Support for Health Care Professionals, Counsellors & Psychotherapists.

“The soul of a hospital resides in the awesome spirit of healing found there. That spirit might be reflected in the architecture and décor or in the attitude of those who work there. Many hospitals give the impression of being factories for rebuilding bodies rather than temples of health and healing, and that is another way of saying they lack soul.   A hospital with soul is a place of healing.  A hospital without soul is a body repair shop”..... (Moore, T. 2010)

Many of us are conscious of the pressures on our NHS and our clinicians, lack of resources, staff sickness and shortages, and working hours that are often challenging. Heart 2 Hart Healthcare Solutions is currently aiming towards achieving collaborative relationships with our healthcare providers through communication and education; a trauma informed care approach, embracing emotional intelligence.  In an ideal world, a trauma informed care approach to medical trauma would help prevent a deterioration in mental health, medical trauma and medical anxiety. This approach acknowledges that health care organizations and care teams need to have a complete picture of a patient’s life situation — past and present — in order to provide effective health care services with a healing orientation. Of course we know there is some excellent care out there, but wouldn’t it make sense if this was a universal approach adopted by all Health Boards?  Trauma-informed practices can potentially improve patient engagement, treatment adherence, and health outcomes, as well as patient and staff wellness. It can also help reduce avoidable care and excess costs for both the health care and social service sectors. (*1)   Education, collaboration and communication at all stages of the medical process between patients and clinicians can be instrumental in physiological and psychological healing.

Colette is currently partnering and collaborating  with  American Professor and Clinical Psychotherapist Dr Michelle Flaum who has been carrying out her own research into medical trauma in the US for some years, resulting in many published articles, the first known published book for mental health and health care professionals, and successful integrative interventions being used within therapy and the healthcare environment.  Her second book , 'Treating Medical Trauma' will be available in early 2026, and in 2022 she developed the Certificate in Medical Trauma-Informed Care at Xavier University USA, which is the first training program of its kind world-wide, and which Colette completed in 2024.  Psychological intervention through an on-site or associated counselling service can help to calm the patient's anxieties and normalise the situation, enabling them to feel they are being treated holistically; both psychologically as well as physiologically.  Our intention is to form a collaborative hub of  diverse skilled professionals within the UK as well as embracing those in the US, Europe and further afield, adopting and tailoring  the US principals that psychological interventions prior to surgery, as well as access to support during recovery can  prevent long term development of post-traumatic symptoms and medical trauma. 

Colette will be introducing a UK version of Professor Flaum's trauma informed training programme in addition to shorter versions of this programme tailored to the needs of all those working within a Health Care environment. This approach is unique in it's inclusivity. How can we expect our health Care Professional colleagues to treat their patients as human beings when their needs are not included in the process? Preventing burn out and exhaustion by providing compassion, empathy and a listening ear to those who we expect to keep us safe is an integral part of Colette's vision for a healthier, inclusive Health Service. Ideally, one where medicine treats the person as a whole, with common humanity and kindness,  not as a body part on a production line. And equally importantly, one where the culture within medical environments recognises and engages  once again with the meaning of the word 'care' and the 'lived experience' of the person.

The greatest mistake physicians make is that they attempt to cure the body without attempting to cure the mind, yet the mind and body are one and should not be treated separately...........  Plato.

(*1) https://www.traumainformedcare.chcs.org/what-is-trauma-informed-care/

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