Trauma Informed Care Toolkits

Trauma Informed Care is vital for any company which prioritises its staff and their mental wellbeing – there are multiple reasons for why someone may experience trauma, and it’s important to know how to create a support system. With our Trauma Informed Care Toolkit we will support individuals on a base understanding of providing the essential care to employees, and further support can be provided through ICENA’s trauma informed training course.

What is Trauma Informed Principles?

There are five key principles of Trauma Informed Care, and to be able to put them all into practice will also help employees know that they’re in a safe space if they ever need support. The five principles are essential in most situations, which we will advise on further in this blog. To create a suitable working environment which encourages both self-care and self-help, we will support employers in understanding the five rules and where they may be necessary.

Principles of Trauma Informed Care

The five principles include: Safety, Choice, Collaboration, Trustworthiness and Empowerment. When put together, these five steps can create the ultimate support system to help your employees deal with their past trauma. It is important to ensure you have a safe environment for people to open up first and foremost, but to gather a greater understanding of the five principles, you can read our blog here to find out more information.

General Toolkit

Having the five principles under your belt can be the thing that really makes employees feel supported when they need to speak to somebody – those key principles should be in your general toolkit. However, it will make it more attainable as an employer if you’re aware of what to do next. While following the five principles alone is a great start, there are books and online materials available to help employers really take their support to the next level. Practice Guidelines for Clinical Treatment of Complex Trauma is a great place to start in terms of understanding general support.

Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement

For Criminal Justice/ Law Enforcement support there is a lot of support online and in books once again, including The National Prevention Toolkit on Officer Involved Domestic Violence. This has a particular focus on violence within the homes of criminal justice families. The point of this toolkit is to act as an intervention programme, so this will be to support your employers if they’re struggling at home due to being part of a criminal justice family. It’s good to allow all employees to know that the project is in place and that the option to help is there.

Domestic Violence

For domestic violence, there are multiple resources available to be able to provide support. There are multiple things that come into play when it comes to supporting employees with domestic violence, including spotting the signs. The National DA Helpline has advice and support on helping a survivor, including a step-by-step process on speaking with them, understanding them and being a strong support system.

Similarly, the Administration for Children And Families is able to advise on how to support people dealing with domestic violence-related trauma and tips on how to be supportive in trauma informed care in relation to domestic violence, children exposed to violence and homelessness.

Sexual Violence

For sexual violence, there are multiple resources available to be able to provide support. Rape Crisis England and Wales has advice and support for survivors. For help supporting a survivor, including a step-by-step process on speaking with them, Safeline offers guidance on their website. ICENA’s first disclosure training breaks down the appropriate action you need to take when someone first discloses to you as well as a list of organisations that will be able to support you and the person who has disclosed.

Education

Teachers double-act as a support system for students in the UK, and staff are often on-hand with specific training to support the young people around them. Whether you’re an employer looking after a school, playground, GP, or any other location where children may be, it’s important to be aware of the trauma toolkit available to you. Things like a change in the child’s behaviour, work or actions can be red flags, and information published at Mentally Health Schools can prove to be a useful tool to help. Similarly, The Trauma and Attachment Aware Classroom by Rebecca Brooks can also be an insightful tool.

Health Care

Healthcare practitioners will need to know more about trauma informed care than any other industry, because they deal with situations surrounding it on a daily basis. The Healthcare Toolbox gives a great insight into trauma informed care in action within the medical profession, with listening, being open and respect at the forefront of all practices put into place. For more information on trauma informed care in healthcare, you can visit their website here.

Youth Services

The likes of adolescent brain development, developmental trauma disorder and trauma triggers are all things that come into play when working in youth services. As a child, the brain is still developing, so some traumas might get pushed to the back of the mind of the child involved. As someone who works in youth services, it’s important to be able to support children and youth during that time and act as a support system – particularly if they don’t have one elsewhere. The Trauma and Resilience handout provides a range of different scenarios to support those helping youth deal with trauma.

For more information on trauma informed practices and advice on training your staff, you can contact ICENA for our Trauma Informed Training.