Culturally Responsive Trauma-Informed care: A Promising New Model for Working with Survivors of Interpersonal Violence in the Community

The Breathe-Free Project, which was originally intended for victims of intimate partner violence, is being made open to a wider range of needs, including those with a history of surviving interpersonal violence.

The psychosocial needs of women who have survived interpersonal trauma and the rationale for conducting a proof-of-concept study on culturally responsive trauma-intervention based on the whole person care model are discussed in the present paper.

A demonstration of one model of a 6-week culturally responsive trauma-informed intervention developed by the author is provided, as well as a summary of findings from a randomised controlled pilot study of the model incorporating community-based participatory research with women survivors of interpersonal trauma.

Outcomes include statistically and clinically significant improvements in reducing symptoms of persistent pain, fatigue, posttraumatic stress disorder, and guilt, as well as improvements in generalized quality of life. In addition, qualitative findings are presented.