What is Trauma-Informed Practice?

Understanding trauma-informed practice means going beyond a buzzword. It’s about embedding compassion, accountability, and awareness into the everyday workings of people and organisations.

Trauma-informed practice begins with the recognition that trauma affects how people think, feel, and behave — and that systems can either help healing or compound harm. It asks us to build environments where safety, trust, voice, and choice are not optional extras but central to how we work. At its heart, being trauma-informed is about giving people the best chance to succeed, whether they are staff, service-users, or leaders.

But it’s also important to be clear about what trauma-informed practice is not.

• ❌ It is not a shield for avoiding difficult conversations.

• ❌ It does not mean lowering standards or ignoring accountability.

• ❌ It does not require someone to disclose their trauma before receiving support.

Instead, it’s the opposite:

• ✔ Trauma-informed practice means holding challenging conversations with respect and clarity.

• ✔ It means applying processes fairly, while being conscious of their impact.

• ✔ It means recognising that disclosures are a privilege, not an entitlement — and responding with dignity when they are shared.

When done well, trauma-informed practice is not “soft” or “lenient.” It is structured, robust, and rooted in humanity. It makes space for both compassion and accountability to sit side by side.

Resources to Get You Thinking:

• How does your organisation balance compassion with accountability?

• Do staff feel they can raise difficult issues without fear?

• What might change if policies and processes were written with dignity and equity at their core?