Traumatic Stress Wales Engagement Event

22/07/2024

Almost a hundred stakeholders attended the national engagement event in May at Aberystwyth University co-ordinated by the Traumatic Stress Wales team of the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee (NWJCC) team.

The event included guest speakers and workshops from varying fields, all bringing different knowledge, research, expertise and approaches highlighting research in the field and evidence-based practice.

The event considered trauma and adversity, and different ways to be a more supportive, trauma-informed nation in Wales and within local communities.

Traumatic Stress Wales, funded by Welsh Government and hosted within the NWJCC, aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people of all ages living in Wales at risk of developing or with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD).

Traumatic Stress Wales is a national initiative that works through a network of easily accessible, locally based services centred around the people they are trying to help with streamlined care pathways to avoid unnecessary repeated referral and assessment.

The initiative covers children, young people and adults, and is co-produced, co-owned and co-delivered by all relevant stakeholders, including people with lived experience of PTSD and CPTSD.

As well as the workshops, research discussions and peer networking, the event included an art installation showcasing some artwork from the lived experience perspective, that highlighted the power of art as a non-verbal therapeutic outlet from trauma.

In line with the Welsh Government’s Healthier Wales plan, the event brought together people, ideas, research, discussions, and insight, to build a national community of people, who work and live the values of a trauma-informed society.

Lilith Gough, of the Traumatic Stress Wales team at the NWJCC said: “It was great to see, not only how many stakeholders attended the engagement event, but also the encouraging feedback about how helpful they found the event to be.

“Bringing this stakeholder community together to gain insights about what tools and resources are needed to support this work out in the field has been a milestone in our TSW work.  So many attendees reported how effective the day was is incorporating the learning into their practice, and we are planning future events to continue this support, so that as many people in Wales as possible benefit from trauma being understood and healing being supported, which protects against creating further traumatic experiences”.

The event was made possible by support from the Trauma-Informed Wales Hub, ACE Hub Wales, and the host, Aberystwyth University, who are working towards becoming Trauma and ACE (TrACE) informed as an institution and community.

Further details about the work and resources from the Traumatic Stress Wales network are available from: Home - All Wales Traumatic Stress Quality Improvement Ini (nhs.wales)