DOMAIN 5: SECONDARY TRAUMATIC STRESS–INFORMED TRAINING
Item 6
Strategies:
In addition to basic training on STS, consider including the following content as part of an ongoing training:
- additional context for understanding the complexity of STS,
- more information and guidance on self-assessment of STS and wellness,
- space and time to share strategies with peers on how to address STS,
- creation of action plans to address STS, and
- review what is available currently from the organization and what more is needed.
Implementation Resources:
Online Learning
After staff completes the following online training, supervisors and/or leaders can facilitate follow-up discussions with staff on take-aways, personal action plans, and organizational strategies for addressing STS:
- “Staying Inside the Window of Tolerance: An Advanced Training on Secondary Traumatic Stress and Resiliency,” a 90-minute self-paced training from the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma & Children that can be done as a group (in a staff meeting) or individually.
The following webinars can be shared during team meetings or in-service training with time set aside for group discussion. They can also be assigned as part of professional development hours with follow-up discussion in supervision.
- “Secondary Traumatic Stress: Understanding the Impact of Trauma Work on Professionals,” a 60-minute webinar from NCTSN that describes how individual and organizational factors and sociocultural context can impact STS and identifies strategies for addressing STS in the workplace.
- OJJDP offers a six-part webinar series on STS with a focus on physical, emotional, behavioral, and worldview signs and symptoms of STS. Each webinar is approximately 90 minutes.
Podcasts and Videos
- Maintaining Balance: Self-Care, Resiliency, and Ethical Service Delivery is a 60-minute Q&A with Françoise Mathieu, founder and executive director of Tend Academy who talks about the importance of self-care when doing work in trauma-exposed environments and how to develop an “early warning system” to identify signs of STS before they start interfering with personal and professional functioning.
- The Edge of Compassion, a 20-minute TEDx Talk by Françoise Mathieu who explores ways to stay healthy and empathic while caring for others.
- Beyond the Cliff, a 20-minute TEDx Talk by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, the founder of Trauma Stewardship, talks about the cumulative toll of exposure to the trauma and suffering of others and offers strategies for addressing this toll.
Additional Resources:
Other topics related to STS that can be explored more in-depth include, but are not limited to, those listed below. These topics and related resources can be shared and discussed in individual supervision and/or staff meetings.
On empathy5, 6
- “Cultivating Empathy for Others to Improve Our Own Well-Being” (5 minutes), from the Well@Work podcast series, produced by the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma & Children.
On strategies to use to transition between clients (pausing and letting go of the last client before moving to the next and resetting oneself by engaging in micro-practices)
- “Pause-Reset-Nourish to Promote Well-Being,” a one-page fact sheet on the stressors that professionals face in their and on strategies that can be used to promote well-being.
- “Three Minute Breathing Space” from Tend Academy is a two-sided card on a micro-practice that promotes mindfulness before or after particularly stressful events or conversations.
On compassion satisfaction and finding meaning in the work
- “Meaning Making” (6 minutes), from the Well@Work podcast series, produced by the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma & Children, covers how to derive meaning from stressful or traumatic events so the professionals can move toward a sense of hopefulness.
- The Edge of Compassion, a TEDx Talk delivered by Françoise Mathieu on ways to stay healthy and empathic while caring for others (18 minutes).
On post-traumatic growth
Post-traumatic growth can be defined as transformation or positive changes that occur as a result of experiencing adversity. These changes may include a greater appreciation of life, finding new meaning in life, and/or greater awareness of one’s strengths.)
- “Post Traumatic Growth” (5 minutes), from the Well@Work podcast series, produced by the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma & Children, talks about the positive changes that can occur in the aftermath of a traumatic event and how professionals can move from “struggle to strength.”
- “Post-Traumatic Growth: How Trauma Shifts Our Priorities in Work & Life,” from Tend Academy discusses the difference between post-traumatic growth and resilience, avoidance of the tendency to “flight into health,” and strategies for fostering well-being after a traumatic event. To learn more about this webinar, other offerings from Tend Academy, and pricing, view their course catalog.
On de-briefing after difficult cases
- “Psychological First Aid” (8 minutes) from the Well@Work podcast series produced by the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma & Children, discusses some of the immediate reactions and feelings that professionals may experience immediately after a traumatic event and what colleagues and leaders can do to address these in the short term.
- “Reset and Rediscover Your Passion for Your Work” (6 minutes), from the Well@Work podcast series produced by the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma & Children. This podcast provides strategies for mitigating the stress of the work and how professionals can move from feeling depleted to more energetic and enthusiastic in their roles.
- Low impact debriefing, a practice developed by Tend Academy to help professionals debrief difficult events or situations in a way that doesn’t adversely impact colleagues. A summary of the practice is available as a two-page information sheet and as a postcard.
On seeking out peer support
- “Healthy Peer Networks” (6 minutes), from the Well@Work podcast series produced by the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma & Children.
- “Using Accountability Partners to Build Resilience” (7 minutes), from the Well@Work podcast series, produced by the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma & Children.
On where to find advanced training on serving specific populations
Populations may include: victims of commercial sexual exploitation (CSEC), specific cultural groups, and neurodiverse or developmentally delayed clients, etc.
- See the “Special Populations” webpage from the NCTSN Learning Center for interactive online training modules, video lectures, case examples, assessment tools, and expert tips.
Select Action Plan to begin to organize and implement next steps.