Protecting Staff from Vicarious Trauma
Guidelines for Organisations when Protecting their Staff from Vicarious Trauma Protecting the Protectors: Support for
FD Consultants was born out of growing frustration with the way individuals and organisations were supported during difficult times. A lack of quality care was shown in many places where staff were exposed to traumatising or stressful experiences. After witnessing humanitarian staff suffering from burnout, medical workers and police officers struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and a variety of other struggles within work environments, FD Consultants was founded.
Set up by Fiona Dunkley, a specialist in trauma care, FD Consultants was built upon the belief that anybody can recover from mental health struggles if provided with the appropriate care. The goal of this global psychosocial health consultancy was to become a trusted support system that specialises in trauma care and critical incident response. Not only is the overall aim to offer the support Fiona saw missing from many workplaces, but to effectively streamline the referral process, provide access to specialist therapists, and improve overall recovery rates.
FD Consultants supports the humanitarian sector, mental health charities, emergency first responders, journalists, and anyone else whose work exposes them to traumatic material. The team of therapists and specialists that have steadily joined the consultancy each come with their own wealth of wisdom and experience, creating a global and multi-lingual community of people who care about guiding others through recovery.
Every year, we celebrate the successes of FD Consultants by offering
‘Acts of Kindness’. Over the last few years we’ve:
FD Consultants has grown considerably since its initial creation, but our core values and aims have remained the same. We help people recover, create supportive work environments, and actively work to destigmatise the discussion of mental health and trauma. Working in the forefront of trauma care, FD Consultants has recently been spending time supporting people impacted by the pandemic and the crisis in Ukraine.
Fiona Dunkley, founder of FD Consultants, is a published author and has presented on TV and radio as a mental health specialist. Fiona has spent most of her career working within large organisations that demonstrated a need for greater care and support for individuals and teams. Working within forensic sexual assault and supporting individuals impacted by trauma such as, terrorism, natural disasters and civil unrest showed Fiona the importance of offering specialist psychosocial support for people whose work exposes them to traumatic material, whether directly or indirectly. Burnout, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and mental health struggles were abundantly prevalent – and Fiona sought to offer a solution to support the workers.
Fiona has trained staff in critical incident response in Kenya, supported Syrian refugees based in Gaziantep, and offered trauma support in Myanmar. Through her work with FD Consultants, established in the UK and Europe, Fiona has also helped to set up Psychological First Aid (PFA) peer support programs in Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, and Myanmar.
Across all our support services, we seek to be relational above all else. Our team of specialists is trained to be empathic and compassionate throughout every step of their work, supporting individuals and organisations through everything we do. We believe that people can find endless resilience within themselves when placed in a supportive environment, and we achieve this by building mental health awareness, embedding best practice wellbeing services, and offering preventative treatments. We pride ourselves on walking alongside individuals through every step of their recovery whilst improving recovery rates and promoting resilience.
Throughout our years of work within this sector and region, the FD Consultants team understands the impact of living and working in high-stress environments. These industries are naturally associated with a higher prevalence of stress, burnout, and trauma. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to this, and that’s why creativity and flexibility are the foundation of all our services. We offer a holistic and bespoke package of care for organisations and individuals, utilising our team of cross-cultural therapists to work with you in an integrative and flexible manner.
We prioritise the building of strong, lasting relationships with clients and client organisations. Working with FD Consultants is not a one-off service – we don’t approach our work as a single transaction. Our services include ongoing monitoring, using data to improve service provision, and providing further recommendations. We work collaboratively with other service providers and communities, priding ourselves on offering a high-quality, evidence-based psychological support service for all our clients.
Guidelines for Organisations when Protecting their Staff from Vicarious Trauma Protecting the Protectors: Support for
Managing the Indirect Exposure to Traumatic Material Protecting the Protectors: support for content moderators, analysis,
The Impact of Exposure to Traumatic Material Protecting the Protectors: support for content moderators, analysis
At FD Consultants, we aim to be a beacon of hope and endurance when others feel as though they have none left. We’re here to help individuals and organisations recover from stress, burnout, and trauma. We believe anyone can recover from a challenging experience with the right support behind them. Offer your staff the psychological support they need, and reach out to our team of specialists today..