Trauma Informed Practice

Trauma Informed Practice

The delivery of all of our work will be underpinned by the following 6 principles of trauma-informed practice: safety, trust, choice, collaboration, empowerment and cultural consideration.

Safety

The physical, psychological and emotional safety of service users and staff is prioritised, by:

·        people knowing they are safe or asking what they need to feel safe

·        there being reasonable freedom from threat or harm

·        attempting to prevent re-traumatisation

·        putting policies, practices and safeguarding arrangements in place

Trustworthiness

Transparency exists in an organisation’s policies and procedures, with the objective of building trust among staff, service users and the wider community, by:

·        the organisation and staff explaining what they are doing and why

·        the organisation and staff doing what they say they will do

·        expectations being made clear and the organisation and staff not overpromising

Choice

Service users are supported in shared decision-making, choice and goal setting to determine the plan of action they need to heal and move forward, by:

·        ensuring service users and staff have a voice in the decision-making process of the organisation and its services

·        listening to the needs and wishes of service users and staff

·        explaining choices clearly and transparently

·        acknowledging that people who have experienced or are experiencing trauma may feel a lack of safety or control over the course of their life which can cause difficulties in developing trusting relationships

Collaboration

The value of staff and service user experience is recognised in overcoming challenges and improving the system as a whole, by:

·        using formal and informal peer support and mutual self-help

·        the organisation asking service users and staff what they need and collaboratively considering how these needs can be met

·        focussing on working alongside and actively involving service users in the delivery of services

Empowerment

Efforts are made to share power and give service users and staff a strong voice in decision-making, at both individual and organisational level, by:

·        validating feelings and concerns of staff and service users

·        listening to what a person wants and needs

·        supporting people to make decisions and take action

·        acknowledging that people who have experienced or are experiencing trauma may feel powerless to control what happens to them, isolated by their experiences and have feelings of low self-worth

Cultural consideration

Move past cultural stereotypes and biases based on, for example, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, geography, race or ethnicity by:

·        offering access to gender responsive services

·        leveraging the healing value of traditional cultural connections

·        incorporating policies, protocols and processes that are responsive to the needs of individuals served