Trauma-Informed Care in Supported Employment
by Mardol Lorenz
Trauma-Informed Care in Supported Employment: Why Extended Discovery Matters
Supported Employment is not just about helping someone find a job—it’s about building a path that feels safe, empowering, and sustainable. For individuals with trauma histories, the employment process itself can trigger stress responses, mistrust, or shutdown. That’s why Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) is essential, especially during the Discovery phase.
What is Trauma-Informed Care?
Trauma-Informed Care is an approach that recognizes how trauma impacts an individual’s body, brain, and behaviors. It emphasizes:
Emotional and physical safety
Trust and transparency
Collaboration and choice
Empowerment and cultural responsiveness
When used in employment services, TIC shifts the focus from "What's wrong with you?" to "What happened to you?" and more importantly, "How can we support you to thrive?"
The Power of an Extended Discovery Period
The Discovery phase is where we begin to understand a job seeker’s interests, skills, and support needs. But when someone has experienced trauma—whether from poverty, abuse, discrimination, or previous job loss—this phase must be handled with care, patience, and time.
Extending Discovery allows for:
Building genuine trust before diving into vulnerable topics
Observing comfort levels in different environments
Identifying hidden strengths or unspoken barriers
Offering choice and control to someone who may have rarely experienced it
In short: extended Discovery offers space for someone to feel safe enough to dream again.
100% Comfort = 100% Success
In trauma-informed Supported Employment, we don’t rush comfort, we prioritize it. Because when a person feels safe, seen, and heard, they are more likely to:
Express their real goals
Participate actively in planning
Accept support without shame
Remain committed to their employment journey
This doesn’t just result in job placements, it results in lasting employment, where the individual thrives.
Creating a Safe Journey Forward
Trauma-informed care isn’t just theory, it’s practice. It’s:
Letting someone reschedule without penalty
Checking in before jumping into hard topics
Asking, not assuming
Honoring neurodivergence, cultural identity, and lived experience
When we slow down the process, we speed up the healing.
In Conclusion
A trauma-informed approach to Supported Employment, especially with an extended Discovery period, leads to safer, more meaningful job outcomes. It’s about more than employment, it’s about dignity, empowerment, and the right to a future shaped by hope, not harm.