This practical guide updates and expands the discussion presented in SAMHSA's Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach Resource from 2014. The primary goal of this guide is to provide implementation strategies across multiple domains based on the original publication.

This guide highlights strategies for behavioral health and housing providers to conduct outreach and engage with individuals experiencing homelessness, initiate use of behavioral health treatment as they wait to receive stable housing and retain them in their recovery efforts once housed.

This manual introduces a concept of trauma and offers a framework for becoming a trauma-informed organization, system, or service sector. The manual provides a definition of trauma and a trauma-informed approach, and offers 6 key principles and 10 implementation domains.