Led by Kent County Council and bringing together a broad range of multiagency and community partners including ourselves, SPACE Matters is a quality improvement programme bringing long-lasting system change to prevent or reduce the impact of unresolved trauma.
It is a model of working that includes workforce development and training, standardised tools, and co-production.
SPACE Matters is a movement, with leadership across multiple organisations, supporting people to learn together, share knowledge and ideas and test out possible solutions to enable a shift in system thinking and practice.
It is a model of working that includes workforce development and training, standardised tools, and co-production.
SPACE Matters is a movement, with leadership across multiple organisations, supporting people to learn together, share knowledge and ideas and test out possible solutions to enable a shift in system thinking and practice.
Opening Doors: Trauma Informed Practice for the Workforce
Watch this video from NHS for Education Scotland to understand how we can adapt our work, to create positive difference to people affected by trauma.
SPACE Matters seeks to build on trauma-informed approaches and practice and considers how these can be embedded in services and systems as a means for reducing the negative impact of trauma experiences to support positive mental, physical and social outcomes. The Government offers useful guidance which you can read more about here:
Trauma
Trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as harmful or life threatening. While unique to the individual, generally the experience of trauma can cause lasting adverse effects, limiting the ability to function and achieve mental, physical, social, emotional or spiritual well-being.
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Trauma-informed Practice
Trauma-informed practice is an approach to health and care interventions which is grounded in the understanding that trauma exposure can impact an individual’s neurological, biological, psychological and social development.It realises that trauma can affect individuals, groups and communities and establishes
Government guidance suggests that trauma can affect individuals, groups and communities. It establishes these six key principles:
Safety
The physical, psychological and emotional safety of service users and staff is prioritised.
Trustworthiness
Transparency exists in an organisation’s policies and procedures, with the objective of building trust among staff, service users and the wider community.
Choice
Service users are supported in shared decision-making, choice and goal setting to determine the plan of action they need to heal and move forward
Collaboration
The value of staff and service user experience is recognised in overcoming challenges and improving the system as a whole.
Empowerment
Efforts are made to share power and give service users and staff a strong voice in decision-making, at both individual and organisational level.
Cultural consideration
Move past cultural stereotypes and biases based on, for example, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, geography, race or ethnicity.