Vicarious Trauma and Staff Wellbeing: Protecting People Who Protect Others
Practical, evidence-based training to recognise, prevent and respond to vicarious trauma, burnout and compassion fatigue across education, social care, justice, health and higher education.
Overview
Who this is for
- Teachers, classroom support staff and school leaders.
- University student support, welfare and safeguarding teams.
- Social workers, children’s home staff and residential managers.
- Police, justice partners and frontline services.
- HR, wellbeing leads and senior leaders responsible for workforce safety.
Why this matters
- Repeated exposure to distress increases risk of vicarious trauma, burnout and compassion fatigue.
- Unchecked staff distress leads to higher sickness, turnover and crisis-driven responses.
- Investing in staff wellbeing improves retention, service quality and outcomes for children and families.
Outcomes for Participants and Organisations
Participant learning outcomes
- Understand the nature of vicarious trauma, burnout and compassion fatigue.
- Identify early warning signs in themselves and colleagues.
- Apply emotional regulation and grounding techniques in the moment.
- Use reflective practice and team support systems to reduce cumulative harm.
- Strengthen professional boundaries and safe self-care planning.
Organisational outcomes
- Reduced sickness and turnover through proactive wellbeing systems.
- Improved staff confidence and relational practice.
- Fewer crisis responses and better service continuity.
- Evidence for governance and inspection that staff wellbeing is embedded.
Core Content and Materials
Module overview & learning activities
Module overview
- Introduction to vicarious trauma: definitions, neuroscience of stress and exposure, compassion fatigue.
- Recognition and early intervention: behavioural and emotional indicators; team check-ins.
- Practical regulation skills: grounding, breathing, micro-resets and debrief techniques.
- Reflective practice: models for individual and team reflection; supervision prompts.
- Boundary setting and workload management: practical steps for managers and staff.
- Wellbeing planning: creating team wellbeing plans and escalation pathways.
Learning activities
- Short taught inputs with evidence summaries.
- Guided reflective exercises and small group discussion.
- Roleplay and scenario practice relevant to education, residential and campus settings.
- Development of a simple, actionable wellbeing plan for teams.
- Optional follow-up reflective practice sessions or coaching.
Supporting materials
- One-page wellbeing plan template.
- Reflective supervision prompts.
- Signposting and resource pack for staff support.
- Manager checklist for early intervention and escalation.
Delivery options Impacts
Delivery formats
- Half day workshop — awareness, recognition and practical tools.
- Full day workshop — deeper practice, team planning and manager input.
- Multi-session series — embedding reflective practice and supervision.
- Blended — pre-workshop e-learning + live practice session.
Add-ons
- Follow-up reflective practice sessions.
- Leadership coaching and supervision training.
- Integration with Trauma-Informed Leadership & Supervision modules.
- Data & Insight Dashboard to monitor staff wellbeing trends and training impact.
How we measure impact
- Pre/post participant confidence and knowledge checks.
- Uptake of wellbeing plans and supervision frequency.
- Dashboard indicators: sickness rates, turnover, incident trends.
- Qualitative feedback and case examples demonstrating reduced escalation.
Tip for managers:
Embed short team check-ins (5–10 minutes) and a simple escalation flow to spot early signs and keep small issues from becoming crises.
FAQ
Who should attend? Frontline staff, managers and wellbeing leads.
How long does it take to see change? Immediate practice benefits; organisational change measured over months with follow-up support.
Can this be tailored? Yes — sector-specific case studies and bespoke follow-ups available.
Next steps
Schedule a short consultation so we can map your needs to the right programme and delivery format. Workshops can be tailored with sector case studies and managerial inputs to support sustained change.