Trauma Informed Communication: Guidelines for Communication as a Leader.
When you were studying and training to be a counselor, therapist, social worker, or any other role within the mental health field, you were hopefully taught the importance of being trauma-informed. Trauma Informed care helps create a safe container for your clients to delve into any trauma they may have experienced while minimizing the potential for causing more harm in the process, and it is a great approach to better serve your clients.
However, it is less likely that the importance of trauma informed approaches was reiterated to you if you made the transition from clinician to clinical leader or supervisor. Is trauma informed communication necessary for effective clinical leadership?
Is Trauma Informed Communication Necessary?
Lemek (2023) argues that trauma informed communication should be implemented within all work environments. I agree with her and her article served as a large inspiration for this post! Establishing trauma informed care within your practice requires a trauma informed approach to be into your “communication and way of being” with clients and staff, especially since you cannot always be aware of who has experienced trauma (Edited by Jennifer Lapum et al., 2020.)
With up to 70% of adults reporting having experienced trauma in their lifetime (National Council For Behavioral Health, 2022), there is a high probability that clients being treated by your clinicians are not the only ones under your purview who have experienced trauma. As a leader, you need to take your staff, team, interns, and anyone else under your supervision into consideration when establishing your work culture.
According to the NHS Leadership Academy (2011), there are a few key components to effective clinical leadership: personal leadership qualities, working with a team, managing and improving services, and setting direction for your team or organization. Every one of these components can benefit from trauma informed communication.
Implement Trauma Informed Communication
So how do you incorporate trauma informed communication in order to be the most effective leader you can be? Trauma informed communication needs to be infused into the very fabric of your leadership. Follow these guidelines to get started!
Avoid Assumptions
It’s important to not make assumptions about someone’s trauma history. Disclosure is not required in order to implement trauma informed communication. Play it safe and implement trauma informed communication for your whole team or organization. Even if no one on your team has personally dealt with trauma, this style of communication is beneficial to everyone either way.
Create A Safe Container
Step one to actually implementing trauma informed communication starts with creating a work culture that fosters emotional and environmental safety for your clinicians. This means an environment that is not only sensitive to the possibility of trauma, but a staff that is trained to mitigate any triggers that may emerge through the process of the job requirements.
Create Opportunities for Communication
Do you have a culture that supports safe and open communication between clinicians and leadership? Are there established and well known avenues of communication between team leaders and supervisees? You may want to consider regular check ins as a way to structure opportunities into regular work routines.
Model Openness and Vulnerability
Openness and vulnerability should be modeled by leadership. This can be in one to one supervision conversations, or on an organizational level. Be transparent in your leadership policies to gain trust.
Active Listening
This one is often taken as a given, but show your staff that you are actually listening to them. Listen to understand, not just to formulate a response. Ask clarifying questions without interrupting. Be mindful of your body language and how it may convey how intently you are paying attention.
Non-Reactivity
Non-reactivity is a skill in which you are able to remain calm and not outwardly react to situations which would usually prompt an emotional response (Benzo et al., 2018.) We all have knee jerk reactions, but it is possible to remain objective in these situations if we are prepared for it. As a clinical leader, it is important to understand where it is possible for you to get defensive or jump into action mode when your supervisee or staff member needs you to just listen.
Empowerment
Effective communication is not always easy. As a clinical leader, part of the job is handling challenging conversations, whether related to performance issues, organizational changes, or client care challenges. Effective communication in these situations means approaching it with empathy, clarity, and a focus on solutions.Your ability to approach these difficult conversations with skill will continue to bolster the culture of trust and resilience you are trying to build with your team.
Your clinicians need to play an active part in their roles. Empower them where you are able so they are active participants in the culture of the team.
Choice and Control
While there are always going to be certain policies in place that are non-negotiable for legal and ethical reasons, where can you give your staff choice and control over how they handle themselves as clinicians?
Individualized Approaches
Just like leadership, communication is not one size fits all. Your team will need tailored approaches for each individual. Get to know your team and let each of them be a part of creating a dynamic that works for both of you.
Opportunities for Feedback
Do your clinicians have the option and opportunity to voice concerns to leadership without fear of reprisal? If you do have avenues for feedback in place already, are they well known to the team? Is the process easily accessible and efficient to complete?
Be Your Best
Many of these guidelines I’ve laid out are intertwined and not discreet in their implementation. They are going to pop up in your practices at varying degrees at varying times. Some of you may already be using lots of these guidelines within your teams. That’s great! Keep up the good work! If not, it’s never too late to start! Just like any other skill, communication is a muscle that needs to be exercised and proficiency will come with time and practice. Clinical leadership is a big responsibility and we all get the opportunity to continue learning and growing long after we step into those leadership shoes. Keep growing. Keep learning. Keep communicating!
In your corner,
Francisca
Sources:
Benzo, R. P., Anderson, P. M., Bronars, C., & Clark, M. (2018). Mindfulness for Healthcare Providers: The Role of Non-Reactivity in Reducing Stress. Explore
(New York, N.Y.), 14(6), 453–456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2018.03.008
Edited by Jennifer Lapum, Oona St-Amant, Hughes, M., & Garmaise-Yee, J. (2020, August 14). Trauma-informed Approach to Communication.
Torontomu.ca; Pressbooks. https://pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca/communicationnursing/chapter/trauma-informed-approach-to
communication/#:~:text=any%20trust%20built.-,Summary,relevant%2C%20at%20their%20own%20pace.
Lemek, S. (2023, September 15). Why We Need Trauma Informed Communication at Work - HLWF TM Alliance - Medium. Medium; HLWF TM Alliance.
National Council For Behavioral Health. (2022). How to manage trauma. https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Trauma
NHS Leadership Academy. (2011). Clinical Leadership Competency Framework. https://www.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/wp
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