Embedding a Trauma Management Programme
“If you want to improve the world, start by making people feel safer.”
(Porges, 2001)
Currently we are not feeling safe living in a world that is unpredictable and unstable. When our safety is threatened our survival response is activated, making us behave in much more reactive and emotional ways. Becoming trauma informed and understanding psychological first aid is needed now more than ever. At FD Consultants we have developed specific services to manage the longevity of trauma.
Having worked in the field of psychological trauma for over 15 years the focus of our work is changing. When FD Consultants was founded, we supported organisations in managing critical incidents such as, transport accidents, assault, sexual violence, bullying & harassment, and organisational change. We are finding these critical incidents are no longer one-off major events, but prolonged traumatic incidents that can last for several years such as, a pandemic, natural disasters, war and civil unrest. We are assisting those deploying to Romania, Poland and Ukraine to setup the humanitarian response for the Ukraine crisis. We are supporting teams of staff fleeing Ukraine and those who have to remain for legal or vulnerable reasons. We are helping Russians as they leave their country feeling they can no longer live in a state where their values and beliefs are misaligned. So, what does this mean for trauma specialist services.
At FD Consultants we offer consultation to organisations when managing a critical incident. We offer individual assessments for staff, and specialist trauma counselling, EMDR and TF-CBT (trauma approaches recommended by WHO, APA, NICE). We support teams by offering debriefs and group supervision for staff in high-risk roles. Our ‘stress management’, ‘trauma awareness’ and ‘mental health awareness’ workshops are in great demand. Although all these services are crucial as part of a trauma management programme to support staff, more needs to be offered for the cumulative effect and longevity of living with trauma.
We have developed a global specific ‘Psychological First Aid (PFA) Peer Support’ programme to combat the erosive effect of surviving cumulative trauma. We recently embedded a PFA peer support programme in Myanmar and Ethiopia. Our training provides a common language to speak about mental health head on, challenges stigma, offers practical and accessible tools and techniques in stabilisation and building resources, and psychoeducation to recognise signs and triggers. We assess peer supporters within the organisation, offer an in-depth global specific training, and make sure there is significant follow up support, with regular supervision sessions.
We build strong relationships with our client organisations by getting to understand their culture and making recommendations in staff wellbeing. We guide organisations in how to embed a trauma management programme, reduce the risk of re-traumatisation and promote recovery. At FD Consultants we have developed a simple and practical Trauma Recovery Model ‘TRANSFORM’. Our book is often used as a reference for organisational and individual trauma support, Psychosocial Support for Humanitarian Aid Workers: A Roadmap of Trauma and Critical Incident Care (Dunkley, 2018).
Everyone can recovery from trauma with the appropriate support. More organisations need to recognise the impact of the longevity of trauma and adapt their support services accordingly. Let’s make the world a better place by making people feel safer. By providing the knowledge and tools for people to become trauma informed will help us navigate challenging times and provide us with skills to help others.
