‘Trauma-Enhanced’ & Trauma-responsive interventions are provided to those who are known to have experienced trauma.
A trauma-enhanced approach, or trauma-responsive approach, is used by frontline workers who are providing direct or intensive support to people who are known to have experienced traumatic events, and encompasses ways of working to help people to cope with the impact of their trauma.
Trauma-responsive training is training which is designed specifically for individuals who are known to have experienced traumatic First Aid events and who wish to rebuild confidence, make sense of their experience and re-engage with learning.
Trauma-responsive courses may include modifications such as:
- smaller group sizes, 1:1 or with a peer group with similar lived experience
- shorter, slower-paced segments, for example an evening class
- rebuilding confidence gradually i.e. minor injuries before emergency response
- support from (co-)facilitators with advanced trauma-informed training
- exploration of trauma reactions (freeze response, dissociation) and normal human reactions to crisis
Additionally, trauma-responsive training may involve:
- controlled exposure to distressing content used carefully and with consent
- opportunities to discuss the emotional impact of past events
- structured debriefing and grounding after challenging exercises
- clear pathways for escalating psychological support, if needed
This type of training may benefit:
- bystanders who have witnessed or provided CPR, especially where there has been a fatality, including bereavement support groups such as 2-wish.
- individuals who have experienced traumatic emergencies involving loved ones
- people who experience strong emotions following an emergency such as guilt or shame; they may have experienced a trauma reaction like freezing during the emergency and not understand that this is a natural reaction
- those who wish to re-engage with First Aid, or require a certification for their workplace, but fear distress or reactivation.
Trauma-responsive training can act as a bridge between therapeutic trauma recovery and regular First Aid training, helping individuals reintegrate practical skills with emotional healing.
Trauma-responsive training must avoid:
- positioning trainers as therapists
- forcing emotional disclosure or encouraging reliving of trauma
- replicating emergency scenes too realistically
Training organisations seeking to deliver trauma enhanced training must develop robust safeguarding, signposting and escalation mechanisms.
When deciding who should be able to access trauma-responsive services, there is a delicate balance between preventing retraumatisation by pre-screening out high-risk participants and excluding those with the potential to benefit most. Trauma-Enhanced First Aid Training should be seen as an intermediate step on a pathway of recovery. It is unlikely to be suitable immediately after a traumatic event or for those who are still experiencing traumatic stress, PTSD symptoms or mental health crisis.
Trauma-Responsive First Aid Training could follow on as a next step from Specialist Interventions, with referrals from Bystander Support Advice lines, counsellors or therapists. It could also be considered as an option for First Aiders who have experienced a traumatic emergency in the past that they have come to terms with and would now like to rebuild their confidence and skills in First Aid.
Trauma-responsive trainers can draw on their own lived experience of trauma in a professional way by applying the principles of peer support. Peer Support principles can strengthen First Aid education by:
- Building safe, relational spaces
- Reducing fear and shame
- Supporting growth and renewed confidence
Applying IPS principles to Trauma Informed First Aid – Video
If you do not feel confident to attend a public or commercial group first aid course, but would like to learn First Aid or refresh your training, we are looking to offer bespoke courses, based on a Theory of Change Model for your specific needs.
Contact traumainformedfirstaid@gmail.com for more info.
Template for Theory of Change Co-production Process
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