“helping the helpers”
trauma informed supervision
Organisations that work to affect change in the world are often working in complex environments with their staff exposed to various forms of trauma. Vicarious trauma is a process of change resulting from empathetic engagement with other people’s trauma. It can affect anyone who engages empathetically with survivors of traumatic incidents, whether it is direct engagement or indirect through working with traumatic material. Research has highlighted that having a safe, independent space to process these engagements can work to mitigate the impact and reduce vicarious trauma.
Historic approaches to supervision were often ‘deficit-based’ which focused on identifying and solving areas the individual found challenging (Edwards & Chen, 1999), on the contrary trauma-informed supervision focuses on support, providing opportunities for learning, and can prevent further trauma from occurring. Engaging in supervision that is trauma informed not only helps the individual directly but for organisations who prioritise staff wellbeing; they are able to mitigate against the risk of burnout which its known to reduce staff performance and increase absences.
Our trauma informed supervision offer is based on trauma informed principles including:
Safety
Trustworthiness and transparency
Peer support
Collaboration and mutuality
Empowerment, voice and choice
Cultural, historic and gender issues
Our trauma informed supervisors will be matched to you based on your sector and needs. All of our supervisors have relevant trauma informed training such as the British Psychological Society (BPS) trauma-informed practice to support people who have experienced psychological trauma.
Please note: This is not clinical supervision which should be carried out by professionals with relevant clinical qualifications and accreditation.