Blog

square bulletThe Role of Feedback in Trauma Informed Care

person writing feedback-related notes on whiteboard

From , LCSW, PhD, Director, Trauma Informed Oregon

This month we’re focusing on the Essential Element of Feedback – the ongoing process of learning how things are working, how we are doing, and how people are experiencing our services and spaces.

We live in a world full of ways to give and receive feedback, yet many of these methods are far from trauma informed. Many are hurtful and harmful, leaving many of us hesitant or fearful of the entire concept. In trauma‑informed work, however, continuous feedback is not optional – it’s foundational. Our movement is still learning, adapting, and discovering what works best and for whom. To do this well, we must cultivate a culture that welcomes feedback and sees it as a tool for clarity, connection, and growth.

Trauma informed practices offer us a lens for decision‑making, not a rigid set of instructions. For example, we encourage all policies to be reviewed through a trauma informed lens, but how that happens depends on your organization, sector, and capacity. When we integrate feedback into everything we do, we strengthen our collective knowledge and can better allocate our time and resources.

Strengthening Organizational Feedback Processes by Reflecting on Previous Experiences with Feedback

Reflection: What are all the ways you give and receive feedback throughout your day – emojis, nonverbal cues, conversations, writing, polls, spending choices, and more?

As you assess your organization’s feedback practices through a trauma informed lens, consider how trauma, adversity, and toxic stress may shape this process. For example:

  • Trusting feedback may be difficult if we’ve experienced harmful or contradictory messages in the past (e.g., being told we are cared for while being harmed).
  • When activated or overwhelmed, we may only absorb parts of the feedback and misinterpret the rest.
  • We, like many people, may have histories of feedback being used as punishment or shame.
  • We may fear hurting someone the way we were once hurt.

Reflection: What other ways do you notice trauma, adversity, or toxic stress influencing how you give or receive feedback?

At TIO, we approach our work on three interconnected levels – intrapersonal, interpersonal, and organizational. Each one shapes how feedback is offered, received, and used. With groups, we explore the following questions when we are considering how to approach feedback from a trauma informed lens.

  1. Intrapersonal
    • When has feedback gone well for you?
    • When has feedback not gone well?
    • What made these feedback experiences different?
    • How do these experiences shape the way you give and receive feedback at work?
  2. Interpersonal
    • What qualities in a relationship help you offer or receive feedback?
    • How do you cultivate these qualities in your current workspaces?
  3. Organizational
    • What do you need from your organization to give and receive feedback effectively?
    • How can the organization create a culture that values and uses feedback?

Creating Environments that Embrace Feedback

There are many ways to create an environment that embraces feedback and uses it to create trauma informed and healing-focused environments:

  • Anonymous feedback options
  • Quick post‑service surveys
  • Annual staff surveys
  • Comment boxes
  • Focus groups
  • Evaluations
  • Channels for new ideas
  • Post‑meeting check‑outs

At TIO, we blend university requirements – such as annual reviews – with our own practices, including post‑event QR‑code evaluations, Slack channels for ideas and feedback, meeting check-ins, and regular 1:1 or small-team meetings. A vital part of any feedback process is closing the loop: sharing what you learned and what changes you made. If you’ve attended our virtual foundational training, you’ve seen this in action. Each session, we invite feedback via a Qualtrics survey, and we begin the next session by reviewing what we heard, whether we can accommodate any suggestions, and, importantly, why not if we can’t.

Y’all, this is just a quick overview of feedback. Through my trauma informed journey, I’ve learned to look forward to receiving and striving to incorporate the feedback from this community. Feedback helps me feel connected to others and grounded in our shared experience. I’d love to hear how you cultivate a feedback‑friendly culture in your own spaces.

With kindness and gratitude for all you are holding and healing,

—Mandy