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Searching for a Trauma-Informed Provider
From Sky Lockhart, Student Intern, Portland State University’s School of Social Work
In our offices at Trauma Informed Oregon (TIO) it is not uncommon for the buzz of the telephone to present questions about the wide spectrum of Trauma Informed Care (TIC). Many Oregon residents call TIO seeking a provider directory of trauma-informed (TI) practitioners. Perhaps they are pursuing a transparent and communicative dentist, a TI gynecologist, or providers serving marginalized communities in a culturally responsive manner.
As a student intern with the Portland State University’s School of Social Work, I get to engage in a learning environment at TIO. I decided to do some exploration on directory lists of providers to determine what is already available for service users. I wanted to share an extensive directory compiled by Brave Space of providers recommended by the transgender/non-binary community. This list is assembled by recommendations within the community and is organized and maintained by Brave Space staff. This resource has a vetting process, which Cameron Gilbert with Brave Space shared,
“Any provider who is recommended to us by someone within the gender-expansive community is added to the resource list. We do our best to track negative feedback, which may influence our decision to make notes on the resource list about that feedback, stop making direct referrals to that resource temporarily, or remove a resource from the list entirely.”
I personally appreciate how extensive this directory is. It has categories for Mental Health, Physical Health, Washington State, Rural Oregon, Hair/Voice, Advocacy Support, Legal Aid, Shelters/Housing, and National Registries. Within these categories there is a spectrum of services, breaking them down by city or county, specialties, insurances accepted, and even previous service user experiences and feedback.