In 2025, Out of the Storm was involved in a project to design a resource to make healthcare institutions and providers aware of survivors’ lack of access to professionals who have education and training about complex trauma (CT), complex relational trauma (CRT), and complex PTSD (CPTSD). The project was conceived by Dr. Lori Herod, retired professor of Adult Education, Founder of Out of the Storm for those who suffer(ed) ongoing abuse/neglect, and a survivor herself. The project involved a team of clinicians, academics, research assistants, patient partners and Patient Oriented Research support members from the BC government as identified below.

• Project Co-Lead and Principal Investigator of the research study Dr. Colette Smart, Professor of Psychology, University of Victoria, and Research Scholar in Residence for Mental Health & Substance Use, Island Health, Vancouver Island BC.

• Research Assistants and content designers Nika Marefat and Mitchell Gaudry, BSc, both students of the Department of Psychology, University of Victoria.

• Advisor Jessica Lazar, PsyD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School

• Advisor Malachi Gillihan, California Institute of Integral Studies

• Advisors - Six patient partners who as survivors of complex relational trauma remain anonymous to protect their privacy and confidentiality.

• Patient Oriented Research (POR) Government Support - Hiro Ito and Madeline Nealis of the BC Support Unit, Island health.

The project involved a research study “Complex Trauma Survivors’ Voices About Healthcare” led by Dr. Smart. The goal of the study was to gain more systematic information about CRT survivors’ experiences navigating healthcare. The purpose of the study was twofold - to provide us with more data to inform the development of this resource, and to contribute to the published research on this topic, which is currently lacking. We recruited adult CRT survivors from the community who were willing to participate in an indepth qualitative interview where we asked about their healthcare experiences, including those that were ‘trauma-inducing’ and those that were ‘trauma-reducing’. We were able to speak with a mix of women, men, and gender-diverse survivors from a variety of racial/ethnic backgrounds who reside in Canada and the United States. We inquired separately about experiences receiving care for mental health and also physical health (including a separate section for dental care, which can be particularly difficult for many survivors). We used a technique called thematic analysis, to look for consistent themes that emerged across survivors’ responses. The published study is forthcoming, and we will update this resource when it becomes available. The findings of the study are summarized in the guide.

Note: A link will be added here to the journal article once it is published.

Based on the study findings, a review of the literature and input from the project team, a guide was developed which includes: an overview of CT, CRT, CPTSD, ACEs and TIC; the impact of a lack of access to informed care (i.e., healthcare inequities); and a section about trauma informed care (TIC) and the benefits to both providers and patients of this approach.

Below, please find links to both versions of the guide and to the appendices.

If you find the guide helpful, and particularly if it prompts you to design curricula or add this information into existing curricula we would love to hear from you. Please email the Project Co-Lead, Dr. Lori Herod at l.herod@yahoo.ca.

News Articles

• News Medical Life Sciences - Digital resource aims to enhance trauma-informed health care for people with complex PTSD, Feb 9, 2026

• Bioengineer.org - New Resource Empowers Trauma Survivors and Health Professionals, Feb 9, 2026

• Victoria News and Vancouver Island Free Daily - UVic professor helps create online tool to deal with complex PTSD, Feb 5th, 2026