Burnout in Churches and Christian Faith-Based Organisations

Personal Care
1. Be honest about how you are feeling and take responsibility for your own well-being.
2. Have a fulfilling personal life and keep connecting to people and activities that bring joy and
comfort such as dancing, listening to music.
3. Treat yourself to things you enjoy like massages, cinema trips, etc.
4. Acknowledge that there are limits in hearing traumatic material and take regular time out.
5. Much research says that trauma gets stuck in the body and it needs to be released. This can
be achieved through regular heart-exerting exercises and deep breathing. This helps calm
the nervous system and helps it switch back to normal functioning.
6. Acknowledge any self-medicating using drugs, alcohol, gambling, or any act that feels
shameful; speak to a trusted person and develop healthy ways of coping.
Staying Safe
There is a growing trend in education, social services, mental and healthcare services, to become
‘trauma- informed’ which is backed by local and national Government. Trauma Informed Care (TIC) was
inspired by the work of the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE’s) which originated in California in the
early 1990s.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) is the term used to describe traumatic experiences before the
age of 18 that can lead to negative, lifelong emotional and physical outcomes. It explores 10 areas of
traumatic experiences covering abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction. In 2013, the Public Health
Wales survey reported that 50% of Welsh adults had experienced at least one ACE, and England
reported a figure of 47%. The 2020 ACE’s report indicates that research into ACEs consistently shows
that a set of 10 adverse experiences in childhood are associated with an increased risk of poor health
and other problems in later life. As a result, the government ‘ensure that it is making the most of the
opportunity for early intervention to effectively and cost-effectively address childhood adversity and
trauma, and the long-term problems associated with such experiences. (ACE 2020: 7)
Consequently, Churches and Christian faith-based organisations are going to come across traumatised
people and being trauma-informed can reduce harm to individuals and help people flourish in
their wellbeing. Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms and
acknowledges the role it has in an individual’s life. One of the greatest paradigm shifts in this area
is moving from the question, “What is wrong with this person?” to “What has happened to this
person?”. As mentioned above, the impacts of trauma change the way our brain works, which affects
our emotions, behaviour, and daily functioning. The intention of Trauma-Informed Care is not to
treat symptoms but create better support systems to reduce any further harm to people regarding
re-traumatisation. Re-traumatising means that the person has been triggered and feels like they are
reliving the trauma over again. Trauma-Informed Care educates ways to be mindful of creating safe
practices and procedures that is conducive for healing and restoring lives.
Trauma and its effects will always exist in our broken world but working together strategically is more
powerful than trauma will ever be.
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