Description: This 1.5 hour-long American webinar (transcript included) from May 2020 features representatives from three organisations who share strategies that they use to increase employee engagement, mitigate burnout, build strength and collective resilience, and improve services for survivors. The facilitators also discussed strategies their organisations use to help staff adapt during COVID-19.
"After this webinar, participants will be better able to:
Strategies shared by the panellists and webinar participants include, but are not limited to:
What's the evidence base for this resource: This resource primarily draws on the practice experience of the panellists.
Potential uses and limitations: This webinar is aimed at Executive Directors, Program Directors/Managers/Coordinators, Supervisors, and Team Leaders. There is particular emphasis on how employees are coping during COVID-19, with many staff members working from home. While the webinar is framed as being about "staff retention", there is a focus on reducing or mitigating burnout, which is related to vicarious trauma.
Where it comes from: This webinar was facilitated by Jennifer White and Monica Arenas from Futures Without Violence, supported by a grant awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women within the U.S. Department of Justice.
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.
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.
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.
Description: Fear based models of PTSD have dominated research and clinical approaches to PTSD since the 1990s. The role of overwhelming horror, injustice, embitterment and shame emerge as alternative pathways to traumatic stress injury and the role of such emotions in addition to exposure to ‘life threat’. This session will provide attendees with an overview of research in moral injury which aims to expand treatments for PTSD to better address role of these forms of traumatic stress injury.
What's the evidence base for this resource: Professor Zachary Steel is a recognized academic researcher at the University of New South Wales. We have a high degree of confidence in the information presented.
Does not provide any advice on how this could be addressed at an organisational/primary prevention level.
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.
Description: This set of Supervisory Guides provides advice on creating trauma informed workplaces that are disability inclusive for both staff and clients.
The four themes covered are:
Part 1: Hiring
Part 2: Onboarding New Staff
Part 3: Supervision
Part 4: Supporting Staff with Boundaries and Safety
Downloadable from the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center website.
What's the evidence base for this resource: These are practice based resources, developed from the experiences of partner organisations.
Potential uses and limitation: They are best used along with in-person, interactive training to allow executive leadership, human resources, and supervisors the opportunity to practice skills and discuss challenges and ideas with each other. Particularly helpful to support supervisors prepare for conversations about both accessibility and vicarious trauma with new staff members.
Where it comes from: US based coalition MASS (Movement for Access, Safety & Survivors),
Description: This Webinar is aimed at professionals in primary care, mental health and human services settings who work with young people who have experienced trauma and injustice at some point in their lives.
Rather than focusing on specific self-care strategies, it advocates for a framework of ‘self-care’ that includes the role of organisational responsibility in maintaining staff wellbeing in this space.
What's the evidence base for this resource: Mostly based on the clinical practice experience of the presenter, with references to relevant research and literature sources.
Potential uses and limitations: Discussion starter for staff, supervisors and mangers. There are specific suggestions for supervision practices and workplace measures, from about 46m30s.
Where it comes from: Orygen National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health.
NSW Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Services offers online professional training for organisations, clinicians, supervisors and managers. The training is provided on a fee for service basis.
Description: A range of resources related to the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) assessment tool.
What's the evidence base for this resource: The ProQOL is a widely used measure of Compassion Satisfaction and Compassion Fatigue. The training slides describe how the ProQOL conceptualises and measures these constructs. It is not a standardised psychological test.
Potential uses and limitations: Useful for organisations wanting to introduce ProQOL as a baseline measure to inform a broader organisational response. Note that the ProQOL does not measure Vicarious Trauma as a discreet construct, it measures Compassion Satisfaction and Compassion Fatigue (in two sub-scales: Burnout and Work Related Traumatic Stress).
Note that ProQOL, and this material, is mostly focussed on individual level factors.
Where it comes from© Beth Hudnall Stamm, 2009. See slide 1 for conditions of use in training and professional development.
Description: US study of 192 child welfare professionals. Investigates the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE's), resilience, and work environment and professional quality of life including compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress.
What's the evidence base for this resource: Academic research article published in peer reviewed journal.
Potential uses and limitations: Two significant findings:
1- Workers who reported more ACE's scored higher on Compassion Satisfaction and lower on Burnout.
This counters the 'intuitive' claim that more ACE's would lead to higher levels of burnout.
2- "Controlling leadership style" and low "Resilience" were the factors most correlated with higher burnout.
"We postulate that supervisors who are authoritative, rather than authoritarian, may be the most effective at providing the type of support that will produce the best outcomes for their employees"
Where it comes from: Published in Children and Youth Services Review, Volume 57, October 2015, Pages 141-148.
Link to abstract: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740915300335