Health and Human Services. (2025). The six principles of trauma-informed care. https://hhs.texas.gov