What is Trauma and What do we Know about its Effects?

Using a WISER (Watch, Interpret, Select, Engage, Reflect; Waldinger and Schultz 2023) approach to officer-community member interactions requires an understanding of trauma as a common human experience and empathy as an effective de-escalation strategy. Trauma involves emotional and thought reactions to distressing or threatening situations or interactions (Kessler et al. 2010; van der Kolk 2005). Reactions can include posturing that on the surface looks like anger, aggression, impulsiveness, avoidance, and even risky or self-destructive behaviors (Bargeman et. al. 2022). People experiencing a trauma reaction struggle to manage their emotions and behaviors during stressful situations, which include interacting with police officers (van der Kolk 2014). Trauma-informed approaches (TIC; SAMSA 2017) to facilitate professional interactions are beneficial in general mental health agencies (Kelly et al. 2023; Muskett 2014), medical services (Watson, Compton, and Drain 2024; Guevara et al. 2021; Cerny et al. 2023; Bulford at al, 2024; Lewis et al. 2023), and prison settings (Malik et al. 2023). For example, trauma-informed approaches implemented in juvenile residential settings have led to the reduced use of restraints, seclusion, and restrictive practices, fostering more trust between youth and the professionals who care for them (Kelly et al. 2023). A trauma-informed approach to de-escalation can improve and foster compliance, increase community trust, and deepen empathic responses in common officer-community interactions.

The likelihood of officers interacting with traumatized people is high. De-escalation strategies that take a trauma-informed approach are an effective tool for managing emotions and behaviors in the field (Franklin et al. 2023). Trauma and adverse experiences are public health concerns that are almost universal experiences for those with mental health and substance use disorders (McLaughlin, Green, and Kessler 2009). Traumatic experiences across the lifespan are common in the general population (Kilpatrick et al. 2013). Importantly, people with significant trauma histories are often represented in our child welfare, criminal and juvenile justice, mental health and addictions, and social services systems (Branson et al. 2017). The more adverse experiences a child undergoes, the more likely they are to abuse alcohol and intravenous substances (Dube et al 2002) and become incarcerated as adults (Bronson and Berzofsky 2017). Thus, Wellness-Centered De-Escalation Skills focus on awareness and practice of (1) recognition of trauma-reactions during an interaction, (2) on-site management strategies, (3) collaborative problem-solving to minimize re-traumatization, and (4) increasing engagement, feelings of safety, and cooperation during interactions.

Wellness-Centered De-Escalation Skills: What Officers Can Do

Trauma-informed approaches (SAMSA 2017) provide general knowledge and guiding principles for a number of community services including emergency medical services (Brown et al. 2022), corrections (Miller and Najavits 2012), and police interviews of sexual assault/human victims (Rich 2019). Such an approach also increases the effectiveness of investigative interviewing with rape (Rich 2019; Franklin et al. 2023) and human trafficking victims (Scott et al. 2019). The trauma-informed approach also reduces chronically stressful conditions that impact officer health and wellness (Jetelina et al. 2020). In short, trauma-informed approaches are wellness-centered for professionals (i.e., police officers) and community members (i.e., subjects and victims). Wellness-centered de-escalation skills training increases officers’ learning and retention (Brook, Elliot, and Benelle 2022) for general trauma reactions (Lin et al 2024) and culturally specific or historically based trauma (Buchbinder, Giacobbe, and Minor 2023; Williams, Osman, and Hyon 2023).

Wellness-centered de-escalation training with an emphasis on understanding and recognizing trauma is an evidence-based approach improving officers’ interactions with community members and subjects. Expert observations of trauma reactions in subjects and community members leads to emotion and thought management to improve problem-solving in the moment, thus increasing the likelihood of no-escalation or de-escalation. Such a management approach to behavior fosters community trust in the officer, police organizations, and the criminal justice system as a whole. Wellness-centered officer training generally, and de-escalation training specifically, involves expanding officer knowledge of the following:

• Trauma and its impact (SAMSA 2021) on thoughts and behaviors that are activated during police encounters, in which officers may be perceived as threatening, hostile, or not trustworthy (Molla 2024).
• Trauma reactions in the field that may feature unique cultural contexts and group-based expectations (e.g., being perceived as a criminal) that can foster perceptions of threat (McClure, Sweet, and Atkinson 2023).
• Training protocols for practicing responses to trauma reactions, reducing situation escalation, and resisting re-traumatization (Brook et al. 2022; Cerny et al., 2023; Muskett 2014).

Wellness-centered de-escalation training focuses on generating clear protocol for officer responses. Officers can engage in WISER (Waldinger and Schultz 2023) interactions with subjects, community members, and co-workers. The WISER protocol has five components:

1. Watch – take time to accurately assess the situation.

   a. Observe your own emotional responses (Orvell et al. 2020).
   b. Narrate actions in the interaction (Malik et al. 2023).

2. Interpret – consider alternative ways of understanding the situation.

   a. Identify initial impressions based on the situation, the person, your thoughts (Bennell, Jones, and Corey 2007). Are they accurate?
   b. Be aware of first impressions and assumptions (Ang et al. 2007; Cacciopo, Visser, and Pickett 2007). Are they accurate?

3. Select – be clear about the outcome wanted in the situation.

   a. Consider available options and resources (Najavits 2002).
   b. Weigh the pros and cons of a given approach (Miller and Najavits 2012; Najavits 2006).

4. Engage – take steps that are realistic.

   a. Provide options/reasons through open-ended questions and empathy statements (Miller and Najavits 2012; Najavits 2006).
   b. Evaluate progress and adjust as needed (Ang et al., 2007; Bennell, Jones, and Corey 2007).

5. Reflect – assess the interaction repeatedly, and adjust responses as needed.

   c. Respond, rather than react, by using controlled, tactical breathing (Bouchard 2012).
   d. Realize, recognize, and revise the approach. You may need to request additional assistance from mental health professionals (Usher et al. 2019; Bailey et al. 2018).

Facilitating Community Trust with Officers and Police Organizations

Exposure to traumatic or aversive experiences is common and impacts interactions between police officers and community members. Police officers will inevitably interact with community members who have high levels of trauma exposure. Importantly, the more trauma exposure a person experiences, the higher their likelihood of having interactions with police officers. Despite the disproportionate number of interactions with people who have significant trauma histories, officer training has focused on acquiring information, but not trauma management. Practice in applying and managing trauma reactions in professional, day-to-day, interactions is critical for this approach to benefit officers and community members alike. Informed care requires practice to recognize, respond, reflect, and manage interactions where a trauma reaction has occurred. Importantly, the bidirectional nature of trauma—an officer’s and community member’s—must be acknowledged, and WISER management practiced, for de-escalation to occur. Knowledge and practice of trauma-informed strategies supports “muscle memory” for de-escalation skills. Encouraging officers to practice de-escalation skills virtually during training, and then afterwards with community members, co-workers, friends, and family when situations are relatively “low stress", becomes a de-escalation “habit” that emerges naturally and quickly when a critical situation does emerge. A WISER approach increases stress management, supports health and wellness for officers, and fosters community trust.

Kristy Keefe, Psy.D.
Kimberley A. McClure, Ph.D.

References

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