Reflections on trauma-informed community engagement

Written By Lindsay Humber

Hi everyone!

I am so excited to introduce you to a brand new contributor to the blog today–Landon Turlock!

Landon (he/him/they/them) is one of our associates at Tilia – a bright light of a human who brings their extensive experience working alongside individuals and communities impacted by a variety of social barriers to our community engagement work. They are a Registered Social Worker and community-based researcher who is passionate about using evidence-based, community-centred practices to work towards a more socially just, inclusive society. 

Landon is taking over the blog today to share their knowledge as it relates to trauma-informed practice, along with practical ways to apply a trauma-informed lens to your engagement processes.

I’m honoured to work alongside Landon, and SO EXCITED to welcome them to the blog!

Enjoy! Lindsay

 

Hey there! I’m Landon!

I've been drawn to community engagement over the past five years because it allows there to be meaningful dialogue and collaboration with the potential to foster community-led approaches to complex social issues. However, discussing these challenges can be difficult, especially for those who have lived and continue to live through them. There is a risk that people will become distressed when discussing traumatic events or even re-experiencing trauma (Isobel, 2021).

We want community engagement to repair or prevent harm, not cause it. This exact aim has led me to reflect on the concept of trauma-informed community engagement. Today, I hope to share some of those reflections and some steps you can consider to make your community-engaged practice more trauma-informed.

Before I start, I need to clarify that what follows is NOT a replacement for training on trauma-informed practice. I encourage anyone interested in learning more to start here. What follows is a general reflection on trauma-informed community engagement. However, if you are preparing for engagement on a particular topic, I recommend collaborating with appropriate subject matter experts to plan a trauma-informed engagement approach.

Landon is one of our Associates at Tilia — a bright light of a person who keeps us thinking about how we can improve our practice to make the world safer and more equitable, for everyone. Photo by Luminarie Creative.

What is trauma, and what is trauma-informed practice?

Trauma-informed practice is typically applied in social service settings (Levenson, 2017). However, I believe a trauma-informed approach applies beyond service settings and is appropriate for community engagement and research. 

Trauma-informed practice means understanding that people may have histories of trauma (Levenson, 2017). As such, we need to understand that people may face challenges associated with coping with trauma, defined as, "an exposure to an extraordinary experience that presents a physical or psychological threat to oneself or others and generates a reaction of helplessness and fear" (American Psychological Association, as cited in Levenson, 2017, p. 105). 

Principles of trauma-informed practice

Levenson (2017) identifies several principles of trauma-informed practice:

  • Safety - Recognize the possibility that a person may have experienced trauma. As engagement practitioners, we should aim to create warm, welcoming surroundings for participants.

  • Trust - Trust is built over time through genuine and authentic interactions, allowing people to share information at their own pace without pressure. As engagement practitioners, often with limited time to build relationships, we must consider how to build trust and rapport in practical, creative ways.

  • Collaboration - Awareness of the power imbalance between a community engagement practitioner and participants is essential. Partnership entails sharing power.

  • Choice - Individuals should feel comfortable and supported in making their own decisions while controlling the direction and pace of their engagement. Engagement practitioners should ensure the participant is informed about available options, ask participants about their preferences for engagement, and support their decisions.

  • Empowerment - Instead of focusing solely on problematic behaviours, consider focusing on or reframing behaviours in a strengths-based way. How can we support participants in building a sense of self-efficacy?

Five principles of trauma-informed practice for application to community engagement.

What are some practical steps for a trauma-informed community engagement approach?

Over the past five years, my community engagement and community-based research have focused on addressing hate crimes and incidents in western Canada. During that time, I’ve read a lot about trauma-informed ways to engage on this topic and learned much from community partners with meaningful insights on trauma-informed community engagement.

Here are some ideas for you to consider in approaching your trauma-informed community engagement:

Commit to learning

As mentioned above, this blog will not replace trauma-informed education. To meaningfully practice this approach, prioritize developing a trauma-informed practice in your professional development and regularly discuss how to implement these practices in your engagements.

Start early

We cannot tack on a trauma-informed approach to an engagement plan. We must prioritize this approach from the earliest steps of engagement planning.

When designing engagement materials, ensure that questions are strengths-based and minimally invasive or distressing as possible, aligning with Levenson's (2017) trauma-informed principle of empowerment and Isobel's (2021) perspectives on trauma-informed qualitative research.

Isobel (2021) emphasizes that we should not just focus on what questions we ask but also on how we ask them. Draw from your client's knowledge of the audiences they wish to engage, and collaboratively determine what methods of engagement are appropriate for this specific group.

Remember: what may work for one group or individual may not be appropriate for another. Reviewing and testing questions and engagement tactics with your client (or potential participants) can support this approach.

Ask why

In our article on community-engaged research on hate crimes and incidents, Maria Mayan and I pose that we must apply a trauma-informed lens to the overall purpose of research or engagement (Turlock & Mayan, 2023).

Continuing to ask groups who are marginalized about their experiences of marginalization and trauma without working alongside them to remedy their concerns can be voyeuristic and retraumatizing (Isobel, 2021; Newman et al., 2006). We are responsible for conducting trauma-informed engagement to support the people impacted by social issues in meaningful, tangible ways.

If a certain engagement approach risks being retraumatizing without adding value to the lives of people impacted by a social issue, we should advocate for reconsidering the approach.

Be transparent

Building trust includes relationship building, but it also involves being open and communicative while using clear, accessible language.

It is essential to follow typical informed consent protocols (e.g., discussing the project and its purpose with participants, outlining how we will use their information and how confidentiality will be maintained) (Canadian Institutes of Health Research et al., 2018), aligning with Levenson's (2017) principles of building safety and trust. 

Facilitate choice

As per Gill et al. (2008), practitioners should ensure, as much as possible, that participants can choose the engagement location, with flexibility for online or in-person options, to engage in a setting where they feel safest and most comfortable.

Furthermore, ensuring each participant knows participation is voluntary, that they can skip any questions they choose to, and that they can withdraw their information from the engagement upon request incorporate the trauma-informed principle of choice and trauma-informed research methods (Ahmad, 2019; Isobel, 2021; Levenson, 2017; Newman et al., 2006).

Community members have also communicated to me the value of having questions available before an engagement session to determine whether they are comfortable discussing the topic.

In my experience, I have found that participants may feel comfortable talking about how to improve a response to hate crimes at a systemic or service level but do not wish to describe their own experience with the topic. If participants were unaware of my line of questioning, they might have chosen to avoid the engagement altogether.

Plan for support in advance

As discussed in the first point, we should prioritize trauma-informed approaches in planning and budgeting for an engagement. That includes thinking about the following:

  • Do you have the budget to contract mental health support(s) to be present at the engagement or on call?

  • Can a social service or non-profit provide support?

  • Can you prepare a resource list to provide to participants before the session?

  • Can you offer participants the opportunity to have a support person present during an engagement?

  • Can you include links to resources at the beginning of an online survey and an overview of what kind of questions participants can expect to encounter?

  • Is it appropriate to have a mandated reporting protocol if someone shares that they or someone else is at risk of harm?

It’s crucial to prepare for scenarios where a participant may become distressed or escalated during an engagement and think about how you can respond appropriately to maintain the safety and wellness of all participants and facilitators.

Follow-up

At the end of an engagement, facilitate sharing of unstructured thoughts, thank the participants for their contributions, and make space to answer questions (Isobel, 2021).

In my community-engaged research alongside people who had reported a hate crime or incident in Edmonton, I followed up with participants within 24 hours of each interview to check in and make space for questions or requests for support. I connected intermittently after the research concluded, providing updates on how the information they shared with me was being used and asking for their feedback or about their interest in knowledge mobilization.

Follow-up and involvement can support trust-building, safety, and empowerment.

Take care of yourself!

There is a risk of vicarious trauma in conducting engagement on victimization and violence. Cullen et al. (2021) identified and explored this risk when studying femicide, family, and intimate partner homicide. There may not be a direct comparison of this research type to your engagements. However, I believe researchers and engagement should be mindful of the risk of vicarious trauma and take steps to mitigate it.

In my experience, making space between engagements so they are not multiple times a day or week, journaling after engagements, debriefing with colleagues, and taking steps to ensure my wellness independent of the engagements have all been helpful. However, you will know what’s best for you!

Taking time for yourself, reflecting on your work and prioritizing space to recharge is key in a trauma-informed practice. Photo by Luminarie Creative.

Community engagement is necessary to address inequities in our societies - it helps us connect and collaborate with people impacted by social challenges to identify meaningful ways to move forward together. However, when we engage in these topics, we know that painful experiences, memories, and ongoing struggles may arise.

As engagement practitioners, we have a responsibility not to endanger the safety and wellness of the people we engage with. I hope this short post helps you reflect on ways you can accomplish that goal in your practice. 

I also welcome your ideas on more approaches to consider! What trauma-informed approaches do you use in your engagement? What would you add to what I’ve shared here? Share in the comments!

 

Want more? You can find Landon on LinkedIn here, read their recently published report on experiences of people reporting hate crimes and incidents here, check out a guide they co-authored on supporting survivors of hate crimes and incidents here, and take a free online course they co-developed on addressing hate, racism, and discrimination here. 

 

References

Lindsay Humber

I run a boutique community engagement consultancy working to create space for conversations that matter.

https://www.tiliaconsulting.ca
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