Our Vision
We are committed to working collaboratively across the sectors in B&NES with a shared language, to encourage, champion and continually adapt our systems to become increasingly more trauma informed.
Let's see the culture transform in our area
What is trauma?
Trauma is 'any experience or repeated experience where the person feels terrified, powerless and overwhelmed, to the extent that it challenges a person’s ability to cope’
(de Thierry, 2020)
'Trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as harmful or life-threatening.'
(Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, 2022)
Trauma exists on a continuum, Type 1 Trauma - Single-incident trauma, Type 2 Trauma - Multiple Traumas, Type 3 Trauma - Multiple pervasive traumas from early age that continue over length of time (de Thierry, 2025); with the potential negative impacts being different for each individual depending on the type of trauma they have experienced.
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It is important to hold hope and balance an understanding of the impact of trauma with a belief that people are not defined by their experiences of trauma and that the impacts are not deterministic (BNSSG, 2025).
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What does it mean to be trauma informed?
‘The purpose of trauma-informed practice is not to treat trauma-related difficulties, which is the role of trauma-specialist services and practitioners. Instead, it seeks to address the barriers that people affected by trauma can experience when accessing health and care services.’
(Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, 2022)
A trauma-informed approach is:
- relational
- inclusive for all
- benefits the whole community
(B&NES, 2024)
'Trauma-informed approaches acknowledge the prevalence of trauma in society, recognise the signs and symptoms of trauma and resist re-traumatising people.'
(BNSSG, 2025)
‘Trauma informed approaches … offer hope to survivors that the ongoing human costs of trauma can be overcome’
(Sweeney et al., 2018)
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1. Safety
2. Trust
3. Choice
4. Collaboration
5. Empowerment
6. Cultural Consideration
Trauma Informed Culture is:
1. Realise: Realise the widespread impact of trauma.
2. Recognise: Recognise the signs and symptoms of trauma.
3. Respond: Respond by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into practice.
4. Resist Re-traumatization: Actively resist re-traumatization.
The 4 R's of trauma-informed care are:
The 4 R's of trauma-informed care are:
Realise
Realise the widespread impact of trauma.​
Recognise
Recognise the signs and symptoms of trauma.
Respond
Respond by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into practice.
Resist
Re-traumatizaion
Actively resist
re-traumatization.