How do you advocate for the rights and needs of trauma survivors as a peer supporter?

1 Understand trauma and its impacts

Trauma is any event or situation that overwhelms a person's ability to cope and causes lasting physical, emotional, or psychological harm. It can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, culture, or background, and is commonly caused by abuse, violence, neglect, accidents, disasters, war, or oppression. Trauma can have various impacts on a person's health, well-being, relationships and functioning. These may include anxiety, depression, anger, guilt, shame or fear; flashbacks, nightmares or intrusive memories; difficulty trusting, communicating or connecting with others; low self-esteem, confidence or sense of identity; substance use; self-harm; suicidal thoughts; and physical symptoms such as pain, fatigue or illness. As a peer supporter it is important to understand how trauma can affect a person's thoughts and feelings and be aware of the signs and symptoms of trauma in yourself and others so that you can seek appropriate help when needed.

2 Apply trauma-informed principles

Trauma-informed care is an approach that recognizes the prevalence and impact of trauma and seeks to create a secure, respectful, and empowering atmosphere for trauma survivors. This approach is based on six principles: safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, empowerment, and cultural humility. As a peer supporter, you can use these principles in your interactions with trauma survivors and in your advocacy efforts. For example, you can ask for permission before offering support or advice, listen actively without judging or interrupting, validate and affirm the feelings of others, share your own lived experience if it is helpful, encourage and assist others to access resources and services, and speak up to challenge stigma or injustice.

3 Know your role and boundaries

Advocacy is the act of speaking or acting on behalf of yourself or someone else to promote or protect their rights, interests, or needs. As a peer supporter, you can advocate for trauma survivors in a variety of ways, such as providing information and education about trauma and recovery, sharing personal stories and perspectives to raise awareness and reduce stigma, and supporting others to express their needs and wishes. You may also accompany others to appointments or meetings, negotiate or mediate conflicts or disputes, or lobby or campaign for policy or system changes. However, advocacy has its limits and challenges. As a peer supporter, you must be aware of your role and boundaries, as well as respect the role and boundaries of others. This includes clarifying your scope of practice and limitations, avoiding giving professional advice beyond your competence, referring or consulting with other experts when necessary, maintaining confidentiality and privacy of others unless there is a risk of harm, respecting the decisions and choices of others even if you disagree, and balancing your own needs with your advocacy work.

4 Seek feedback and support

Advocacy is not a one-time or one-way process, but instead is a dynamic and ongoing effort that requires constant communication, evaluation, and adjustment. As a peer supporter, it is important to ask for input and feedback from the trauma survivors you are supporting, involve them in the planning and implementation of your advocacy actions, review and celebrate the outcomes and achievements of your advocacy work, identify and address any challenges or gaps in your advocacy work, seek supervision, mentoring, or training to enhance your skills and knowledge, and join a peer network or community of practice to share experiences and resources. Though advocating for the rights and needs of trauma survivors as a peer supporter can be rewarding and meaningful, it can also be challenging and stressful. Therefore, by following these tips and strategies you can improve your effectiveness as an advocate while also taking care of yourself and others.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?