The trauma turn in mental health care: psychocentrism and the governance of social suffering

Trauma has become a dominant framework for understanding social suffering across contemporary mental health care and social welfare. The rise of Trauma-Informed Care (TIC), presented as a progressive and compassionate approach to service delivery, reflects this broader “trauma turn.” In this paper, we examine TIC using the concept of psychocentrism. We focus on how suffering is increasingly interpreted and addressed at the level of the individual, while social, political, and material conditions are marginalised. Drawing on scholarship from psychiatry, psychology, sociology, and critical social theory, we critique trauma discourse and its translation into policy and practice. We examine the growing authority of neuroscience and how adversity is translated into individualised interventions, risk management, and self-regulation. While cumulative adversity can undoubtedly shape people’s experiences, we argue that the dominance of trauma risks narrowing how social suffering is understood and responded to. It can also constrain how people understand their circumstances and exercise their agency. Despite the rapid institutionalisation of TIC, its conceptual foundations are contested, and its empirical support remains equivocal. We argue for approaches that engage more fully with the social, relational, and everyday conditions shaping social suffering. Rather than treating trauma as a master explanatory framework, we suggest that it is better understood as one perspective among many.