Holding Space: Trauma-Informed Psychological Debriefing In Healthcare

Date: 21 October, Wednesday | Time: 09:00 - 12:00 | Venue: Academia Room, L1-S4

Speakers: Assoc Prof Shirlyn Neo Hui Shan, Ms Ng Min Yu & Mr Daniel Ho

Programme Description: 

This session introduces Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) as a guiding framework for facilitating psychological debriefs that are safe, ethical, and responsive to diverse staff needs. Moving beyond prescriptive models, the session reframes debriefing as a relational, reflective, and reflexive practice, grounded in the principles of empowerment, safety, trust, cultural humility, choice, and collaboration. This underscores the recognition of “the self of the clinician” in providing safe and effective care without compromising staff well-being and exacerbating staff burnout due to emotional demands that arise as part of the work.  

Drawing from clinical practice within ICU settings, participants will gain insight into how TIC can shape both the process and ethos of debriefing, creating spaces that support meaning-making, emotional processing, and team cohesion.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Understand the core principles of Trauma-Informed Care and their relevance to psychological debriefing
• Better appreciate the relational process and significance of the reflexivity within the clinician in supporting psychological debriefs
• Apply TIC principles to design and facilitate safe and effective debrief sessions

Achievement of learning outcomes can be assessed through a pre- and post-session survey, measuring participants’ - understanding of psychological debriefing, familiarity with Trauma-Informed Care principles and confidence in applying TIC to practice.

Target Audience:

Healthcare professionals across disciplines (e.g., doctors, nurses, allied health, medical social workers) interested in staff support, reflective and reflexive practice, and trauma-informed approaches.