As we edge towards Christmas, that grand old mix of sparkle,shortdays,andabitoffranticjuggling,Iwantto shine a light on the brilliant work happening across Extern
Our six Trauma Informed Groups have been buzzing away, and you can already start to feel the difference Workspaces are beginning to feel more TIO, conversationssoundalittlekinder,andevenourpolicies arenowbeingshapedwithTIOinmind Thesearesmall steps,buttheyarerealones,andthey’readdingup
Our managers have wrapped up the value based workshops, so the next phase will roll out in the New Year.Whenyoursessionlands,pleasecomealong.This isn’tatickboxexercise,itishowwemakesureeveryone feelspartofanorganisationthatgenuinelycares,shows compassion,andwalksthetalk.
Westillhaveplentytodo,anditneedseveryone’sbuyin, butthedirectionoftravelisgood
December can be a funny old month, equal parts lovely andexhausting,somindyourselves Bekind,bepatient, andtreatpeoplethewayyou’dhopetobetreatedonabusy dayinalongqueue Thoselittlemomentsmakeaworldof difference
Thank you for all you have done this year May the next fewweeksbringabitofcalm,abitoflaughter,andmaybe even the good biscuits appearing in the office Looking forwardtoseeingourTIOjourneygrowevenstrongerin theNewYear.
Untilnexttime. Keepwell
Inthisedition
TransformingOurWorkspaces
ChoosingtheRightTIOFramework
HelpingTeamsCommunicatetheTIOWay
·
NewTrainingPlanontheHorizon QuickTIOFactsforEverydayLife YourTIOChristmasCorner AWellnessTwistonthe12DaysofChristmas AHeartfeltThankYouasWeWrapUp2025
ENVIRONMENTWORKINGGROUP HOWWE’RECREATINGSAFER,CALMERSPACESACROSSEXTERN
Hieveryone, IwantedtosharesomeexcitingprogressfromourEnvironmentWorkingGroup!
��We’vebeendevelopinganewbookletthatwillguideallprojectswhencreatingnewspacesorrefurbishingexistingonesacrossExtern Thesespacesareusedby bothserviceusersandstaff,soit’simportantthattheyfeelsafe,welcoming,andsupportive
��We’reworkingcloselywithSBNItomakesurethisbookletreflectsbestpracticeandtrauma-informedprinciples Itwillincludeguidanceon:
��Wallcolours
��Artwork
��Softfurnishings
����Comfortableofficelayouts
…andeverythinginbetween!
Thegoalistohelpusallviewourenvironmentsthroughatrauma-informedlens.
�� The enthusiasm across projects has been incredible, and we’ve already seen some fabulous examples of trauma-informed design happening around the country.We’llbeshowcasingsomeofthesesoon sokeepaneyeout!
Thankyoutoeveryonewhohasbeeninvolvedsofar.Yourcreativityandcommitmentaremakingarealdifference.
Warmregards, Lorna&theEnvironmentTeam
DeirdreO'Driscoll,DirectorofServices
MODELDEVELOPMENTTEAM Hieveryone,
We’vebeenbusyexploringwhatatrulytrauma-informedorganisationlookslike andhowwecanmakethatarealityatExtern
�� Ourgroupreviewedawiderangeofframeworksandbestpractices,usedbybothstatutoryandvoluntaryorganisations
Wealsolookedatexamples fromlocalpartnerswhoarealreadymakinggreatstridestowardcreatinginclusive,supportivecultures
��ChoosingtheRightModel
Afterlotsofdiscussion,weagreedthattheSafeguardingBoardforNorthernIreland(SBNI)toolkitisthebestfitforus. Whythismodel?
��It’sgroundedininternationalandlocalresearch
��Itincludesreal-lifecasestudiesfromorganisationswealreadyworkwith
��Itprovidesapracticalroadmapforembeddingtrauma-informedprinciplesacrosseverythingwedo
��LookingAheadto2026
ThewiderTIOSteeringGroupwillusethetoolkit’sorganisationalchecklistto:
✔Trackourprogress
��Identifyareasforimprovement
��Buildasharedpictureofwherewe’redoingwell andwherewecangrowtogether
We’reexcitedaboutthisnextstepandwillkeepyouupdatedasthingsmoveforward.
Ifyouhaveideasorwanttogetinvolved,we’dlovetohearfromyou!
Thanks, KirstyandtheModelDevelopmentTeam
LANGUAGETEAM NEWGUIDEFORTRAUMA-INFORMEDPOLICIES
Hieveryone!
OurLanguageGrouphasbeenbusyworkingonsomethingwethinkyou’llfindreallyuseful.
��Wenoticedthatwhenitcomestopolicyandcommunication,understandingtrauma-informedthinkingcanmakeabigdifference.
So we’vecreatedanewguidetohelpyouweavetrauma-informedprinciplesintopolicydevelopmentandupdates
��WhyThisMatters Thisguideisallaboutmakingthings:
✅Clearer
✅Easierforteamstofollow
✅Alignedwithtrauma-informedprinciples
It’sjustthestart!Weknowouremployeepolicysuiteisakeytoolforbuildingsharedunderstanding,sonextupwe’llberunningfacilitatedworkshopsto refreshandreviseexistingpoliciestogether.
Here’sthelinktotheguidetheteamhasbeenworkingon: Clickhere
Thanks, Jude&theLanguageTeam
GreatNewsfromtheTIOTrainingGroup
We’reexcitedtosharethatwe’veputtogetheratrainingplanandsentittoSLTforreview.Here’swhatwe’rethinking:
��Phase1:E-Learning
Atrauma-informede-learningmoduletokickthingsoff Designedtoraiseawarenessamongstaffandnewstarters
Easytoaccessandunderstand
��Phase2:Hands-OnTraining
BespokeTIOtrainingtailoredtothedifferentservicesweoffer Basedontheorganisation’schosenTIOmodeldevelopedbySBNI Deliveredinpersontoensuremaximumimpact
��YourRole:LeadTrainers
We’llbelookingfornominationsforleadtrainerstojoinTIOTrain-the-Trainersessions Ifapproved,nominationswillberequestedinQ22026
We’rereallyexcitedaboutthisjourneyandcan’twaittoseethedifferenceitmakesacrossourteams!
Bestwishes,
Deirdre&theTIOTrainingGroup✨
REFLECTIVEPRACTICEGROUP AYEAROFLEARNING,COLLABORATION&NEWINSIGHTS
Hieveryone,
Iwantedtosharewhat’sbeenhappeninginourReflectivePracticeSubgroupthisyear.Wehavebeenmeetingregularlythroughout2025tomakesureour workcontinuestosupportdirectserviceneeds.
��WelcomingNewFaces
We’vehadsomegreatnewadditionstothegroup: Deirdre,TJ,Nickayla,andJennyhavejoinedmyself,Casey,andLiz.
Theirenergyandfreshideashavereallyhelpedusfocusonwhatmatters:
��Sharingexamplesofbestpractice
��Reflectingonwhatwehavelearned
��Exploringhowwecansupportteamsandtheorganisationtoembedandsustainacultureofreflectivepractice
��ThisYear’sHighlights
��InDrogheda,twomoreteammemberscompletedtheReflectivePracticecoursewithSHEPinMay
�� Wehavefinishedatrialofteamreflectivepracticesessionsfor2025,andafeedbackworkshopisplannedforDecember theseinsightswillhelp shapewhatwedonext
��Lookingahead,theEOSSLimerickteamwillstarttheirowntrialofteamreflectivepracticesessionsaswemoveinto2026
��LookingForward
Wearealsoexcitedaboutthepossibilityofworkingmorecloselywithothertrauma-informedsubgroupstostrengthenawarenessandmakereflective practiceacorepartofhowweworkatExternIreland Thankstoeveryonewhohasbeenpartofthisjourneysofar Itismakingarealdifference Warmregards,
BASELINEQUESTIONNAIREGROUPUPDATE Helloeveryone,
Overthepastfewmonths,theBaselineQuestionnaireSubgrouphasbeenmeetingregularlytoreviewprogressandplanfortheyearahead We’rereally lookingforwardtowhat’scomingin2026!
��What’sNext:RelaunchingtheTrauma-InformedQuestionnaire
OurmainfocuswillbetherelaunchoftheTrauma-InformedQuestionnaire Thiswillgiveusthechancetoseehowthingshavechangedsincethefirst questionnairewentoutatthestartof2025
Bycomparingthetwosetsofresponses,we’llgetaclearerpictureofhowfarwe’vecomeonourjourneytowardsbecomingtrauma-informed
��StageOne:BecomingTraumaAware
Thisfirststageisallaboutbuildingunderstandingandawarenessacrosstheorganisation.Itgivesusastrongfoundationfordeeper,lastingchange.
��YourInputMatters
Yourfeedbackwillmakeabigdifference Itwillhelpussee:
✅Wherewe’vegrown
��Wherewestillneedtofocus
YOURNERVOUSSYSTEMHASA‘GOLDFISHMODE’ WHENSOMETHINGFEELSOVERWHELMING,YOURBRAINCANLITERALLYSHORTENYOUR ATTENTIONSPANTOPROTECTYOU IT’SNOTFLAKY IT’SASURVIVALFEATURE
ADEEPSIGHISYOURBODY’SRESETBUTTON NOTTHEANNOYEDSIGH THELONG,HEAVYONEYOUBARELYNOTICE.IT’SYOURVAGUS NERVEGIVINGYOUAQUICKSYSTEMREBOOT.
KIDSLEARNREGULATIONBYCOPYINGADULTBREATHINGRHYTHMS YOUCANSAY“CALMDOWN”ALLDAY,BUTYOURSLOWEXHALEDOESMORETHANANYSENTENCE EVERWILL
THEBODYCAN’TTELLTHEDIFFERENCEBETWEEN‘I’MSAFE’AND ‘I’MLAUGHING’ EVENATINYGIGGLESHIFTSYOURPHYSIOLOGY DARKHUMOUR,BADJOKES,TIKTOKNONSENSE ITALLCOUNTS
YOURBRAINISVELCROFORTHREATANDTEFLONFORPRAISE WEREMEMBERONESHARPCOMMENTANDFORGETTHE29NICEONES EVOLUTION PRIORITISEDSURVIVINGLIONS,NOTPERFORMANCEREVIEWS.
PEOPLEDON’TFREEZEBECAUSETHEY’REWEAK FREEZEISTHEOLDEST,MOSTSUCCESSFULSURVIVALRESPONSEONEARTH.EVENRABBITSUSEIT.
TRAUMA-INFORMEDDOESN’TMEANSOFT—ITMEANSSMART IT’SABOUTWORKINGWITHTHEBRAIN,NOTAGAINSTIT THINK“SCIENCE-BACKEDKINDNESS”, NOTJUST“THERAPYVIBES ”
THEVAGUSNERVEISYOURBODY’SBLUETOOTH ITSYNCSYOURGUT,HEART,LUNGS,FACE,ANDMOOD.WHENIT’SONLINE,YOUFEELCONNECTED; WHENITLAGS,EVERYTHINGFEELSOFF
WARMHANDS=CALMERBRAIN
WARMTHSIGNALSSAFETY.THISISWHYTEAFIXESEVERYTHING…ATLEASTTEMPORARILY.
YOUCAN’TREGULATEIFYOUHAVEN’TEATEN THISISWHYEVERYTRAUMA-INFORMEDMEETINGRUNSBETTERWITHBISCUITS.
COMFORT,CALM&CHRISTMAS:ATIOHOLIDAYPAUSE
Hieveryone,
Aswemoveintothelaststretchoftheyear,IhopethislittleTIOChristmasCornerbringsabitofwarmthandasmile. Decembercanbeequalpartslovelyandexhausting,sotakeyourmomentswhereyoucan.
Besoundtoyourselves,besoundtoeachother,andrememberthatoursmallactsofcompassionarewhatmakeExternfeellikeExtern.
QuickFestiveStaffSurvey:YourDecemberTIOCheck-In
We’veputtogetheratinypolltocapturehoweveryoneisdoingandwhatactuallyhelpsthistimeofyear:
Asweheadintothefestiveseason,theWellnessTeamthoughtwe’dbringalittleholidaycheerandTIOmindfulness.
So,getreadytohumalongaswecountdownthe12waystocareforourselvesandeachotherthisDecember:
OnthefirstdayofChristmas,theWellnessTeamgavetome… ��Onedeepbreathtosettleme
⏳Twoquietminutes (AsacredgiftinDecember)
��Threekindwords (“You’redoinggrand ”)
☕Fourwarmcuppas (Theuniversalregulationtool)
✨FIVEGOLDENPAUSES (Noguilt Allbenefit)
��Sixteamsco-regulating (Oratleasttrying)
��Sevengentlecheck-ins (“How’sthehead,honestly?”)
��Eightstaffde-escalating (Biscuitsandhumoursavingtheday)
��Nineboundarieshonoured (Healthyteamssayno)
����Tenbreathsbywindows (Theunofficialtherapysession)
��Elevenlaughswithcolleagues (Thenervoussystem’sfavouritesound)
��Twelvedaysofkindness (Onesmallactatatime)
AWarmChristmasSign-Off Thank you for everything you’ve done this year Your care, your patience, your humour, and the way you support one another are what make this work possible Asweheadintotheholidays,Ihopeyoufindabitofcalm,abitoflaughter,andmomentsthatfeelgenuinelyrestful
Mindyourselves,mindeachother,andhere’stoanevenmoreTIOExternintheNewYear
