MSU School of Social Work and Henry Ford Health's Trauma Recovery Center are improving holistic healing

In the latest collaboration through the Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences partnership, Henry Ford Health’s Trauma Recovery Center worked with Michigan State University’s School of Social Work to strengthen its trauma-informed approach to healing for survivors and families.

As part of their onboarding process, new employees at Henry Ford Health Trauma Recovery Center complete MSU’s Trauma Informed Care Certificate Program to best provide holistic healing.

Founded in 2022, The Henry Ford Health Trauma Recovery Center, or TRC, was established to ease the burden for survivors and their families and to facilitate holistic healing — all at no cost to survivors.

“We have been working on establishing and implementing trauma informed care at a system level for the past roughly four or five years now,” said Ali Lakhani, the program manager. “In doing that process, we were connected to the Trauma Services and Training Network through MSU.”

“Integrating trauma informed approaches into both service delivery and organizational culture can strengthen professional practice and improve outcomes for individuals,” said Gina Tremonti Gembel, director of the Continuing Education Program at MSU’s School of Social Work.

“The partnership with the Henry Ford Trauma Recovery Center has been exciting and meaningful because it created a direct connection with clinicians who are actively facilitating trauma-informed healing within a healthcare setting and the innovative work of the TRC,” Gembel said.

Unlike most professional development certificates, the MSU Trauma Informed Care Certificate Program provides 32 continuing education contact hours covering various aspects of trauma informed care.

“It wasn't just the foundations of trauma informed care or just the basics,” said Lakhani. “I really appreciated the trauma informed communication and the trauma informed leadership piece of it.”

As survivors of violent crime can experience lasting effects that impact their mental health and well-being, the TRC works to promote resiliency and holistic recovery for survivors following crime.

“We do pride ourselves on being trauma informed in all of our practices and all of our services,” said Lakhani. “Being trauma informed is about meeting survivors where they are, and we're looking for staff that understand that and that also have that background in working with trauma survivors, whether that be in the therapy field or even the case management side of things.”

The partnership has strengthened the learning experience for Henry Ford professionals and the MSU School of Social Work community alike, bridging clinical practice with academic expertise.