Trauma in health care
In 1999, I did a Diploma in International Humanitarian Aid (IDHA) in Ireland. I listened to two lecturers share their lived experiences of violence and trauma.
One of them, a doctor, had been tortured for months. You would never have known unless he told you.
That stayed with me.
From that day on, I made a decision: to assume that anyone in my care may carry trauma — and to practise medicine accordingly. To explain, to ask for consent, and to pay close attention to how someone responds.
Yet trauma is still not routinely explored in medicine. Not in psychiatry as consistently as one might expect, and often not in specialties where it is highly relevant.
In my own work in New Zealand, over 80% of people I supported reported trauma — the majority of it sexual.
We are beginning to understand the impact of trauma on health, thanks in part to voices like Bessel van der Kolk and Gabor Maté.
But I believe we need to go further.
Medicine itself can be traumatising — for both those receiving and those delivering care. Without awareness, we risk perpetuating the very patterns we seek to treat.
A truly trauma-informed approach to medicine is still missing. It deserves deeper attention, research, and integration into how we practise.
Contact
info@joannabauersavage.com
© 2026 Joanna Bauer-Savage
All rights reserved
Joanna Bauer-Savage
10115 Berlin, Germany
Link to Wild Woman Reborn:
https://www.wildwomanreborn.com