Primary Care Providers Crucial to Addressing Emotional Trauma

More than half of all U.S. residents have experienced a traumatic event, like domestic abuse, sexual assault, neglect, or disasters. The ideal place to identify and to show universal precautions is within primary care settings.

With support from Kaiser Permanente, the National Council for Behavioral Health is pioneering an educational program for community health centers to become trauma-informed practices and models for replication.

It has been shown that trauma impacts an individual’s health in a myriad ways; contributing to chronic illnesses like cardiovascular disease, obesity, musculoskeletal pain, hypertension, depression, and addiction.

“Most people will see a primary care doctor before they will see a mental health or addiction professional,” said Linda Rosenberg, president and CEO of the National Council. “They are our frontline to mitigating trauma’s affect on all of us. Kaiser Permanente’s investment in this space will expedite primary care settings’ adoption of trauma-informed practices, which we know is the foundation of healing and recovery.”

The grant from the Kaiser Permanente National Community Benefit Fund at the East Bay Community Foundation will provide an opportunity for 14 safety net organizations across the United States to join a yearlong learning opportunity that includes raising awareness of medical conditions caused by trauma and getting effective support and resources for patients who have experienced trauma.

“This partnership is a unique and critical opportunity to connect medical care with mental health care,” said Raymond J. Baxter, PhD, senior vice president, Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit, Health Policy and Research. “Doing so effectively is key to improving an individual’s total health. Furthermore, these clinics often reach diverse and underserved populations who need these services but don't often have access to them.”