For my latest blog, I’d like to share some information about a new bespoke training programme that was created by two of our team members – Emily Gwatkin and Zoe Wynn – to enable staff members to provide trauma-informed care.

I recently stopped by to visit the team at The Whitehouse on one of my regular service visits, and I was hugely impressed with a new training programme that the team had created to provide tailored support and trauma-informed care for Jane, one of the individuals who lives there.

What is trauma-informed care?

Trauma-informed care is an evidence-based healthcare approach that runs parallel to Positive Behaviour Support, centred around understanding an individual’s unique life experiences and history of trauma, and how these experiences may have subsequently impacted varying aspects of their health and development.

By recognising the impact that trauma has had on an individual, trauma-informed care aims to create an environment of safety and trust to avoid re-traumatisation.

Designing a bespoke training programme

Emily is an Assistant Psychologist who supports our staff teams in England to deliver informed, evidence-based care, and Zoe is the Deputy Manager at The Whitehouse, a supported living service for individuals with complex care and support needs.

When an individual who lives at The Whitehouse – Jane* – was identified as displaying high-trauma behaviours, the pair co-produced a bespoke, person-centred training programme built around Jane’s needs to enable the team to improve the care and support they provide.

The programme was designed to help the team to better understand trauma, and the impact that Jane’s trauma has had on her health, development, and behaviours, and included topics such as:

• Attachment trauma: understanding what happens when the attachment cycle (a bonding process between an individual and their primary caregiver) is disrupted during the early stages of an individual’s life
• How trauma presents: identifying the different ways this may manifest in an individual’s psychological, social, and biological development
• Understanding the need behind the behaviour: identifying why the individual is exhibiting a behaviour
• Reflective practice: a model of working that facilitates continuous learning and development through self-observation and reflection
• PTSD & CPTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

As well as building this training around Jane, Emily and Zoe ensured that Jane had a direct role in delivering the training to staff. Joining the training sessions as they were delivered, Jane was provided with the opportunity to express her wishes for her own care, and share with the team exactly what she needed to feel safe, supported, and understood.

*name has been changed to protect the identity of the individual

Improving outcomes

Following the implementation of this new training programme, I am delighted to share that the programme has proven to be incredibly effective, and the team at The Whitehouse have already made massive strides towards improving Jane’s quality of life.

Historically Jane’s high-trauma behaviours had led to her experiencing crisis daily, including frequent incidents that were between 2 to 3 hours in duration each time.

In just a few short months the team observed a remarkable change in Jane. Not only was she more receptive to receiving support – both during incidents, and following them – but these incidents also reduced in time and frequency, with the average incident time falling to just 15 minutes.

The training has also had a big impact on the team and their working practices. Informed by the training, staff members at The Whitehouse now better understand attachment style, and have learned how to develop safe attachments with each other to model these relationships to the people they support.

The team also feel fully equipped to build safe, trusting relationships with Jane, and have been able improve the care and support they provide as they have developed a better understanding of Jane’s situational needs, and the needs behind her behaviours.

Within the team, we have also seen an increase in open communication, transparency, and reflective practice, and the team have demonstrated an improved capacity to be proactive, adapt to changing circumstances, and manage stress on a day-to-day basis.

The future of the programme

The success of this new programme has led to another fantastic result – Emily and Zoe have been selected as finalists for the Putting People First Award at the South West Finals of the Great British Care Awards.

We couldn’t be prouder of the outcomes that they have achieved with Jane, and we are excited to see their work and contributions celebrated at these awards.

The pair have plans to expand their training programme and roll it out to the rest of our Supported Living teams in England, and this process is already well underway. They are currently each undergoing specialist training to further grow their knowledge and expertise on trauma and trauma-informed care to further expand the programme, and we’ll be sharing more from the programme as it continues to develop.