There are many simple ways that a member of staff can change their behaviour of responding to a person with difficult histories and actually help to create a safer environment.
Adjust Your Communication Style
Communicate at a slower pace and in a lower tone, and use very simple language. Most people who have experienced trauma are in a ‘hypertuned’ state of hyperarousal. Therefore even the simplest question can feel like an attack before you even realise it and respond. Give them time to process what you have said.
Offer Choice and Control
Options – giving the person choices – is a way of giving them control and it is often the simplest thing to offer as choices. Where to sit, can we speak now or later, who is in the room etc. It is amazing how offering people choices can help them feel more in control and therefore be able to have difficult conversations with you.
Avoid Re-Traumatising Language
This means that asking the same question over and over again can be re-traumatising. Also, using clinical language can make a person feel that they are being assessed or judged. This can be soothed by using simple language such as ‘I hear that was really hard for you’.
Read Physical Cues
By reading a person’s physical cues, before they even tell you about their distress, you can make sure they feel seen and respond safely. Naming what you have noticed, e.g. “You seem a little tense, are you okay?” helps to respond safely to people.
Know When to Refer On
Note – Our Trauma Informed Practice training for staff helps recognise when a person requires specialised support, and enables safe handover to that specialist in a supportive manner. There is more on Trauma informed practice training at tidaltraining.co.uk/mental-health-training-courses/trauma-informed-practice-training/.
Working with trauma is about making small changes to how you currently respond to people and in order to create a safer workplace for people with difficult histories.