Trauma-informed care: is cultural competence a viable solution for efficient policy strategies?

Treatment and support needs within the public system require a systemic approach characterized both by traumaspecific diagnostic and treatment services and a "trauma-informed" environment capable of sustaining these services and supporting the positive outcomes to clients who receive these services. The paper provides a critique of what steps are needed to promote a dialogue between evidence-based practices and culture competence in trauma-informed services highlighting the strategic gaps that may maintain a disconnection between treatment and service delivery, and between cultural psychology and the traumatic stress field. The paper concludes with policy reccomendations and with a reflection on the challenges ahead, especially in terms of effectiveness and the task of integrating psychotraumatology into the routine of mental health services