director, center for substance abuse treatment, substance abuse and mental health services administration, u.s. department of health and human servicesese, m; dr. maxine harris, ceo and co-founder, community connections, washington, dc. dr. clark, what is trauma and how do we define trauma? the definition of trauma is a little ambiguous, but it's tied to specific adverse events that a person may experience or a community may experience, including disasters, physical or sexual abuse, or witnessing the above-mentioned. it's of that nature, it could be psychological as well as physical, and there are a wide range of issues associated with the definition. very good, and what are the various sources of trauma? well, the sources are similar to the precipitant. it could be from a relative or a partner. it could be in war, from the enemy. it could be from tornadoes or hurricanes or floods. it could be from predators who are in the community unbeknownst to the victim, a person who's victimized from either physical assault or rape or events like that. so the, it can be from a loved one or it can be from a total stranger. dr. gillece, basically h