Beyond the slogan: the reality of building trauma-informed social care organisations

What does it mean to be a trauma-informed organisation?

Research in Practice has worked extensively in this area, developing a number of learning resources to support trauma-informed practice. Over the last two years, we have worked on a large research project that explores working towards a trauma-informed organisational approach. The resources developed as part of this Change Project will be published in 2026. 

We have the privilege of sharing some of our learning at the 2025 National Children’s and Adult’s Services Conference. The session will be delivered by Research in Practice Deputy Director, Lisa Smith, Dr Sheena Webb, a clinical psychologist who is facilitating our work in this area, and Vanessa Ward, a Principal Social Worker who will explore learning from Trauma Informed Derbyshire – a systems wide approach to implementing trauma-informed approaches.

Why is a systemic approach to embedding trauma-informed approaches so important?

I first became an advocate for trauma-informed approaches when I worked in a social work team that centred trauma in their understanding of a child’s needs. It was transformational for my practice. Since then, I’ve been involved in the work that Research in Practice has been doing in this area. Through our research, we are asking 'what creates the conditions for people to be able to practice in a trauma-informed way?'.

This question struck a chord with me. I have experienced barriers that make it difficult for practitioners to fully work in a trauma-informed way. A series of crises, risk management, and pressure to get through the volume of work reduced my ability to take time to reflect and explore deeper reasons behind behaviours. I could feel myself being pulled away from compassion and relational working. The core values that drew me into social work in the first place.

This project has shown that to embed trauma-informed practice effectively, we need more than one-off training. We need to look at an organisation’s values, culture, and support. This may seem a tall ask, however using a trauma-informed lens to reflect on and understand organisational challenges can shed light on how systemic challenges are manifesting - and what can be done to overcome these.

Conceptualising and understanding trauma

The use of the word trauma across health and social care can be varied, and there are many different types of traumatic experiences. This includes experiences in early childhood, events later in life such as traumatic bereavement or loss, or trauma associated with racial injustice. A commonly used definition of trauma comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). They define it as: 

The project focuses on a key point around trauma - that it is intrinsically linked to the idea of threat. We know from clinical psychology that when faced with threat, our focus can turn to protecting ourselves. This can impact on the way we think, our emotions and the way we manage relationships. For an everyday example, think about what happened to you last time you were late and lost your keys.

The impact on individuals and organisations

Individual experiences of, and responses to threat run across organisations. Whether it is a parent feeling threatened by social work intervention, a social worker feeling frightened in decision-making about a high-risk situation, a manager under pressure from the level of overwhelm in their team or a senior leader feeling facing an external audit, human responses are often similar. We try to protect ourselves. In doing so, we are at risk of being pulled away from openness, compassion, and collaboration.

Threat doesn't only impact individuals. The social care sector is facing a number of challenges that can impact organisational functioning. Organisations that are focused on threat may see a growing emphasis on processes, quantitative targets, and performance management. This can have unintended consequences that may pull them away from relational work and their core values.

Trauma-informed practice is not a standalone piece of training that can be given to frontline practitioners. It is intrinsically linked to these systemic threats. Embedding trauma-informed practice requires cultural change within organisations.

Listen to Sheena talk about the impact of threat on organisations in the clip below:

Supporting trauma-informed systems

For systems facing threat and managing limited resources, systemic change can feel overwhelming. In a context of significant challenges, how can care systems remain focused on their core values - with people at the heart - rather than driven by (understandable) self-protective threat responses?

As part of our Change Project, we brought together Principal Social Workers and other senior leaders from 32 different local authorities in six development days to think together about what a trauma-informed system looks like. 

In the clip below, Adam, Principal Social Worker at Birmingham Children’s Trust, reflects on what stood out for him from this project:

Other key takeaways were that change will come when we give space to thinking differently. Sometimes it is noticing the small things that we are already doing well. Sometimes it is slowing down and really noticing the impact that threat is having on a situation.

A trauma-informed lens can help us understand the barriers that organisations face in implementing trauma-informed practice and relationship-focused work. More importantly it can help us begin to move beyond these barriers.

Listen to Ric, Principal Social Worker for adults at North Somerset Council, reflect on the value of having a trauma-informed lens:

Leadership investment and support play a central role in effectively embedding trauma-informed approaches across an organisation. Listen to Ric and Adam reflect on the value of trauma-informed leadership:

We look forward to sharing new trauma-informed resources in 2026. This includes a briefing that will provide an evidence-informed basis to support the organisational and cultural change needed to embed trauma-informed practice. In the meantime, explore our other trauma-informed resources.

Promoting compassion and relational practice

Professionals across health and social care play a vital role in supporting people who have experienced trauma of all kinds. Embedding trauma-informed approaches can build connections, safety and trust, and help organisations remain rooted in their core values of compassion and relational practice.