Encountering Trauma in Social, Health, and Education Sectors: Supporting Professional Well-being in South Ostrobothnia

The TRAKON Project addresses the need to proactively and appropriately support children, young people, and families with children who have experienced trauma. The project aims to increase the knowledge of social, health, and education professionals about various types of trauma, their impacts, and trauma-informed approaches. This is achieved through lecture series, professional supervision, teaching and mentoring the application of trauma-informed methods, and peer support.

A dedicated lecture series and supervision are provided for supervisors in the social, health, and education sectors. Work communities are supported through supervision, and by strengthening skills in professional methods and interaction, in order to promote well-being at work and support resilience in the face of trauma-related challenges.

The project lasts for three years and is implemented from February 20, 2023, to February 19, 2026.

The project is co-funded by the European Union.

Project Objectives

The purpose of the project is to increase trauma awareness, skills for trauma-informed interaction, and occupational well-being among professionals in the social, health, and education sectors. The aim is to compile and develop methods for encountering traumatized children, young people, and families within these sectors, and to strengthen the existing competencies of professionals and work communities in trauma-informed practices.

The goal is for professionals to gain practical tools and method-based expertise for supporting trauma-affected individuals and families in everyday work. The project will produce multidisciplinary knowledge and promote trauma-informed interaction skills in practical social, health, and educational work. It also supports employee well-being and resilience, and provides tools for trauma-related supervision within work communities.

Additionally, the project seeks to develop and promote a shared, multi-agency vision for trauma-informed practice in South Ostrobothnia.

Target Group

The project is aimed at professionals in the social, health, and education sectors who work with children, young people, and families in South Ostrobothnia.

Actions

Work Package 1: Trauma-Informed Method Expertise for Social, Health, and Education Professionals

• Lecture series on trauma-informed practices for professionals
• Lecture series tailored for organizational leaders
• Workshops on applying trauma-informed methods in practice
• Training for experience experts on trauma sensitivity and co-creation of resource materials
• Evaluation of the suitability and effectiveness of trauma-informed methods

Work Package 2: Supporting Well-being and Resilience in Professional Communities

• Workshops for leaders on staff well-being in trauma-exposed environments
• Peer-support based professional guidance
• Compilation of workplace well-being tools into the resource bank
• Body and emotional awareness workshops to support resilience
• Feedback and evaluation on professional well-being and coping
• Workshops for leaders on assessing and developing service structures

Work Package 3: Project Management and Communication

• Project communication via website, social media, and publications
• Establishing and maintaining a network of trauma-informed professionals
• Co-development of ethical guidelines with professionals and experience experts
• Launch of the website and an open-access digital resource bank
• Opening and closing seminars
• Compilation and publication of a joint vision paper to promote multi-agency trauma-informed practice in South Ostrobothnia

Outputs

The project will produce:

• A digital resource library for professionals (only in Finnish, you can find it here)
• Ethical guidelines for trauma-informed work with trauma-affected individuals
• Increased awareness of trauma-informed approaches among professionals and decision-makers through the website, blog posts, social media communication, and publications

To ensure long-term impact, the project will:

• Establish a professional network for trauma-informed practice in social, health, and education sectors
• Co-author a regional vision paper to support multi-agency trauma-informed collaboration in South Ostrobothnia

One of the project’s long-term goals is to strengthen interagency cooperation and build a shared vision for trauma-informed work with children, youth, and families in the region.