Traumafokusoitua

Traumafokusoitua is a Finnish neologism used to describe the process or orientation of focusing on traumatic experiences within psychological care or research. The term signals that trauma is central to assessment, formulation, and intervention, rather than treating it as a peripheral factor. It can refer to both the clinician’s methodological stance and the patient’s experiential focus in therapy, where goals and interventions target processing and integrating trauma memories and their impact.

Linguistically, traumafokusoitua is a compound formed from trauma, an English loanword, and the Finnish verb fokusoitua, meaning “to become focused.” The form is used in Finnish-language clinical and academic discourse to denote a deliberate emphasis on trauma within practice, research, or training. The related noun traumafokusoituminen denotes the act or process of becoming trauma-focused.

In practice, trauma-focused approaches are common in evidence-based therapies such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and related modalities. Discussions of traumafokusoituminen often appear in guidelines, training materials, and case discussions that address assessment, safety planning, exposure, and processing of trauma-related distress, while recognizing the individuality of each person’s trauma history.

See also: trauma-informed care; TF-CBT; trauma-focused therapy.