Individuals face an increasing number of potential personal and workplace-related trauma throughout their lives. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, compiled and analyzed wide range of definitions for trauma. In a 2014 publication of their findings [https://ncsacw.acf.hhs.gov/userfiles/files/SAMHSA_Trauma.pdf]., an expert panel put together by SAMHSA, formulated the following as the definition of trauma:

Individual trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life-threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual's functioning and mental, physical, social, and emotional, or spiritual well-being. (p. 7)

The implementation of Trauma-Informed Care in medicine has been in motion for several decades but extending guidance to employers in other industries is new and evolving. One such framework has been developed by the Missouri Department of Mental Health. Read and reflect on The Missouri Model: A Developmental Framework for Trauma-Informed Approaches [https://dmh.mo.gov/media/pdf/missouri-model-developmental-framework-trauma-informed-approaches].

Write three to five paragraphs describing how you think Trauma-Informed Leadership will continue to evolve. Do you believe employers across all industries are responsible for addressing workplace trauma? Should employers also be responsible for being aware of and addressing personal trauma? How should employers navigate the potential impact on productivity? How should managers communicate with employees who have experienced or are experiencing trauma?