'Because That's the Way It's Always Been Done': Reviewing the Nurse-Initiated Rules in a Mental Health Unit as a Step Toward Trauma-Informed Care

Acknowledgement of the effects of trauma in the lives of the mental health service user population is increasingly being recognised as an imperative for Mental Health services. 'Trauma-informed care' provides values to guide practice. Mental Health nurses are well placed to commence integrating trauma-informed care into everyday practice. This paper describes the process of reviewing the nurse-led rules in an acute inpatient mental health unit as one step toward providing a trauma-informed environment. Findings from questionnaires are used to highlight the applicability of the process to the underlying values of trauma-informed care. Consistency and transparency of rules is demonstrated as a nursing-led step toward establishing emotional safety and creating a trauma-informed environment.