Welcome to NHS Forth Valley’s webpage for the Transforming Psychological Trauma implementation project.
As part of a NHS Education for Scotland National Agenda, this ambitious project aims to support the whole workforce in Forth Valley to become trauma informed.
Full information can be found on the NHS Education for Scotland website.
Levels of Training
We believe the whole workforce would benefit from being Trauma Informed, as explained in these videos:
Trauma Informed – If you work with people, this training is relevant for you! Training may be delivered in person (online), as an e-module or as a team discussion pack.
There are 3 other trauma practice levels, depending on how closely you work with people, and the type of service you provide. Full details can be found in the National Training Plan.
- Trauma Skilled practice level includes staff who have more direct and substantial contact with people who may have been affected by traumatic events, whether the trauma is known about or not. Training may be delivered in person (online), or as an e-module on Turas Learn (see here). Everyone can register for a free Turas Learn account here.
- Trauma Enhanced practice level includes staff who have more regular and intense contact with people who are known to be affected by traumatic events.
- Trauma Specialist practice level includes staff whose role involves delivering evidence based psychological therapies to individuals affected by traumatic events.
Please contact Fv.traumainformed@nhs.scot or Edel.McGlanaghy@nhs.scot with queries about training opportunities in the Forth Valley region.
The Trauma Informed Cervical Screening Project Team
Our Trauma Informed Cervical Screening Project Team, which includes staff from The Meadows and Psychological Therapies, won the Care for Mental Health Award at the 2022 Scottish Health Awards for their work to support women who have experienced rape or sexual assault to undergo cervical screening and receive any follow up treatment they require.
This video (below), from a training session for GPs and Primary Care clinicians, details the importance of trauma informed cervical screening and highlights what professionals can do to develop their practice.
Staff Wellbeing
Staff wellbeing is a crucial aspect of being trauma informed, and there are some great resources available to support this.
For staff: Looking after yourself: Wellbeing planning tool & animation.
For managers: an e-module on Protecting the Psychological Wellbeing of staff for Managers and Team Leaders (Registration with Turas learn is necessary for access, but anyone with an email address, no matter what their location or role is, can register).
COVID-19
COVID 19 has had, and will likely continue to have, an impact on staff resilience and wellbeing. There are a number of specific resources available to support staff to look after others, themselves, and their teams during this time. These can be found here.
This Psychological First Aid e-module provides knowledge skills for staff to support the people they work with, and each other.
Service Assessment/Evaluation Tools
A self-assessment of your service can help you think about what you are already doing well, and what may benefit from changing. This Trauma Informed Lens Tool can be used by any staff member, manager or person using your service to think about the many different aspects of a trauma informed service. We have created guidance for using this tool which you can access here.
If you would like further support to use this tool, please contact us at Fv.traumainformed@nhs.scot.
Other Resources
There are many useful videos available on the NES website, including a great description of the Window of Tolerance by Forth Valley Nurse Psychotherapist, Jennie Young.
A key aspect of being trauma informed is including the voice of lived experience, authentically, in service developments. You can hear more about this topic here.