The removal of a child is one of the protective measures for safeguarding children from violence and neglect in Slovenia. After the removal, the child can also be placed in a crisis centre. Currently, there are two established crisis centers in Slovenia for children aged 0 to 6: Palčica Crisis Centre in Grosuplje and the newly established Palček Crisis Centre in Maribor. Children residing in these centers have experienced numerous traumatic events, often at the hands of their close ones, which significantly impact their behavior and perception of the world around them. They need caring and compassionate adults who create a safe environment for them to begin rewriting their experiences.The central theme of this thesis is an approach grounded in trauma understanding. This approach is crucial to ensure that during the process of support and assistance, we do not cause additional traumatic experiences or retraumatization for the child. Skilled professionals with specific knowledge in working with children who have traumatic experiences can provide the necessary support, allowing these children to develop and preventing trauma from becoming a lasting imprint that negatively affects their future outcomes.
In my thesis, I aimed to explore how employees at Palček Crisis Centre recognize and understand children’s traumatic experiences, how they respond to them, their awareness of trauma-informed approaches, and what additional support they need for more effective collaboration with children who have traumatic experiences. I observe that despite the lack of familiarity with the trauma-informed approach and some operational methods that do not align with it, Palček Crisis Centre has excellent foundations for its implementation. However, functioning within the framework of the trauma-informed approach necessitates its broader adoption at the macro level. Employees highlight several limitations within the system and also provide suggestions to enhance their ability to collaborate more effectively with children who have traumatic experiences.
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