Presentation by Janelle Mort - Strengthening our Community by Supporting our Staff. A case study of supporting a staff member with PTSD to find healing and safety at work. Presented at the Western Australian Mental Health Conference 2019.

1. A case study of supporting a staff member with PTSD to find healing and safety at work
Janelle Mort – Department of Communities
Strengthening our Community by
Supporting our Staff

2. What
happened?
• The individual had been working with us since 2010 as a
manager of a home that had 4 young people with
complex needs. Three of the 4 young people had been in
the home since 2009.
• After this incident, the staff member went off work for
almost 1 year. In his return to work program, he was
offered the opportunity to work in corporate operations
in a training / consultant role.

3. What were his
symptoms?
He self-reported symptoms of:
• Insomnia
• Increased anxiety
• Flashbacks
• Low self-worth
• Intrusive thoughts
• Hypervigilance
• Social withdrawal

4. What did we do?

5. Safety
• Desk re-arrangement
• Daily walks
• Group supervision
• Team road trip
• Snapchat group
• Attending training together
Safety
Physical
Social
PsychologicalMoral
Cultural

6. Emotion
• Community meetings
• Sensory tools in office
• S.E.L.F. team meetings

7. Loss
• Connections with staff he
had previously managed
• Tactful humour
• Self care and health and
wellbeing plans
• Walking meetings
• Increased breaks
• Adjusted work hours (in
early, out early)

8. Future
• Coaching-style
management to empower
staff member
• Integration of special
knowledge into learning
programs

9. Challenges
Other staff not
understanding the reasons
behind these decisions
Balancing letting him find
his feet, and inspiring him
to try new things

10. What was the Outcome?
• It has now been almost 2 years since this staff member joined our team. In this time
we have seen tremendous growth and change in the individual as well as the team.
• Productivity has increased 35%, and absences have decreased by 30%.
• Staff morale is at an all-time high.
• Other teams are now adopting some of our strategies and creating cultural change
within their teams.
• The individual is seeking trauma-specific interventions at a steady but less frequent
pace, and self-reports significantly reduced symptoms, particularly at work.

11. Lessons
Our staff are just
as vulnerable and
capable as the
people we serve
Trauma-informed
support must start
in the workplace
Slow and steady
wins the race