EMBEDDING TRAUMA-INFORMED PRACTICE INTO DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE WORK

Introduction

Over the past five years, I’ve had the privilege of delivering specialist domestic and family violence (DFV) training across regional, rural, and remote communities in Western Australia. I work with a wide range of organisations and practitioners, each with their own context, constraints, and strengths.

One topic comes up consistently across every setting: trauma-informed practice.

Not just what it is but how to actually do it in day-to-day DFV work.

Why trauma-informed practice matters in domestic and family violence work

Trauma-informed practice is essential in domestic and family violence work because experiences of violence and abuse may result in trauma.

Exposure to domestic and family violence particularly when it is ongoing, relational, and involves fear, coercive control, or betrayal can have significant psychological, emotional, and physiological impacts. Trauma refers to a person’s response to these experiences, not the violence itself, and can influence how they experience safety, trust, relationships, and support.

Trauma can shape how victim-survivors experience safety, trust, decision-making, memory, and relationships including their interactions with support services.

Many responses that practitioners encounter in DFV settings, such as heightened anxiety, difficulty concentrating, ambivalence, emotional withdrawal, or hesitancy to engage, are not signs of resistance or unwillingness. They are often protective responses shaped by previous experiences of harm and fear (Ohio Domestic Violence Network [ODVN], 2020).

Trauma-informed practice helps practitioners recognise these responses within context, rather than misinterpreting them as non-compliance, disinterest, or pathology. It provides a framework for responding in ways that do not replicate control, judgement, or harm, and instead prioritise safety, dignity, and choice.

At its core, trauma-informed practice asks us to shift the question from
“What’s wrong with this person?” 

to
“What has this person experienced and how can we respond safely?”

The foundations: The four R’s of trauma-informed practice

Trauma-informed frameworks guide organisations and systems to:

• Realise the widespread impact of trauma

• Recognise the signs and symptoms of trauma

• Respond in ways that support safety and recovery

• Resist re-traumatisation

These are often referred to as the Four R’s, a framework developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA, 2014).

While these foundations are widely referenced, practitioners often tell me they struggle to translate them into everyday practice particularly in high-pressure DFV environments.

The six key trauma-informed principles I teach in practice

In my foundational DFV training, I draw on both SAMHSA and Blue Knot Foundation frameworks to focus on six core trauma-informed principles:

• Safety (always first, particularly in DFV contexts)

• Trust

• Choice

• Empowerment

• Collaboration

• Respect for inclusion and diversity

These are not abstract values. They are practical, ethical guideposts for how we engage with victim-survivors in conversations, intake processes, safety planning, documentation, and daily interactions.

When applied intentionally, these principles help create environments whether a refuge, a Safe House, or a single support interaction that feel safer, more predictable, and more respectful.

Turning principles into practice

One of the most common questions I’m asked during training is:

“We understand trauma-informed care but how do we actually put this into practice?”

The short answer is: by embedding these principles into everything we do, rather than treating trauma-informed care as an add-on or a separate task.

This doesn’t mean doing more work.
It means doing the work differently.

Sometimes that looks like:

• explaining why questions are being asked

• offering genuine choices wherever possible

• slowing down processes that feel overwhelming

• being transparent about limits, expectations, and confidentiality

Small shifts in how we communicate and structure support can significantly reduce re-traumatisation.

What this can look like in practice

Safety
Creating private, calm spaces and orienting clients to what will happen next, can reduce fear during already disorienting moments.

Choice
Offering options even small ones helps restore autonomy that has often been systematically taken away through abuse.

Empowerment
Supporting clients to set their own goals reinforces capability, strength, and self-determination.

These principles help ensure we are not unintentionally replicating dynamics of control, but instead offering support grounded in dignity and respect.

Why I developed a practical resource for crisis accommodation workers 

During training, I’ve received consistent requests from practitioners working in crisis accommodation particularly women’s refuges and Safe Houses asking for clear, practical examples of trauma-informed practice in action.

In crisis settings, workers are often balancing:

• immediate safety concerns

• organisational procedures

• emotional distress

• time pressure

• complex client needs

I developed a practical trauma-informed practice resource to meet this need.

The resource provides real-life, practice-based examples of how each trauma-informed principle can be embedded into daily interactions in crisis accommodation settings. While written with refuges and Safe Houses in mind, the examples are easily adaptable across other DFV services.

Download the free practice tool

If you’re looking for a practical way to explore trauma-informed principles in action, you can download the free handout below.

The resource can be used for:

• staff training and induction

• team reflection and discussion

• supervision conversations

• strengthening trauma-informed practice across your organisation

Final reflections

Trauma-informed practice is not about doing things perfectly. It’s about being intentional, reflective, and committed to reducing harm wherever possible.

By embedding these principles into everyday DFV work, we help create environments of safety, trust, and empowerment where recovery and healing can begin.

References

Ohio Domestic Violence Network. (2020). Trauma-informed care manual. https://www.odvn.org

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2014). Trauma-informed care in behavioral health services (Treatment Improvement Protocol Series No. 57). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Blue Knot Foundation. (2020). Practice guidelines for treatment of complex trauma and trauma-informed care and service delivery.