Sample Strategies to Enhance Employee Support and Engagement

Description: This resource from Rose Brooks Center (the largest domestic violence agency in Missouri, USA) is a sample of key practices in 10 areas used to "engage staff, build strength, collective resilience, and at the same time improve services for survivors" (pg. 1). 

The headings for the key practices are as follows:

    1- Hiring process
        Organised and thoughtful hiring process
        Staff onboarding and new hire training
    2- Staff/employee performance evaluation
    3- Support to address trauma exposure (secondary trauma)
        Staff wellness
        Organisational response to vicarious trauma
        Flexibility/work-life balance
    4- Compensation
        Salary
        Leave time
        Benefits
    5- Staff development
        Meaningful and challenging development plans
        Training
    6- Leadership strategies
        Integrate staff retention into agency policy, formal practices, and resource development
        Staff involvement and feedback to inform staff retention strategies
        Leadership conducts annual evaluation of factors impacting staff retention, quality of services, and sustained agency operations
    7- Workplace environment and culture
        Space
        Employee feedback/input
    8- Communication
        Management transparency
    9- Organisation staff meetings
    10- Clear mission and values
        Sense of purpose in the workplace

What's the evidence base for this resource: This resource is a sample of Rose Brooks Center's policies and procedures, and does not provide any evidence itself. However, the agency is recognised by accrediting bodies as adhering to best practice standards and has won awards for its services.


Potential uses and limitations: This resource is a useful high-level map of organisational strategies to enhance employee support/engagement and address vicarious trauma. It does not provide detailed guidance for any particular issue, but may serve as inspiration or generate ideas on organisational and workplace strategies.


Where it comes from: This resource was presented as a handout within the webinar 'Strategies to Enhance Employee Resilience and Engagement within Survivor-Serving Organizations' hosted by Futures Without Violence in May 2020. Rose Brooks Center's Chief Operating Officer was one of three presenters in the webinar.

Rose Brooks Center is the largest domestic violence agency in the American state of Missouri. The agency has 100 employees and reaches approximately 15,000 individuals annually.


Message Box: Communicating about VT to Staff

Description: Created by the US Vicarious Trauma Toolkit in collaboration with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, this resource provides talking points for managers to communicate how their organisation is addressing vicarious trauma. This resource provides clear talking points regarding what vicarious trauma is, why it is important to address vicarious trauma at the organisational level, and what steps organisations can take to address vicarious trauma in their workplace.  


What's the evidence base for this resource: This was developed by the US Vicarious Trauma Toolkit so we are confident in it being a reliable source of information.


Potential uses and limitations: This resource may be a useful starting point for managers looking to communicate the importance of addressing vicarious trauma in their organisations. A limitation is that it does not give any concrete examples of policies, procedures, or practices to prevent vicarious trauma.


Where it comes from: The US Vicarious Trauma Toolkit.


The CPSU gratefully acknowledges the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime, for allowing us to reproduce. in whole, Message Box: Communicating about VT to Staff. This article was prepared by the Office for Victims of Crime.


Guidelines for a Vicarious Trauma-Informed Organization: Making the Business Case

Description: Created by the US Vicarious Trauma Toolkit, these guidelines outline the importance of addressing vicarious trauma to mitigate turnover, low productivity, and poor organisational health. 


What's the evidence base for this resource: This was developed by the US Vicarious Trauma Toolkit so we are confident in it being a reliable source of information.


Potential uses and limitations: Useful for managers to frame the importance of vicarious trauma-informed organisational policies and procedures. A limitation is that it does not give any concrete examples of policies, procedures, or practices to prevent vicarious trauma.


Where it comes from: The US Vicarious Trauma Toolkit.


The CPSU gratefully acknowledges the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime, for allowing us to reproduce. in whole, the Guidelines for a Vicarious Trauma-Informed Organization: Making the Business Case. This article was prepared by the Office for Victims of Crime.


Human Resource Guidelines for a Vicarious Trauma-Informed Organization

Description: These guidelines delineate a framework for the human resources policies and procedures that support a vicarious trauma-informed organization.

 

What's the evidence base for this resource: Developed by the US Dept of Justice Vicarious Trauma Toolkit team with the Northeastern University.

 

Potential uses and limitation:  High level suggestions for human resource (People and Culture) departments, in regards to employment policies and staff well being provisions.

 

Where it comes from: The US Dept of Justice Vicarious Trauma Toolkit


The CPSU gratefully acknowledges the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime, for allowing us to reproduce. in whole, the Human Resource Guidelines for a Vicarious Trauma-Informed Organization. This article was prepared by the Office for Victims of Crime.


Guidebook on Vicarious Trauma: Recommended Solutions for Anti-Violence Workers

Description

Written for women working in anti-violence fields (e.g. domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault). Uses a strong gender lens and the specific challenges for women workers in these fields.

Download link


What's the evidence base for this resource

 Based on the author's 8 months of consultations with expert workers in the sector, the Canadian National Advisory Committee on Family Violence. The author was contracted by the Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children in London, Ontario, The  University  of  Western  Ontario, to produce this report for the Family Violence Prevention Unit, Health Canada. 


Potential uses and limitations

The resource is intended for women workers in anti-violence work. Some of the content is also quite specific to the Canadian context. Also note that the publication date is 2001.

Covers topics ranging from individual self-care practices, to organisational strategies. The uniquely feminist perspective, with an emphasis on gender and social justice, sets this apart from many other trauma related resources. The section on organisational strategies includes sections on:

Feminist Philosophy  
Social Justice 
Organizational Structure
Staffing
Human Resources Policies and Practices
Training 
Administrative and Support Staff
Hiring
Orientation and Training
Personal Relationships of Staff
Supervision
Retreats and Celebrations
Exiting Gracefully


Where it comes from

Published by National Clearinghouse on Family Violence, Canada. Some of the content does apply specifically to the Canadian context.



What is PTSD? What it looks like across workplaces?

Description: This presentation describes the key clinical features of PTSD, including the current diagnostic criteria, accompanying clinical presentations, functional outcomes and common comorbid conditions that present with PTSD.

The talk presents data on the prevalence and presenting features of PTSD across varying workplace settings, including first-responders (paramedics, fire-fighters, police), defence, primary health care settings, drug and alcohol services, and forensic settings.

Prevalence rates and important issues for consideration are highlighted in relation to PTSD in these workplace settings and the heterogeneity of PTSD presentations are highlighted.


What's the evidence base for this resource: The presenter, Professor Kim Felmingham, is a recognised academic expert on workplace related mental health issues. We have a high level of confidence that the information presented is accurate and reliable.

 

Potential uses and limitation: Concise information on the prevalence of workplace trauma across a range of workplaces. Briefly summarises some of the evidence regarding organisational culture as a protective factor, and what organisations can do to support workers dealing with trauma exposure. 


Where it comes from: Recorded as part of WorkSafe Tasmania PTSD: "Mental Health Matters" Conference, 14th October 2019.


Content Warning:
These videos address issues relating to post traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions. Please be aware that presentations may contain content and imagery that may be confronting or cause distress.






Resiliency Project: A Gecko’s Guide to Building Resiliency in Child Abuse Staff & Volunteers

Description: The (US based) Resiliency Project engaged researchers, educators, and practitioners from the child abuse field in a collaborative effort to develop, implement, and evaluate an organisationally based program to build resiliency in staff and volunteers. Twelve service organisations participated in the project.

Key to the project were the pilot "resiliency coaches" who evaluated all training and technical assistance products related to the organisational program model.

The model identified 5 key themes- self-knowledge and insight, sense of hope, healthy coping, strong relationships, and personal perspective and meaning- that can be promoted in the culture of organisations.


This is a summary report.

What's the evidence base for this resource: Evaluation conducted by the Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (IDVSA) at the University of Texas School of Social Work.


Potential uses and limitation:  It includes examples of specific interventions implemented under the categories of Policy, Supervisory Technique, and Competency-based Training. There are a range of training and reflection exercises that could be useful in supervision contexts.  Suggested practice examples  range from personal reflections, through to policies that promote staff well being.

Where it comes from:  Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (IDVSA) in the Center for Social Work Research, School of Social Work


Family Support Guidelines for a Vicarious Trauma-Informed Organization

Description: Guidelines on developing organisational strategies to support families of workers. Includes a handout/brochure for families with informaiton on Vicarious Trauma.

 Link here


What's the evidence base for this resource: Guidelines based on current evidence and experience of the US Office for Victims of Crime Vicarious Trauma Toolkit.

 

Potential uses and limitations:  Intended for practical use by organisations looking to establish or enhance support for families of staff in trauma related workplaces.

 

Where it comes from: Developed by the US Department of Justice's Vicarious Trauma Toolkit

The CPSU gratefully acknowledges the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime, for allowing us to reproduce. in whole, the Family Support Guidelines for a Vicarious Trauma-Informed Organization. This article was prepared by the Office for Victims of Crime.


Resisting Burnout With Justice-Doing

Description: This series of video presentations critiques the notions of 'burnout' and 'vicarious trauma'. Instead, Dr Reynolds suggests 'spiritual pain' as a more accurate term to describe what happens when workers are faced with the effects that oppression has on the lives of clients. She argues that the key question for workers and organisations is not 'how is your mental health?', but rather 'how are we treating each other?'

Dr Reynolds has also written about her approach to 'centring ethics' in supervision to explore the harms experienced by workers in this article which she has made freely available through her website.

Dr Vikki Reynolds is an activist/therapist who works to bridge the worlds of social justice activism with community work & therapy.

 

What's the evidence base for this resource:  Dr Reynold's experience includes supervision and therapy with refugees and survivors of torture, sexualized violence counsellors, mental health and substance misuse counsellors, housing and shelter workers, activists and working alongside gender and sexually diverse communities.

 

Potential uses and limitation: Provides a perspective on "vicarious trauma" that challenges clinical, symptom focused frameworks. Useful for workplaces that place ethical considerations at the centre of their work, to think about how teams and organisations can develop effective practices of collective care and accountability.

 

Where it comes from: Dr Vikki Reynolds' professional development presentation for the BC Settlement and Language Service Providers' Provincial Meeting hosted by AMSSA, 2017.






CW360°: A Comprehensive Look At A Prevalent Child Welfare Issue

Description:  A special edition of a journal with a range of short articles related to Vicarious Trauma, Secondary Traumatic Stress etc.


Table of Contents

Overview

Helping that Hurts: Child Welfare Secondary Traumatic Stress Reactions, Charles R. Figley, PhD 4 

Occupational Hazards of Work in Child Welfare: Direct Trauma, Secondary Trauma and Burnout,  Kimberly K. Shackelford, PhD, LCSW 6 

Secondary Traumatic Stress and Supervisors: The Forgotten Victims, Crystal Collins-Camargo, MSW, PhD 8 

The Vicious Cycle: Policy, the Media, and Secondary Traumatic Stress, David Chenot, PhD, MDiv, LCSW 10 

Media Influence on Development of Secondary Traumatic Stress in Child Welfare Workers, Kate Richardson, Dip SW, BA 11 

Secondary Traumatic Stress in Child Welfare: Multi-Level Prevention and Intervention Strategies,  Alison Hendricks, LCSW 12 

Vicarious Traumatization and Work in Child Welfare Organizations: Risk, Prevention, and Intervention, Joy D. Osofsky, PhD 14 

Best Practices

Preparing MSW Students for Practicing in Child Welfare, Ronald Rooney, PhD 15

Withstanding Secondary Traumatic Stress: The Role of Realistic Recruitment, Nancy S. Dickinson, MSSW, PhD 16 

Screening for Secondary Traumatic Stress in Child Welfare Workers, Brian E. Bride, PhD, LCSW 18 

A Psychoeducation Model for Teaching Child Welfare Practitioners to Dump Their Secondary Traumatic Stress Buckets,  Josephine Pryce, PhD, MSW 19 

What Can Child Welfare Workers Do about Vicarious Trauma?, Laurie Anne Pearlman, PhD 20 

Social Support in the Workplace and Secondary Trauma, Anita P. Barbee, MSSW, PhD 21 

Going Beyond Self Care: Effectively Addressing Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Child Protective Staff,  Erika Tullberg, MPA, MPH, Roni Avinadav, PhD and Claude M. Chemtob, PhD 22 

The Secondary Trauma Prevention Project: A Multilevel Systems Approach to Protect Child Welfare Staff from Secondary  Trauma, David Conrad, LCSW 23 

Developing, Continuously Improving, and Disseminating Culturally-Appropriate Workplace Policies to Prevent and Mitigate  Secondary Traumatic Stress among Child Welfare Workers, James C. Caringi, PhD and Hal A. Lawson, PhD 24

Perspectives & Collaborations

Social Work in a Rural Community, Julie Krings, MSW, CSW 26 

A Supervisor’s Perspective on the Importance of Addressing Secondary Traumatic Stress in Child Welfare,  Julie Collins, LCSW 27 

The Trauma of Working with Victims of Torture, Patricia Shannon, PhD, LP 28 

Utilizing Traditional Anishinaabe Cultural Practices to Reduce Secondary Traumatic Stress in the Workplace,  Ryan L. Champagne, Social Service Director for a Tribal Agency 29

Secondary Trauma and the Work of the Minnesota Child Mortality Review Panel, Esther Wattenberg, Professor 30

A Judicial Perspective on Secondary Trauma in Child Welfare, Judge Kathryn Quaintance 31 

Secondary Traumatic Stress and Child Welfare: A Foster Parent Perspective,  Phill Klamm, Jodie Klamm, and Crystal Peterson, MSSW, APSW; Edited by Amelia Franck Meyer, MS, MSW, APSW, LISW 32 

We Need to Pay Attention, Joan Riebel, LICSW 33


What's the evidence base for this resource:
Peer reviewed journal.

Potential uses and limitations:
Focused on child protection/welfare but much of the content has broader relevance.

Some articles include descriptions of organisational interventions. These are free to access academic articles, they are mostly written in a way that is relatively accessible to non-academic workers in the field.


Where it comes from: 
Link to journal (free to access via the US VTT site):

https://vtt.ovc.ojp.gov/ojpasset/Documents/OS_STS_Child_Welfare_Article_Review.pdf



Building Resiliency in Child Abuse Organizations

Description: Fully structured training program about Building Resiliency that addresses individual as well as organisational factors.
Provides handouts, ppt slides, etc. Training can be tailored (e.g. half day, full day etc) and individual modules selected.

What's the evidence base for this resource: The training material draws on established evidence and consultation with experts in the field.

Potential uses and limitations: Can be utilised by management and leaders with responsibility for staff wellbeing to deliver training sessions on a range of related topics. Importantly, there are modules which address organisational responsibilities for managers.

Where it comes from: Developed by US Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center "to support professional development, enhance services to the community, and expand outreach to under-served victims of crime".

The training materials can be downloaded from the US OVC website




An Organizational Self-Care Model: Practical Suggestions for Development and Implementation

Description: Describes the implementation of a staff self-care program across a large organisation. While many strategies were in some senses individual level, the key point was that the organisation provided the time and legitimacy for staff to participate in the activities.

Talking points:

p306: In an organisational setting, the assessment of personal trauma histories and other intra-individual characteristics typically is not appropriate or feasible.

p306: Hypothesis: Workers in organisations where there is little control over workload and sources of support (e.g., hospitals, outpatient public mental health clinics, government social services) and whose personal values may be in conflict with organisational goals (e.g., military mental health therapists, prison psychologists) would be more susceptible to burnout in comparison with workers who are self-employed, or where there is a better 'value fit'.

Link to abstract: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0011000010381790



An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Stress and Well-Being in Emergency Medical Dispatchers

Description: Australian qualitative study with 16 EMD workers, identifying core themes related to Operational Stress and Vicarious Trauma, Organisational Stress, and Post-Traumatic Growth.

What's the evidence base for this resource: Academic research article published in peer reviewed journal. 

Potential uses and limitations: Identifies specific organisational and operational factors that can contribute to vicarious trauma.

See attached diagram showing causes and impacts of Operational stress, organisational stress and post-traumatic growth factors.
Highlights the importance of workers being treated respectfully and their work being valued by leadership.
Specific focus on Emergency Medical Dispatch workers. Small scale study (n=16), findings may not be generalizable.

Where it comes from: Journal of Loss and Trauma. The full article has been made available via the US VTT website.


The CPSU gratefully acknowledges the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime, for allowing us to reproduce. in whole, the Supervision Guidelines for a Vicarious Trauma-Informed Organization. This article was prepared by the Office for Victims of Crime.