DOMAIN 4: SECONDARY TRAUMATIC STRESS–INFORMED SUPERVISION
Item 6
Strategies for Supervisors:
- Since supervisors have contact with front-line staff, they are more likely to be in touch with the needs of individual staff and the impacts of the work. As such they should be encouraged to bring these concerns and challenges to meetings with leadership and to discussions about policies and practices of the organization.
- Educate administrators and decision-makers about STS.
Implementation Resources:
Fact Sheets
- “Secondary Traumatic Stress: A Fact Sheet for Child-Serving Professionals, from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN).” The fact sheet provides an overview of STS, how STS appears in professionals, who is at risk, and strategies for prevention and intervention.
- “Secondary Trauma and Child Welfare Staff: Guidance for Supervisors and Administrators,” from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), Secondary Traumatic Stress Collaborative Group. Targeted to supervisors and administrators in the child welfare system, this fact sheet provides an overview of STS, how STS appears in professionals, who is at risk, and strategies for prevention and intervention.
Publications
- “The Business Case for a Comprehensive Organizational Health and Workplace Wellness Program,” an article from Tend Academy that outlines the consequences (poor service delivery, turnover, low productivity) for organizations that don’t address organizational health and well-being for their leaders and staff.
Strategies for Supervisors:
- Advocate for administrators to regularly review, assess, and expand the availability, accessibility, and quality of formal services and supports that the organization offers.
- Advocate for administrators to change policies and practices that may contribute to or intensify STS reactions, such as work conditions, caseloads, on-call expectations, policies/norms around leave time, and inadequate resources.
Implementation Resources:
Assessments
- “The Secondary Traumatic Stress Informed Organization Assessment Tool (STSI-OA)” from the Center on Trauma & Children and discussed further in the introduction of this Blueprint. Assessment evaluates to what degree your organization is trauma informed; it identifies areas of strength and opportunities for improvement.
- “Secondary Traumatic Stress Policy Audit Tool (STS-PAT)” from the Center on Trauma & Children. This tool can help organizations evaluate their current policies through a series of questions to determine if they are consistent with an STS-informed organization.
NOTE
Refer to Domain 3, “Secondary Traumatic Stress-Informed Policies and Procedures.”
Select Action Plan to begin to organize and implement next steps.