Trust is built through what happens next

Someone says they will call at a particular time. They explain a change before making it. They ask whether you would like the door open during a conversation. Small actions can influence whether support feels predictable and safe.

In November 2022, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities published a working definition of trauma-informed practice. Looking back, its emphasis on safety, trust, choice, collaboration, empowerment and cultural consideration offers a useful lens for ordinary support.

Begin with the person’s experience

A service may believe that its routine is reassuring, while the person experiences the same routine as confusing or intrusive. Ask what helps them feel at ease and what makes contact harder. Avoid requiring someone to recount distressing experiences in order to justify a simple preference.

The government definition distinguishes trauma-informed practice from specialist treatment for trauma-related difficulties. Everyday support can attend to the way a service is delivered while appropriate professionals remain responsible for specialist assessment and treatment.

Make the next step predictable

Explain who is involved, what is about to happen and why. If an answer is not yet known, say so. A promise made to reassure someone can undermine trust later if it cannot be kept.

Consider an ordinary change to a support visit. A useful explanation covers the new time, the person who will attend and the contact route if something changes again. The amount of detail and the format should be agreed with the individual.

Offer real choices

A choice should make a difference to what happens. Asking whether someone wants a conversation now is meaningful when another suitable time can genuinely be offered. Asking and then proceeding regardless can create a very different experience.

Where an action is necessary or an option is unavailable, explain the reason. There may still be choices about the setting, the person involved or how information is shared. Identify these without suggesting that a person controls a decision that has already been made.

Follow through after a difficult moment

Trust also depends on what happens when communication goes wrong. Take a concern seriously, clarify the immediate next step and offer an appropriate route to discuss it. Avoid making the person repeat the same account to several people unnecessarily.

A review can ask which part of the interaction felt difficult and what could be done differently. Record agreed changes in practical language so the next member of staff can act on them. A warm conversation is valuable; dependable follow-through makes it useful.

Questions for the team

• Does the person know what will happen next?
• Have we offered a choice that can genuinely be acted on?
• Are preferences communicated to the people who need to know?
• Have we kept the commitments made in the last conversation?

The reflection we take from 2022 is simple: trust grows through repeated experience. Everyday support should make its values visible in the next interaction, and the one after that.

Sources and further reading

• OHID: working definition of trauma-informed practice

Explore the Moreways approach or talk to Moreways Healthcare about the support you are looking for.

Photography by Nguyễn Tân on Unsplash.