A new programme of video based learning materials aim to support children’s social care practitioners working with parents who have experienced complex and/or sustained trauma.
Trauma often underpins many of the problems faced by children and families who are referred to children’s social care. Trauma-experienced parents often find it hard to engage with professionals, given the inherent anxiety that social services involvement brings. When parents feel unsafe, this may trigger their survival strategies which can make it difficult to form collaborative working relationships.
The programme has been written and produced by Dr Sheena Webb, who is a clinical psychologist with a special interest in complex trauma and how it affects parents and children who are referred to children’s social care. The resources are relevant for practitioners who are already familiar with trauma-informed principles as well as those approaching this issue for the first time. In this video, Dr Sheena Webb explains what inspired her to develop the resources.
The videos are organised into chapters – each exploring a different theme and designed to be worked through in order. As you work through each chapter you will learn more about how trauma affects the people you work with. You will hear directly from parents who have experienced serious multiple trauma and had significant experience of safeguarding involvement in relation to their children. You will also hear from practitioners as well as watching some of the tricky situations you are likely to deal with in your everyday work brought to life by actors. Most of the film chapters take approximately one hour to complete.
The resources have been designed to be used either for individual Continuing Professional Development (CPD) or in groups, and we have developed guidance to support professionals who would like to use these filmed resources to deliver facilitated structured group CPD sessions.
View the video learning resources.
