World Trauma Day: The Power of Trauma-Informed Approaches in Compassionate Climate Conversations

October 17th marks World Trauma Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about how trauma impacts people while encouraging the adoption of trauma-informed approaches. The day was initiated by doctors in New Delhi, India, who aimed to bring attention to the widespread impacts of both psychological and physical trauma. 

As someone who has been engaged in climate action and social change for over a decade, learning about a trauma-informed approach through my work with Narratives has been very helpful. As a climate planner and project manager at Narratives, we work with communities to develop climate resilience and food sovereignty plans. I see how trauma can come up in social and environmental practice, sometimes in unexpected ways. I’ve found that trainings such as Narratives trauma-informed training have been instrumental in understanding and managing trauma, both personally and professionally. I’ve also come to learn that a trauma-informed approach takes intentional effort, learning and unlearning, and continuous practice.  

This important day gives us the opportunity to reflect on what it means to be trauma-informed. Some key reflection questions to consider are: How does trauma impact us and the people we work with? How can we support trauma-informed actions in our personal and professional lives? How do we put a trauma-informed approach into practice?  

I first came across the five principles of trauma awareness at an amazing trauma-informed training developed by Somia Sadiq and Desirée Theriault at Narratives Inc. Here is a link to learn more about our trauma awareness training. The five principles are:

I’m grateful to work with Narratives, an organization that prioritizes trauma-informed approaches in our work. Below, I will offer a few examples of scenarios I’m familiar with that focus on climate action. 

Awareness & acknowledgement  

The first step to being trauma-informed is to be aware of trauma in our lives and work. Trauma has impacted most people in some way, with equity-seeking communities being disproportionately impacted. 

Action awareness: One way to put this principle into action is by being aware of how trauma can come up during community engagements. Before a community meeting, list how trauma could be triggered and ways to avoid or address it. For example, a facilitator may unintentionally bring up trauma by using images relating to floods or wildfires, which community members may have experienced and could be triggered by. Consider making a trauma management plan, which will start by identifying instances where trauma could come up.   

Physical, emotional & cultural safety 

Ensuring that people feel emotionally and physically safe is at the heart of a trauma-informed approach. It’s also one of the most challenging approaches because everyone has a different sense of physical, cultural, and emotional safety. In our trauma awareness training, we take the time to uncover the difference between these different types of safety.  

Action safety: The climate crisis can lead to a fundamental feeling of being unsafe. It’s important to create spaces where it is okay to share emotions of climate grief and anxiety.  That being said, it’s also important to consider the effects of how sharing emotions can impact others. Creating safety also means being aware of the contexts we share and how it can impact others. It’s also important to offer tools for emotional regulation, such as grounding. When people’s physical safety is being threatened during extreme weather, it’s critical that there are emergency plans in place. Knowing plans are in place can also reassure people. 

Trustworthiness & Transparency  

Trust and transparency can be built by being clear on project scope and timelines and following through on what you said you would do. This is important both in the content of internal planning within an organization’s team as well as externally with collaborator communities and organizations.  

Action it: Set clear expectations from the onset about what the process will look like, what the deliverables are, what is possible, and what remains uncertain. It's important not to promise something that isn’t within your control. For example, in a brainstorming phase around community climate solutions, be clear with community members that this is idea generation. If the ultimate decision around which climate solutions will be pursued rests with community leadership, it’s important to communicate that.   

Empowerment, choice & control 

Empowerment, choice and control is crucial in a trauma-informed approach. Trauma often takes away our sense of control and can lead us to feel powerless, so it’s important to offer meaningful choices as part of regaining a sense of agency. 

Action empowerment: When talking about climate change, it can lead us to feel powerless. For me personally, I can sometimes spiral into climate anxiety. This can happen when reading climate science projections and news articles or hearing from friends and colleagues about being impacted by wildfires, floods or other extreme weather events. It feels like something so big that it is completely outside of my control. I have found it extremely helpful to identify things that I can control: such as choosing to work at Narratives with communities to build resilience to climate change, advocating for policy change, or taking steps to reduce emissions in my own life, like with Canadian Geographic’s live net zero challenge.  

Collaboration & mutuality 

Collaboration and mutuality are critical for a trauma-informed approach. They are both so important, so let’s consider them separately. Trauma can sometimes make us feel alone and isolate ourselves. It’s important to join together in solidarity to work towards a common goal. 

Action collaboration: Climate anxiety can sometimes lead us to feel alone or isolate ourselves. One great way to promote collaboration is to make space for community members to be part of shaping and influencing their community climate plans by identifying climate risks, as well as adaptation strategies.  

Action mutuality: It’s important to relate to other people’s emotions as an empathetic listener. For example, if someone shares that they are upset about seeing a recent hurricane in the News, it makes sense to share if you felt the same way. However, an important lesson I have learnt is to be cautious about relating to your own experience. For example, if a community member is sharing a traumatic experience, a trauma-informed response is often to actively listen and thank them for sharing. Consider sharing your own experiences if you are asked and only if you feel it is the right space to do so. For example, if a community member shares about being displaced from a wildfire, it wouldn’t be appropriate to relate this to how you’re moving to a new house. This could lead the person to feel like their trauma is being minimized or not being fully heard. 

Thank you for your interest in trauma awareness and trauma-informed practice! By considering the five principles – awareness, safety, trustworthiness, empowerment, and collaboration, we can better embody trauma-informed ways of knowing and being. I’m grateful for World Trauma Day and the space to reflect on managing change as a climate planner in good ways.