Trauma-informed professional development

Abstract

This chapter proposes plans for professional development within an organizational context that is trauma-informed at all levels from working with clients to caring for workers. This context provides a supportive and educational new-worker experience, opportunities for growth over time, supportive and nurturing supervision and mentoring, a culture in which resilience techniques are embedded in practice, and an opportunity for reflective and meaningful practice. It analyzes theories of professional development, specifically the Dreyfus and Dreyfus model, and extends this model to incorporate trauma-informed care principles in the area of child welfare work. This chapter offers a plan for development from student to seasoned worker that includes a model for transitioning to work in agencies that are inherently stressful and potentially trauma producing. It also includes a discussion of trauma-informed clinical supervision and incorporation of reflective practice into agency work as usual and customary practice. A model for reflection, the DEAL model, is described. The chapter ends with a discussion of resilience in child welfare agencies.