Introduction

The genesis for this book can be found in my many years of working across the health and social care sectors, within systems of care that provided services to those most marginalised, many of whom having hugely suffered traumatic childhoods and later traumas in adulthood, very often perpetrated by those in positions of authority. Having worked within various organisations, and later in research, one of the things that became apparent to me is that how systems of care are structured and organised and can be far more important for addressing trauma experiences than the interventions that are provided. In recent years, my research interests in servant leadership and the wider trauma-informed field reinforced these beliefs and experiences. The integration of these two concepts is at the core of this book. Specifically, I bring together both these research interests and provide a systematic method for organisations to become trauma-responsive based on several existing trans-theoretical evidence-based practices. As such, this book is about cultural and attitudinal change by practitioners and organisations, where interventions are useless without these core driving forces.