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Trauma Responsive Care: Three Elements

Every human services organization can be divided into three parts:


  • the senior management team

  • the administration staff (frontline management, supervisors, and support professionals)

  • direct care staff


Even though the lines between these elements may blur in you agency, each one of these elements plays a unique role to implement and sustain a Trauma Responsive Care environment.


Senior Leadership

Senior leadership drives your business model, plans services and allocates resources. The senior leadership has to take charge of creating a Trauma Responsive Care environment. We’ll help your senior management team to plan and implement a sustained cultural change in your organization.



An agency-wide culture shift requires buy-in, commitment and vision. Aldridge Palay works with senior leadership to address your mission, values, policies, and practices. Work at this level of the organization not only reinforces the values and mission of your agency, but also includes practical and targeted assistance in creating a firm foundation for a trauma responsive environment. This may include:



  • identifying a Champion to head the project

  • senior leadership/management previews for trainings and initiatives

  • staff interviews

  • data collection for outcome reporting and analysis

  • agency readiness assessment

  • strengthening internal resources for implementation and training new staff


Administrators, Managers, and Supervisors

Every agency has a linchpin. In human services organizations, it’s the front-line manager and the support professionals. They have the most contact with all parts of the organization, be it the executive suite, back-office functions, or day-to-day operations. Front-line managers and professional support personnel can make or break any change effort. Adding Trauma Responsive Care can mean lower injury and incident rates and create higher staff satisfaction. And that helps your managers with recruiting and retention. And that makes their jobs better.



A frontline manager cannot expect her staff to help people feel safe, connected, and in control if she herself does not feel that way. So, Aldridge Palay trainings include a strong training component on self-care and burnout prevention.



Frontline Staff

What sets Trauma Responsive Care apart from other trauma training is its focus on staff. Your ‘product’ is the interactions between your staff and the people they support. We help making those staff interactions skilled, responsive, and caring. Trauma Responsive Care can take your staff from struggling through crisis after crisis to thriving and growth-helping trauma to heal.



Better Outcomes with Better Skills

Responding effectively and compassionately to individuals who have been affected by trauma helps organizations to have better outcomes with its most difficult-to-serve populations.


The known and unknown traumas your individuals (and your staff) have experienced make it harder for your agency to fulfill its mission of helping people live better lives. That’s why the CALMER Skills are so important. The CALMER Skills equip staff with practical strategies to help people feel safe, connected, and in control.


Trauma Responsive Care: Click for more information on the foundations of Trauma Responsive Care and potential outcomes. Or go back to Introduction or Home.


Trauma Responsive Care