Trauma-Informed Care

Nothing in your life occurs in a vacuum. Past experiences can affect your wellbeing, behaviour, and relationships and be a factor in substance abuse. Trauma can inform addiction in some people, and a more considerate approach is needed to help.

Trauma-informed care is one of the approaches that we at Cassiobury Court can adopt as part of our personalised residential treatment programme. This approach is not the same as specialist trauma-processing therapy that you may have heard about. Instead, this type of care focuses on safety, trust, choice and understanding you as a whole person, rather than reducing you to a diagnosis or addiction.

What Is Trauma-Informed Care?

Trauma-informed care is an approach to healthcare that understands that trauma and adversity are common experiences. According to PTSD UK, between 50 and 70% of people will experience trauma at some point in their life.

This approach understands that these experiences, even if they happened a long time ago, can affect current emotions, behaviours and relationships. With this knowledge, this type of care seeks to prioritise safe and trusting therapeutic relationships, whilst encouraging collaboration and informed choice.

The patient or client is at the centre of trauma-informed care. They are more than a diagnosis, and this approach looks to ensure that further harm or re-traumatisation does not occur.

What Is the Link Between Trauma and Addiction?

Trauma and addiction are commonly linked, but that doesn’t mean the former will always lead to the latter.

Everyone may experience trauma, but people are different, and while some may find healthier ways to overcome the damage that trauma does, many people seek to cope and get by. In this case, people may use alcohol or drugs to cope with distressing memories, emotions, anxiety, sleep problems or other consequences that trauma can bring up.

Research has found that there is a strong link between all types of trauma and addictive behaviour, especially when it comes to those who have been in combat. Substances that are used as coping mechanisms can eventually compound problems, worsening trauma symptoms.

Compassionately approaching trauma and addiction treatment means understanding these patterns without blame or judgement, aware that experiencing painful things can be a common occurrence for those suffering from substance abuse.

The Principles of Trauma-Informed Addiction Treatment

Trauma therapy for addiction is built on an ethos that is concerned with recognising trauma and responding appropriately with a focus on avoiding re-traumatisation. It is built around several principles, including:

• Ensuring physical and emotional safety
• Building trust and transparency
• Encouraging choice and collaboration
• Respect and dignity
• Empowerment

Safety and Trust in Trauma-Informed Care

Feeling safe and having trust is critical to trauma therapy for addiction. The care that people receive must be consistent, built on clear communication that demonstrates their boundaries are being respected.

When people feel more assured, trust builds, and they become more open to help. Confidentiality must be maintained too so that clients know whatever they share does not go beyond their sessions.

With safety and trust, collaborative decisions can be made, showing clients that they are leading the way, rather than being told what to do.

Choice and Personalised Treatment

At Cassiobury Court, we place people at the core of our treatment, tailoring recovery programmes to individual needs, circumstances and recovery goals. We aim to make sure that people at Cassiobury Court understand their treatment options and participate in decisions when it is right.

What Does Trauma-Informed Care Look Like at Cassiobury Court?

The rehabilitation treatment you receive at Cassiobury Court will be guided by medical, psychological and physical health assessments done before you begin your programme. There will also be a review of individual risks and recovery goals to determine the right path forward.

You’ll undergo a personalised care plan in our safe residential setting, giving you the space and support you need to focus on your recovery. Your treatment plan may involve evidence-based care, medically assisted detox, personalised psychological therapies and holistic treatments.

All of this will be guided by you, giving you access to the treatment you need to achieve your recovery aims.

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Meet Our Team

Our team includes experienced counsellors, psychologists, and medical professionals specialising in addiction treatment and mental health. We are passionate about helping people overcome addiction and achieve their goals for a healthier and happier life.

We hold the highest professional standards here at our CQC-registered rehab centre. Our fully trained GPs, Physchiatristes, Support Workers, Counsellors and Mental Health Nurses can deliver a comprehensive rehabilitation programme.

View All Team Members

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  Raffa Bari

  CQC Registered Manager View Bio
• 

  Dr Mosun

  Consultant Psychiatrist and Addictions Specialist View Bio
• 

  Dr Ola Otulana

  GP and Addiction Specialist Physician View Bio
• 

  Alison Hipwell

  Deputy Manager (Operations Officer) View Bio
• 

  Jane Pearce

  Deputy Manager (Clinical Lead) View Bio

Trauma-Informed Care During Detox and Early Recovery

Withdrawal and early recovery can be hard to get through because you remove the mechanism you were using to cope with negative emotions, increasing anxiety or distress, and you have yet to learn new healthy strategies.

During this time, predictable and compassionate support is essential, and the focus should be on safe withdrawal, rather than jumping into talking about deeper, traumatic experiences.

At Cassiobury Court, we provide medically assisted detox, aiming to make withdrawal as comfortable to get through as possible.

Therapies Used Alongside Trauma-Informed Care

Trauma-informed care will shape how treatment is delivered to you, rather than entailing specific sessions necessarily. Instead, you will likely participate in a range of particular psychological therapies that address individual treatment goals.

Therapies you could take part in as part of a trauma-informed addiction treatment approach include:

• CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
• DBT (Dialectical Behavioural Therapy)
• Schema Therapy
• Motivational Enhancement Therapy
• Group Therapy
• Relapse Prevention and Aftercare Programmes
• Coping Skills Development
• Psychoeducation
• Recovery Planning

Trauma-Informed Care and Relapse Prevention

Trauma-informed care can continue to help through your recovery journey. By learning to identify situations, memories, and emotions associated with distress and recognising how substance abuse was a coping device, you can begin to work on safer strategies.

Using methods such as mindfulness and grounding techniques can lead to better emotional regulation, helping you deal better when you encounter potential triggers. You can work on planned responses for when confronted with these difficult emotions.

You can also continue to build a support network after rehab, having people to lean on in tough moments and get continued appropriate psychological support, if you think it is necessary.

There is no silver bullet for relapse prevention, but keeping what you’ve learned from trauma-informed care may help long-term.

Start Trauma-Informed Addiction Treatment at Cassiobury Court

Treatment with Cassiobury Court begins with a thorough assessment to determine the best approach for you. We don’t make assumptions about trauma and are always led by you and the medical evidence.

If you want to know more about trauma-informed rehab, and whether it may be appropriate for you, don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can confidentially talk to a team member at 08000014070 about our residential treatment, and we can help you.

What addictions do we treat?

Our Private Treatment Services combine comfortable, quality accommodation; with outstanding therapy programmes that are proven to support your recovery from addiction.

Drug Rehab

At Cassiobury Court, we offer a residential rehab service for drug addiction at our London rehab centre. We provide comprehensive treatment programmes, expert medical and psychiatric staff, and a way forward for those seeking sobriety. Our treatment programmes are directed by medical professionals who ensure a completely safe and therapeutic environment for our clients. Each addiction […]

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Alcohol Rehab

You can trust us to provide you with the very best care to get you back on the road to sobriety. To discuss treatment options available to you at our alcohol rehab centre, contact a member of our admissions team by filling out our contact form or by calling us on 01923 369 161. Personalised Alcohol Rehab […]

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Cannabis Rehab

Our cannabis drug rehab programme can dramatically increase the chances of recovering from cannabis addiction. You may have heard that cannabis is not addictive. This is a myth. Most cannabis users may be able to consume the drug irregularly, but some cannabis users will develop an addiction to the drug. Research suggests that 22% to […]

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Prescription Drug Rehab

Prescription drug addiction is an escalating issue in the UK, with millions of patients receiving medications with a risk of dependency each year. In England in 2025-2026, 96 million antidepressant items were prescribed to an estimated 9.1 million identified patients. The rise in prescription drug addiction proves to be a growing concern that demands effective […]

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Cocaine Rehab

Cassiobury Court is a specialist residential cocaine rehab centre for adults aged 18 and over. If cocaine is affecting your health, relationships, work or finances, our cocaine rehab programme combines medically managed detox where needed, personalised psychological therapies and compassionate multidisciplinary support, with a personalised care plan developed within 24 to 48 hours of admission. […]

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View all addictions we treat

View All Addictions