The concept of trauma-informed care has been around since the start of the century.
It was developed to help people understand that those who have experienced severe events carry extra layers of complexity in how they respond to everyday challenges and stress. This concept has influenced both medical and psychological treatment as well as how teachers are now trained to conceptualize behavior of students.
In writing my book, Anxiety: Treating Body, Mind and Soul from my Soul of Psychology series, I coined the phrase “Soul-Informed Care” to expand the conceptualization of mental health concerns to include how soul wounds and characteristics might influence how a person’s discomfort both originates and persists. While many people now understand how the body and mind impact mental health, it is far less known how the soul can also play a part in how a person copes. My Soul-Informed Care Model© visually depicts the importance of including our inner self as part of whole person health.
If the soul was considered in the conceptualization of physical and emotional concerns, individuals would be offered more comprehensive and sustainable care. Healing practices would change as would the way we approach education at all levels. It will take time for this concept to be realized and integrated into mainstream thought, but one that will change the future of both care and education.
The video included here further explains the Soul-Informed Care Model©.
Katherine T. Kelly Ph.D., M.S.P.H.
With 35+ years of direct clinical experience, Dr. Kelly doesn’t just believe in helping others to heal; instead, her mission is to help them to evolve. Using her own integrative and trademarked framework—the Soul Health Model—Dr. Kelly approaches her work with clients from a “whole person” or “whole organization” perspective. She provides a uniquely progressive, yet down-to-earth approach and is well-known in therapeutic, medical and corporate communities. She thrives as she helps clients and organizations to reach what she calls “conscious evolution” through a variety of self-designed strategies. Her dedication to healing has been widely recognized as she was the recipient of the Provider of the Year Award by the regional Mental Health Association and was nominated as an Incredible Woman for a local community television network, which spotlights role models to inspire young women to pursue their own passions.