Trauma-informed care in mental health services: Evidence-based leadership and implementation

The field of trauma-informed care (TIC) increasingly commands attention in contemporary mental health services, emerging as a crucial framework for addressing the diverse effects of trauma on service users and clinicians. Recent research has demonstrated that consistently implemented TIC practices yield significant improvements in engagement, safety, and recovery outcomes.
These advancements, however, reveal ongoing challenges in leadership stewardship, program fidelity, and integration with other established care models such as Family-Centered Care. Gaps persist regarding the most effective strategies for sustaining TIC in diverse organizational and cultural settings, especially where resources vary.
Although there is a growing repository of case studies and experiential accounts, there remains a pressing need for rigorous, data-informed research that elucidates the mechanisms, outcomes, and best implementation routes for TIC within the global landscape of mental health care.

This Research Topic aims to advance both the knowledge base and practical solutions surrounding the leadership and implementation challenges of trauma-informed care, with a particular emphasis on evidence-based approaches. The principal objectives are to harness quantitative and qualitative data to investigate not only the experiences and viewpoints of leaders and frontline staff, but also the concrete factors and outcomes underpinning the adoption and sustainability of TIC.

Additionally, this topic will encourage innovative, empirically supported strategies for effective training, organizational change, and policy-making, drawing on outcome measures and robust evaluation methods. The overarching goal is to provide actionable, data-driven insights that will facilitate the broader and more effective integration of TIC within mental health systems worldwide.

The boundaries of this Research Topic are focused on evidence-supported leadership strategies, staff experiences, and implementation methods relating to trauma-informed care across all types of mental health settings globally. Articles should be grounded in empirical evidence to substantiate discussion and recommendations. To gather further insights, we welcome contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

- Evidence-based leadership roles and competencies in TIC implementation
- Data-driven analysis of facilitators and barriers for TIC adoption among staff
- Empirical strategies to overcome training and resource gaps in TIC
- Quantitative and qualitative outcomes of integrating TIC with Family-Centered and holistic care models
- Organizational, policy, and system-level enablers validated by data for TIC adoption
- Evaluation and measurement of TIC program outcomes on both patient and staff wellbeing
- Comparative and cross-cultural studies illuminating TIC adaptation and effectiveness worldwide.

We invite original research, mixed-methods studies, evidence-backed case studies, reviews, commentaries, and perspectives that collectively advance the evidence base for trauma-informed care in mental health services.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Mental Health Services, Trauma-informed Care, Implementation Frameworks, Leadership in healthcare, Evidence-based practice

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.