Staff attitudes towards trauma-informed care in Dutch forensic psychiatric settings

PurposeThis study aims to explore staff attitudes toward trauma-informed care (TIC) within Dutch forensic psychiatric settings.Design/methodology/approachA total of 111 staff members completed the Attitudes Related to Trauma-Informed Care Scale (ARTIC-35) to assess their attitudes on TIC.FindingsOverall, results indicated favorable attitudes toward TIC among staff. Analyses revealed significant differences across the ARTIC-35 subscales, with Reactions receiving significantly higher scores than all other subscales. The Reactions subscale of the ARTIC-35 reflects how staff emotionally respond to their work. The high scores on this subscale suggest that participants are highly aware of the emotional impact of working with traumatized individuals, and that they frequently seek support as a way to cope with these indirect effects of trauma exposure. Furthermore, participation in training on trauma was found to have a significant and positive association with the overall ARTIC-35 scores.Practical implicationsThis suggests that training might enhance staff readiness and support for implementing TIC approaches.Originality/valueThis is the first study to explore attitudes toward TIC using the ARTIC-35 within Dutch forensic psychiatry.