Trauma is a pervasive, damaging and costly public health problem. Trauma can occur as a result of violence, abuse, neglect, loss, disaster, war, and other emotionally harmful experiences. There is no single, universally adopted definition of trauma. However, the most commonly referenced definition of trauma is from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, also known as SAMHSA. According to SAMHSA, individual “trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being.”
45 minValid for 12 monthsCreated 2019-11-06Updated 2019-11-06