Description: This resource, hosted on the site of the US VTT, is a detailed outline of an 8-session curriculum for peer support among staff in trauma work who have personally experienced violence or trauma. Alongside education around Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS; another term for vicarious trauma), this resource provides self-care and organisational strategies for workers, and includes clear activities in handouts.
The curriculum is divided into eight sessions, as follows:
What's the evidence base for this resource: While there is no published evaluation of this curriculum or the resources it contains, the resource was created by advocates and clinicians at the Center for Violence Prevention and Recovery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.
Potential uses and limitations: This resource is intended as the curriculum for an 8-session peer support and training group for workers who have experienced violence and trauma. This resource may be useful for supervisors as inspiration for conversations during supervision, or for any worker to consider the impacts of their personal identities and/or histories upon their professional role working with clients who experience trauma. The resource provides several tools for self-assessment and reflection.
While the curriculum includes sessions for participants to brainstorm organisational changes, it is not itself a primary resource.
Where it comes from: This resource is designed by the Advocate Education and Support Project, which is part of the Center for Violence Prevention and Recovery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. The resource was uploaded to the US Vicarious Trauma Toolkit's Compendium of resources.
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Staff Health and Wellness Training and Professional Development