A Mearns mum says a new healthcare campaign could revolutionise the way children in distress are treated.
Julia Morton has started a steering group which will look into how more people can be taught about Trauma Informed Care (TIC), and has already received backing from politicians and health professionals.
The practice centres on understanding how people cope with traumatic experiences and situations, and adjusting the help they are given accordingly.
The benefits of TIC are currently being looked into by the Scottish Government, but Mrs Morton is hoping to stay ahead of the curve by getting the process rolled out across Stonehaven first.
She said: “The first person that you reach out to after something traumatic is the most important.
“If you don’t get that right then they could just close down right away, and then it can be very hard to help them or for them to speak about it.
“So instead of asking ‘What’s wrong with you’ we would ask ‘What’s happened to you?’.
“It’s about changing the whole conversation and understanding how best to help the person you are working with.”
In order to spread the word, Mrs Morton is hoping for a “community approach” to the issue to ensure that everyone has the relevant knowledge to help someone dealing with trauma.
“It’s just not about the schools,” she said.
“It could be the librarian or a receptionist, for example.
“It’s not that people are doing anything bad, just that sometimes they don’t have the right training to do the right thing for the person.”
TIC is endorsed by the 70-30 Campaign, which is working to reduce child maltreatment by 70% before the year 2030.
It has received backing from a large number of MPs, MSPs and local councillors.
Mrs Morton said: “My idea is that we’ll approach each sector in Stonehaven, so GP practices, schools, hospitals, and even social work and midwives.
“Hopefully we can get a ‘champion’ for each one and we’ll pay for them to be trained.
“Then they will be able to take the information back into where they work.”
She added: “It’s being looked at on a national level just now, but there’s nothing to stop us making a difference now.”
