What is trauma-informed coaching?

Trauma-informed coaching is an approach that recognises the presence and impact of trauma in a person’s life and integrates this understanding into the coaching process and relationship. It’s a style of coaching that is, at its core, sensitive to the emotional and psychological needs of clients who may have experienced trauma.

It prioritises creating a safe, supportive, compassionate and non-judgmental environment based on trust and transparency to guide clients toward resilience and solution-focused growth. Empathetic abiding presence, attuned connection, curiosity and compassion are key ingredients in this relationship. It creates the safety necessary for change and transformation.

The core principle of trauma-informed coaching reframes a person’s challenges not as inherent flaws (“what’s wrong with you?“), but as potential responses to past adverse experiences (“what happened to you?“). This means that behaviours that may appear self-destructive or self-defeating can be acknowledged as being adaptive behaviours to trauma that have become maladaptive over time. This shift fosters an environment of safety, encourages trust, and promotes healing by understanding behaviour as a survival adaptation rather than a personal failing. This approach acknowledges that a person’s experiences shape their present, and coaches can support their clients by focusing on those experiences to help them heal and move forward.

Six key principles of trauma-informed coaching:

There are 6 principles of trauma-informed coaching: safety (physical and emotional), trust & transparency, choice & collaboration, empowerment, cultural consideration and focus on the future.

Safety: Creating a physically and emotionally safe space is a top priority. By asking “what happened to you?” instead of “what is wrong with you?” it allows individuals to feel understood rather than judged, fostering a sense of safety that is crucial for healing and building trust.

Trust and transparency: Building a relationship based on clear, consistent, and transparent communication.

Choice and collaboration: Empowering clients to make their own choices and actively participate in their own growth journey.

Empowerment: Helping clients build resilience and awareness of their own strengths and positive future possibilities.

Cultural consideration: Acknowledging how factors like race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, and language affect how trauma is experienced, expressed, and treated. It requires awareness of cultural norms around expressing distress and seeking help, and to adapt practices to be culturally relevant.

Acknowledge the past, focus on the future: Honouring where the client is now while helping them move toward a better future, focusing on post-traumatic growth rather than bypassing the pain.

Trauma-informed coaching is a way of being. It´s a way of understanding the presence of past trauma, its current effects on a client, and how to use the client’s resiliency to guide them along their path toward solution-focused growth.

Trauma-informed coaching aims to provide a more holistic and compassionate approach to supporting clients, recognising that trauma can significantly impact their professional lives and overall well-being. It helps clients to reframe their narrative,  move past negative effects of past events and build new, positive experiences.

It embraces: somatic awareness, trauma-sensitive language, (self-)compassion, grounding techniques, self-regulation skills, reflective practices, breathing exercises, meditation, etc.

When might you benefit from trauma informed coaching?

It is ideal for people ready to move forward, even if they haven’t fully processed past trauma, and are looking for a supportive, non-judgmental space to build resilience and create a more meaningful life.

Specific situations where trauma-informed coaching might be helpful

Moving forward after a traumatic experience: If you’re ready to focus on your future and set new goals without needing to “unpack” past trauma in detail.

Professional challenges: If trauma is affecting your professional life, such as causing self-doubt, impacting your career progression, or leading to burnout. This can also be beneficial for leaders who want to create more supportive workplaces.

Struggling with persistent issues: If you feel blocked, overwhelmed, or are experiencing symptoms like chronic pain, procrastination, or self-doubt that you suspect may be related to past experiences.

Navigating major life changes: If you are going through a life transition, like a career change, divorce, or family shift, and need support to build healthier boundaries and navigate the change with greater self-trust.

Feeling stuck despite having coping mechanisms: If you generally have strategies to manage emotions but still feel something is holding you back and you want to achieve your goals with more momentum.

Working in high-stress environments: If your job involves dealing with traumatic stress or emotionally charged situations, making a trauma-informed approach a valuable tool for your own well-being and effectiveness.

Coaching vs. therapy

Trauma-informed coaching is not a replacement for therapy. Coaches do not diagnose, treat mental health conditions, or prescribe medication. Coaches are not a substitute for mental health professionals and will refer clients to therapy if needed, especially if there is a risk of self-harm. Trauma-informed coaching helps clients develop coping strategies, build resilience, and move forward in their lives. It´s different from therapy because it focuses on forward-looking goal-setting rather than treating trauma itself. Therapists may explore past traumas and work with specific processing of emotions and exposure to the trauma with structured approaches.

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Written by: Judith Janssen, Associate Executive Coach

Judith is an experienced trauma-informed coach, facilitator and consultant specialising in leadership development and cultural transformation.
She has over ten years of international experience in Human Resources within multinational companies and over 15 years of international experience working as a coach, facilitator and consultant.

Judith trained as a facilitator in the “Forgive for Good” program of Dr. Fred Luskin, Founder and Director of the Stanford Forgiveness Project from Stanford University, and she has completed the Professional Training in Compassionate Inquiry with Dr. Gabor Maté.

Judith is an Associate Executive Coach of The Coaching Solution.

If you are interested in working with Judith, please contact info@thecoachingsolution.co.uk or call on 07789 007591.