Over the recent decades, we have seen leaps in research and practice promoting the importance of taking a holistic trauma-informed approach to caring for children and young people with trauma. As recognition of trauma-informed care continues to grow, it’s becoming increasingly important to turn some of that attention to supporting those that have dedicated themselves to working with trauma-exposed children and young people.

Noel Macnamara, Deputy Director of the Centre for Excellence in Therapeutic Care, has run several popular workshops on the topic of trauma-informed supervision, equipping supervisors to support direct care workers facing the inevitable challenges of working closely with trauma.

I caught up with Noel to find out more about his workshop and why trauma-informed supervision is such an important ingredient of a trauma-informed approach to care.

Hello, Noel! Firstly, what is trauma-informed supervision?
Trauma-informed supervision is a way to support staff and carers who are exposed to the trauma experiences of those they are working with and caring for. It helps to mitigate against the impact of secondary trauma and offers a space for staff to explore the impact of secondary stress.

And why is it so important for supervisors to take a trauma-informed approach with their supervisee care workers?
Understanding trauma and the impact of trauma for clients and those working with children and young people is essential. Without this understanding, the expectations and decisions that a supervisor make will be flawed and the results of these flaws will manifest as disconnections in the supervisor and supervisee relationship and the relationship between the supervisee and the client.

Some workers out there may feel like this level of supervision is not worth the time or trouble since they are not suffering from trauma themselves. Do you think trauma-informed supervision is necessary for all care workers?
To work with those who have lived experience of trauma is to expose yourself to the pain and suffering of others. The empathic approach requires that you open yourself to that pain and suffering. That means, at some time, you will be affected vicariously by the very nature and impact of the trauma on the life of the child.

What led you to realise how important this is, for supervisors to be trauma-informed?
When I stopped thinking of trauma as something that affected “other people”, called “clients”, and realised the innate humanness of us all: professionals, clients, parents, carers, managers, and CEOs.

The trauma-informed supervision training workshop you run is always so popular! Why do you think that is?
The overwhelming majority of supervisors and frontline managers that I know want to do the very best that they can to support and educate the staff that they are responsible for. Also, it is now recognised more clearly than ever before that secondary trauma is an occupational issue and not a personal flaw.

You’re running the next workshop on trauma-informed supervision on the 21st February, is there anything new that returning participants can look forward to?
The workshop this time will have a stronger focus on supervision strategies and processes, to ensure that trauma-informed approaches remain at the forefront of practice when working with children and young people who have experienced trauma.

Thanks Noel!

If you are interested in registering for the upcoming session on trauma-informed session, you can click here to find out more and reserve your spot.

For more information on trauma-informed supervision, check out our free practice guide to understanding secondary traumatic stress and staff well-being.