In September 2025, Anna participated a two-day in-depth safeguarding training online for people with disability, targeted at people in safeguarding leadership positions. This is the fourth in series of 7
Trauma Informed Pastoral Care
Trauma informed practice was covered in this training.
There are five principles with a cultural overlay over all of them.
The five principles are safety, choice, collaboration, empowerment, and trust.
It is also important to remember that there may be complexity from other trauma too, not just one traumatic event or situation.
Trauma informed practice strengthens safety by recognising risks to individuals, and recognising their traumatic experiences throughout life. Trauma informed practice also draws a safer and more inclusive attention to safeguarding people, and it embodies the values of an organisation.
You can elevate the voices of people who have experienced trauma and reflect this in policies and practices. People’s experiences and backgrounds should be considered. Person-centred care can be practiced, and you can listen to the lived experience of workers or volunteers who may have experienced trauma.
Note that people may be desensitised, or hypervigilant, because of their traumatic experiences, so it is important to consider how people are supported.
Leaders may need training so that they can identify ways to know if something is wrong, or to recognise how people tell others about something being wrong. Some people with disability may be susceptible to exploitation as they are seeking connection with others. Feedback should be actively and warmly invited from people at all levels of the church as appropriate and there should be trauma informed complaints processes that are accessible and have multiple channels for providing complaints.
This means that church leaders can make sure safeguarding practices are sensitive to people who have experienced trauma, person-centred care is practiced, and ensure volunteers, leaders and other people in the congregation are well supported. It is important to remember to take on feedback and complaints in many ways, not just in writing, so that it is more accessible for people with disability.