New Gateways Study Shows How to Implement Trauma-Informed Care Organization-Wide
New Gateways Study Shows How to Implement Trauma-Informed Care Organization-Wide
Gateways documents measurable progress across all National Child Traumatic Stress Network trauma-informed assessment domains, offering the first published roadmap of its kind for community mental health providers.
LOS ANGELES — July 21, 2026 — Trauma-informed care is a standard recommendation in behavioral health policy, yet few community mental health organizations have published how they adopted it across an entire agency. A new study from Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Centers closes that gap, documenting how one Los Angeles nonprofit built trauma-informed practice into every level of its operations, and what it took to get there.
The study, “Agency-wide implementation of trauma-informed care at a Los Angeles community-based mental health organization,” was published July 17, 2026, in The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice. It draws on Gateways’ work embedding trauma-informed care across a nonprofit that serves more than 1,700 people a year, from children as young as six to adults, across inpatient, residential, outpatient, forensic, and homeless services programs.
“Making trauma-informed care the most impactful means changing everything from screening protocols to the waiting room, and getting every staff member on board,” said Meredith Mead, MSN, PMHNP-BC, Senior Director of Clinical Services at Gateways and a co-author of the study. “We wanted to document that work transparently, including the parts that were difficult, so other organizations don’t have to start from scratch.”
The implementation was guided by the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network’s Trauma-Informed Organizational Assessment (TIOA). Gateways used the TIOA both to structure its approach and to measure its own progress.
“Community mental health organizations are told to deliver trauma-informed care, but are rarely shown how to do it across a whole agency,” said Dr. Phil Wong, CEO of Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Centers. “This study puts our own experience on the record: what worked, what was hard, and how another organization can follow the same path. After 70 years serving Los Angeles, we think research means more when it comes from the people doing the work.”
The study’s authors conclude that comprehensive, agency-wide implementation is feasible for community mental health organizations when it is backed by leadership commitment, adequate resources, and staff engagement at every level. That conclusion, paired with the specific strategies and screening tools Gateways used, is intended to give other providers a starting point rather than a blank page.
Read the full study here.
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About Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Centers
Since 1953, Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Centers has provided comprehensive mental and behavioral health care to the greater Los Angeles area. Serving clients from age 6 through adulthood, Gateways offers a full range of person-centered services, including inpatient care, residential support, outpatient services, homeless services, and forensic programs, all designed to meet individuals where they are and support long-term stability and wellness. Grounded in whole-person, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive care, Gateways serves some of LA’s most vulnerable populations with compassion, dignity, and a commitment to accessible, high-quality mental health services.