Supporting a Colleague
The first thing you can do to support a colleague is understand the common reactions to Trauma.
Everyone who has experienced or witnessed a traumatic event will experience it differently, but will typically have reactions that fall into four basic categories. Those four are psychological and emotional, cognitive, physical, and behavioral.
To learn more, please access the document below.
Everyone who has experienced or witnessed a traumatic event will experience it differently, but will typically have reactions that fall into four basic categories. Those four are psychological and emotional, cognitive, physical, and behavioral.
To learn more, please access the document below.
| mitss_commonreactionstotrauma_1_19_11.pdf |
Other things you can do to support a colleague:
- Let colleague share their experience.
- Be patient and allow for silence.
- Express appreciation for sharing.
- Reflect, interpret, and summarize.
- Discuss some coping strategies -- plans.
- Do they have a support system? Is it accessible?
- Ask if it's okay to follow up. Get contact information.
- Provide a resource list (if applicable).
- Verify if they are going to be okay.
- When in doubt, refer.
- Offer to send them literature on emotional impact.
