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.






Traumatic horror, injustice, embitterment and shame: The impact of moral injury in the workplace

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. 


Potential uses and limitations: Discussion starter on the under-recognized issue of moral injury. Useful for supervisors.

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.






Creating a Trauma-Informed and Disability Inclusive Workplace

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),



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


Working with young people in the trauma space: vicarious trauma

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.



Compassion Satisfaction & Compassion Fatigue

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.