DOMAIN 1: RESILIENCE-BUILDING, STAFF HEALTH, AND WELLNESS
Item 9
Strategies:
- Provide formal and informal opportunities for processing with peers or a supervisor on a regular basis. This is especially important for forensic interviewers after their interviews, as it can help reduce the emotional labor of their job and, therefore, prevent burnout.23
- Be supportive of team members in a crisis or difficult situation by offering to take a walk with the team member to help them process the event. (See the activity developed by Dr. Patricia Fisher’s called the “Hot Walk and Talk Protocol” in the resources below.)
Implementation Resources:
Activities
- “Hot Walk and Talk Protocol,” developed by Dr. Patricia Fisher, is an activity designed to provide helpful first aid immediately after a coworker experiences a particularly traumatic event.
Publications
- Building Resilient Teams: Facilitating Workplace Wellness & Organizational Health in Trauma-Exposed Environments, a workbook developed by Dr. Patricia Fisher24 that is designed to be a practical, accessible, and effective approach to building team resiliency and cohesion through a sequence of safe and respectful guided discussions. Teams can use this workbook by meeting regularly (e.g., weekly or monthly) and completing the workbook activities together in order.
Podcasts and Videos
- “Healthy Peer Networks” (10 minutes), from the Well@Work podcast series, produced by the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma & Children, features a discussion on how forming healthy peer networks can help combat STS.
- In Spanish: “Redes de Colegas Saludables”
Select Action Plan to begin to organize and implement next steps.