"Slow" Trauma to Families with the Demise of Family-Centered Care and Trauma-Informed Care

AbstractIn the article "Slow Trauma: Reframing Concepts of Moral Injury in Trauma-Informed Ethics Consultation," Charles Love argues that family members are at significant risk for "moral injury and trauma" through the experience of the hospitalization of their loved ones. But Love adds an important insight about the type of moral injuries experienced by family members, distinguishing between what psychologists refer to as "fast" trauma and "slow" trauma. Love's detailed exposition of slow trauma is an important refinement of my article "TIEC, Trauma Capacity, and the Moral Priority of Surrogate Decision Makers in Futility Disputes," in which I argue that families involved in disputed futility cases have very high potential for medical traumatic stress. Love's argument is important given both the demise of family-centered care (FCC) and the weakening of family-focused trauma-informed care (TIC). While there has been myopia around family trauma over the past five years, there is a renewed acknowledgment that the harms of healthcare encounters can extend beyond the patient. Love's article is part of an emerging body of work that once again recognizes the trauma capacity of families and is attempting to reverse the regression of FCC and TIC.