ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces a trauma-informed supervision framework for use with practitioners who work vulnerable children and their families. The central element of the TISS framework is the creation of a support team that works to support the professional and wellbeing needs of the practitioner. The framework has been designed to recognise the uniqueness of each practitioner’s practice area as well as the diversity of practitioners who undertake work with vulnerable children and their families and the context in which this work is undertaken. Underpinning the TISS framework is the acknowledgement that the experience of occupational traumatic stress is an inevitable occupational hazard requiring ongoing support. The TISS model has been informed by practitioner experiences of what it is like to undertake this challenging work, what their experience of occupational traumatic stress entailed and what was useful to them to resolve their wellbeing concerns. Further supporting the TISS model are contemporary evidence-based trauma-informed theories and practices that practitioners often use to support their work with clients but rarely themselves. A core strength of the TISS model is the capacity for practitioners to drive what their professional development and wellbeing support needs might be at any given time.
