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Patient and Family Support
Concurrent

Trauma-Informed PICU Care: How to Deliver Personalized and Compassionate Care

Tuesday, March 24, 2026
9:45 AM - 10:45 AM Central Time
Location: W185

    Concurrent Session Moderator(s)

  • Kopstick Kopstick, MD (he/him/his)

    Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Texas

    Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose.

Psychological trauma can have lasting effects on functioning, relationships, and well-being. Children and families in the PICU often have histories of trauma that can be unknowingly triggered by routine care. Many lifesaving therapies provided in the PICU can themselves be traumatic for children and caregivers. Trauma-informed care (TIC) recognizes the widespread impact of trauma and integrates it into care. Despite a robust body of literature, TIC remains underused by pediatric critical care clinicians. TIC reminds us of the value of context-based, constructivist, and humanistic approaches to medicine and reminds us of the risks of iatrogenesis and depersonalization in the PICU. This session will explore how TIC can be applied to common PICU domains, such as severe chronic illness; implementing pain, agitation, neuromuscular blockade, and delirium in critically ill pediatric patients with consideration of the PICU environment and early mobility (PANDEM) and ICU Liberation strategies; mental health crises; and supporting families during end-of-life situations. TIC can enhance care by potentially reducing therapeutic escalations, improving patient and family experiences, and supporting clinician well-being. While nearly everyone experiences the PICU as stressful, not everyone has to be traumatized by their PICU experience. TIC can be applied in the PICU to ensure the care we provide is not only lifesaving but also personalized, compassionate, and ultimately life-affirming.

Learning Objectives:

  • Describe the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) four key elements and six key principles of a trauma-informed approach
  • Identify common sources of pediatric medical traumatic stress and demonstrate how routine PICU care can carry risks for post-intensive care syndrome in pediatrics (PICS-p)
  • Discuss trauma-informed approaches to common PICU domains, such as pain, agitation, neuromuscular blockade, and delirium in critically ill pediatric patients with consideration of the PICU environment and early mobility (PANDEM); ICU Liberation; severe chronic illness; end-of-life and palliative care; mental and behavioral health crises; and clinician burnout
  • Discuss the practice of trauma-informed care as a universal precaution in the PICU to improve care, enhance the overall experience for patients and families, and assuage the secondary trauma that ICU clinicians may also endure

Presentations:

  • 9:50 AM - 10:05 AM Central Time
    Foundations of Trauma-Informed Care: Concepts and Principles

    Emily F. Goldhar, APRN-NP, PNP (she/her/hers) – Ann and Robert H Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago

  • 10:05 AM - 10:20 AM Central Time
    Recognizing Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress and Post-Intensive Care Syndrome

    Gillian Colville, PhD (she/her/hers) – City St George’s, University of London

  • 10:20 AM - 10:35 AM Central Time
    Advancing PICU Care Using Trauma-Informed Approaches: PANDEM and ICU Liberation

    Karen Choong, MB, BCh, FRCP(C) (she/her/hers) – McMaster Children's Hospital

  • 10:35 AM - 10:45 AM Central Time
    Trauma-Informed Care in Clinically Challenging Scenarios: Chronic Illness, End of Life, and Burnout

    Jeffrey D. Edwards, MD – Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital