Trauma Informed Support and Supervision for Child Protection Professionals: A model for those working with children who have experienced trauma, abuse and neglect and their families

136 Pages·2022·1.876 MB·English

by  Fiona Oates

Trauma Informed Support
and Supervision for Child
Protection Professionals
This book presents a narrative approach to creating a supportive
environment for health and human service practitioners who work
with vulnerable children and their families – one of the most difficult
and complex areas of practice.
People working in these environments are routinely exposed
to violence and trauma and commonly experience symptoms of
traumatic stress as a result. Traditionally, human service and health
care service organisations have struggled to support practitioners who
experience primary and secondary trauma in either a preventative
context or post exposure. Using contemporary trauma theory, this
book provides a trauma informed support and supervision framework
for supervisors and managers of practitioners that recognises the
uniqueness of the practice field, the diversity of practitioners who
undertake the work and the diversity of contexts in which they work.
It will be required reading for all human service and health
professionals, including social workers, psychologists and nurses, as
well as teachers, counsellors and youth workers.
Fiona Oates is a social work–trained practitioner, consultant, educator
and researcher with 20 years of experience working with vulnerable
children and their families. Dr Oates has a strong interest in sup-
porting the professional development and wellbeing needs of prac-
titioners working in trauma-laden environments with an emphasis
on child protection. Dr Oates has developed a model of support that
is trauma informed and practitioner centered: the TISS model. The
TISS model acknowledges the challenging occupational environment
of practitioners that work with vulnerable children and has context-
specific strategies embedded within. Dr Oates is based in Far North
Queensland, Australia.

Trauma Informed Support
and Supervision for Child
Protection Professionals
A model for those working with
children who have experienced
trauma, abuse and neglect and
their families
Fiona Oates
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2023 Fiona Oates
The right of Fiona Oates to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be
trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-0-367-45894-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-45895-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-02600-6 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003026006
Typeset in NewBaskerville
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
I would like to dedicate this book to all the
practitioners who are working or who have worked
in this most challenging field, including my own
teachers and mentors. You make a difference and
you matter.

Contents
List of figures xi
Preface xii
Introduction 1
Introduction 1
What is child abuse and neglect? 3
Who works with children who have experienced abuse and
neglect? 6
Importance of recognising broad practice fields 11
Chapter summary 12
1 Trauma 13
Introduction 13
What is trauma? 13
What is occupational trauma? 14
Trauma exposure in child protection work, including the
experience of primary trauma 14
Primary trauma 15
Trauma symptomology experienced by child protection
practitioners 18
Secondary and vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue and
burnout in child protection work 18
Secondary and vicarious trauma 19
Compassion fatigue and burnout 20
Burnout 20
Other sources of trauma relevant to child protection
practitioners and barriers to seeking assistance 21
viii Contents
Racism as trauma: considerations for First Nations
practitioners 22
Impacts of occupational trauma on practitioners,
organisations and service delivery 25
Impact on the practitioner 26
Impact on client service delivery 27
Impact on the organisation 28
The treatment of trauma 28
Dosage-response relationship 29
The resilience myth 30
What is ‘trauma informed’ as a general concept? 31
Chapter summary 32
Reflective questions for practice 33
2 Supervision 38
What is supervision? 38
Balancing the elements 41
Supervision in a child welfare occupational context 42
Internal supervision 42
External supervision 44
Considerations for First Nations practitioners 47
The use of supervision across non-traditional practice
settings 48
Barriers to receiving effective supervision in child
protection 49
Organisational culture 50
Organisational resourcing 51
Practitioner perception 51
The supervisor and the supervisory relationship 52
Threats to a successful supervisory relationship 53
Trauma informed supervision 54
Working with practitioners who have a history of
trauma 57
Chapter summary 58
Reflective questions for practice 58
3 Managers and organisations 62
Introduction 62
The role of supervisors and managers in a child welfare
context 63
Contents ix
The role in a multi-disciplinary context 63
Support for line supervisors and managers 65
Training and mentoring for line supervisors and
managers 66
Line supervisor and manager experience of occupational
trauma, including stressors 69
Re-thinking the role of the supervisor 71
The supervisory relationship from the perspective of the
supervisor 72
Dilemmas in supervision: supervision or therapy? 72
Managing practitioners with a lived experience of
trauma 72
Practitioner’s lived experience as an asset 75
Line supervision and management within a child welfare
organisational context: the rise of managerialism 77
Management and leadership in a child welfare
organisational context 79
Trauma informed and responsive leadership 80
Secure base leadership 81
Chapter summary 82
Reflective practice questions 83
4 The TISS model 86
Introduction: what is the TISS model? 86
Principles underpinning the TISS model 86
Central acknowledgements inherent within the TISS
model 89
Core pillars of the TISS model 90
The TISS framework 95
Using the TISS model to create TISS teams 95
Benefits of implementing a TISS team model 95
Roles within a practitioner support team 98
Creating a TISS plan with practitioners 99
Preventative and mitigation factors in TISS plans 99
Protective factor: job satisfaction 100
Practical application of the job satisfaction element in
workgroups 100
Protective factor: supervisory relationship 102
Creating a TISS team around those with line management
responsibilities 103