Compassionate Trauma-Informed Working
Compassionate trauma-informed working has compassion at the heart, which changes how individuals, teams, leaders, and systems operate. This is essential for efficiency and sustainability at work, human connection, nervous system regulation, physical and mental health, and for the prevention, reduction, and alleviation of suffering.
In compassionate, trauma-informed working, compassion is not only an individual skill – it’s embodied and enacted at every level of the organisation. This requires shared responsibility, awareness, and practice, across leadership, teams, and systems.
Alongside compassion, trauma-informed practice is guided by six core principles that help create safe, inclusive and empowering workplaces:
- Safety – prioritising physical, emotional, and relational safety
- Trustworthiness and Transparency – clear boundaries, honesty, and consistency
- Choice – supporting autonomy and meaningful options
- Collaboration – building relationships through partnership
- Empowerment – valuing strengths, skills, and resilience
- Cultural, Historical and Gender Awareness – recognising systemic influences and honouring lived experience.
This way of working guides how people relate, lead, make decisions, and create policies — it’s about more than how individuals manage stress.
Together, compassion and trauma-informed principles support staff wellbeing, resilience, collaboration, and meaningful connection.
This way of working is individual, collective and systemic – its everyone’s responsibility. Individuals need awareness, knowledge and practices that support embodying compassion and being trauma-informed, there needs to be compassionate trauma informed leadership and compassionate trauma-informed processes and policies – it’s about every single layer of organisations and systems.
Where Is Compassionate Trauma-Informed Working Needed?
While this approach is vital within health and social care – where emotional demands, and pressure is high, compassion is vital for sustainability and in supporting effective outcomes – the same foundations apply across sectors, it’s needed in all systems and organisations. Wherever people work with people, trauma awareness and compassion support collaboration, meaningful connection, outcomes, sustainability, efficiency, resilience and wellbeing. While the word ‘resilience’ can sometimes be misunderstood due to its misuse, here it refers to nurturing the capacity to recover, adapt, and sustain wellbeing within compassionate, supportive environments. This approach is especially important in environments with high demand, limited resources, moral injury and ongoing change. More broadly, I believe this way of working is central to creating a more compassionate society.
You can explore trauma-informed practice in greater depth here:
Why Does It Matter?
Working this way supports individual wellbeing while also enabling gradual, meaningful change at leadership and systems levels. Compassionate, trauma-informed working supports sustainability, effectiveness, and resilience, reduce the risk of burnout and sickness absence, and improve relationships and outcomes for everyone involved.
Safety, trust, empowerment, and choice are prioritised, allowing people to flourish rather than simply cope. Every person’s knowledge, strengths, and skills are valued and used effectively, supporting collaboration, adaptability, and long-term sustainability.
Benefits of Compassionate, Trauma-Informed Cultures
When compassion and trauma-informed principles are embedded across leadership, teams, and systems, organisations experience measurable benefits across wellbeing, sustainability, and outcomes. For example:
For example:
Staff Wellbeing:
- Supports nervous system regulation, trust and a sense of belonging
- Enhances therapeutic relationship and professional relationships
- Improves wellbeing including mental health and overall wellbeing
- Reduces work-related stress
- Lowers the risk of burnout and vicarious trauma
- Increases work satisfaction
Organisational Outcomes:
- Improved effectiveness and sustainability
- Reduced sickness absence and staff turnover
- Supports healthy boundaries and sustainable workloads
- Stronger team dynamics, communication, and collaboration
- Enhances service user experiences and outcomes
Impact on Service Users:
- Supports nervous system regulation
- Decreases risk of re-traumatisation
- Improves engagement with services
- Enhances satisfaction and care outcomes
- Promotes healing and recovery
Why I Do This Work
I bring together two decades of healthcare experience, lived experience, and extensive training in compassion-focused, trauma-informed and somatic approaches – I deeply understand why this work matters. It’s also part of a wider purpose for me which to help create a more compassionate and trauma-informed society. I am deeply committed to helping reduce and alleviate suffering in the world.
You can find out more about my approach to this work here:
What I Offer & Who Is This For?
My Offerings come into the following categories:
- Workplace Cultures and Leadership
- Workplace Workshops & Programmes (For organisations and individuals)
- Integrative Coaching & Mentoring (Professional support for individuals and teams)
This approach is designed to support individuals and organisations that value connection, compassion, staff wellbeing, and workplace sustainability. This includes:
- Organisations (healthcare, social care, education, public and private sector services)
- Leaders and leadership teams
- Clinical & non-clinical staff
- Individual professionals seeking deeper professional grounding in integrative, compassionate & trauma-informed ways of working
My primary focus is on health and social care, though these principles benefit workplaces in every sector. You can find out more about the workshops offered here:
You can explore Integrative Compassion-Focussed Coaching & Mentoring here:
Next Steps / How to Get Started
All offerings are available online, with in-person delivery possible local to Lincoln depending on availability and location.
If you would like to discuss how this work could support your organisation, please get in touch:
- Email Ann: info@unityphysio.co.uk
- Call Ann: 07871240188
- You can also use the Book Now button at the bottom of the page to send a message.
Location
You can arrange a virtual appointment for anywhere in the UK or an in person appointment in North Hykeham, Lincoln.
Get in touch
If you would like to find out how Ann can help manage and change fatigue, do what you love, live well and thrive again get in touch to book your appointment, or a free 15 minute call to help you decide if working with Ann is right for you.