Trauma-informed legal guides
Therapeutic jurisprudence and the trauma-informed court: Judicial Commission of NSW – Equality before the Law Bench Book: Therapeutic jurisprudence and the trauma-informed court.
Canadian Trauma Informed Lawyering Toolkit: spearheaded by the pioneer Myrna McCallum, this guide includes information for trauma-informed courts and as well as trauma-informed lawyering.
Scottish Law Society Trauma-Informed Certification Course: This comprehensive online course includes perspectives of clients, psychologists, and a range of supporting materials. It has been instrumental in the shift towards trauma-informed lawyering in Scotland.
European Human Rights Centre Trauma-Informed Guide to working with clients of human rights violations: practical, geared towards legal practice (including litigation), and the Centre is also developing guides specific to certain kinds of trauma (i.e. enforced disappearances, sexual violence).
Advocates Gateway (UK): practical, evidence-based guidance on communicating with vulnerable witnesses and defendants.
Scottish Trauma Informed Justice Framework: this framework outlines the knowledge and skills needed to work with victims and witnesses (including children and young people) in the justice system.
SHARP Workplaces Reference Manual for Lawyers: Advising clients with workplace sexual harassment complaints [1]: This Manual provides trauma-informed provides practical tips for interviewing clients, providing legal advice, and assisting clients to write a complaint, navigate an internal workplace investigation, and negotiate a settlement [2].
Scottish Law Society Trauma-Informed Certification Course: This comprehensive online course includes perspectives of clients, psychologists, and a range of supporting materials. It seems instrumental in the shift towards trauma-informed lawyering in Scotland.
[1] Community Legal Assistance Society, 'SHARP Workplaces: Sexual Harassment Advice, Response, and Prevention for Workplaces - Reference Manual for Lawyers' (November 2021) https://clasbc.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/SHARP-Workplaces-Reference-Manual-for-Lawyers.pdf
[2] Community Legal Assistance Society, 'SHARP Workplaces: Sexual Harassment Advice, Response, and Prevention for Workplaces - Reference Manual for Lawyers' (November 2021) https://clasbc.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/SHARP-Workplaces-Reference-Manual-for-Lawyers.pdf
Best Practice Trauma-Informed Judicial resources
Therapeutic jurisprudence: a practical guide to developing therapeutic intervention skills for judicial officers in specialist courts: Written by clinical psychologist Dr Rhondda Waterworth, the aim of this e-resource is to inform judicial officers about the principles and practice of therapeutic jurisprudence and trauma-informed judging. The resource also provides practical interventions and information to help protect judicial efficacy in the face of the constant risk of vicarious traumatisation.
Canadian Trauma Informed Legal Practice Toolkit: Chapter 6 addresses Trauma-Informed Practice in the Courtroom succinctly.
Bolch Judicial Institute at Duke Law: leader in education and research relating to the use of trauma-informed practices in court. The Institute created North Carolina’s first-ever trauma-focused training for all new district court judges as part of new judges orientation, co-authored a bench card on trauma-informed practices with the Chief Justice’s Task Force on ACEs-Informed Courts, and launched a large-scale research project investigating the use of trauma-informed practices in juvenile delinquency courts.
Judges and Psychiatrists Leadership Initiative - CSG Justice Center: The American Initiative aims to support efforts by judges and psychiatrists to improve judicial, community, and systemic responses to people with behavioural health needs who are involved in the justice system by creating a community of practice, building non-clinical skills of court professions and developing educational resources. Some of the biomedical language used in their resources to describe mental ill-health is inconsistent with our codesigned approach, but the general guidance leads to more trauma-informed practice.
Salus Populi is an American judicial education program that provides judges and attorneys with the tools to recognise how the social determinants of health impact the issues that come before the court and evaluate public health research relating to the social determinants of health. Although this two day in person course does not focus only on trauma, it does place individuals within their broader context, taking into account systemic impacts of racism, financial disadvantage, etc. and other factors that may cause trauma.
Codesign in the legal assistance sector
Trauma-informed leadership
National Lived Experience (Peer) Workforce Development Guidelines
Purpose of the Guidelines
The Guidelines apply to all states and jurisdictions, providing a roadmap for funding bodies/policy makers, organisations and Lived Experience workers to facilitate effective development of the Lived Experience workforce diverse position types and settings. Although the guidelines have been developed with a focus on mental health Lived Experience roles, there is applicability across other sectors such as disability, suicide prevention, and alcohol and other drug use or dependence.
The guidelines are inclusive of both the personal and family/carer Lived Experience workforces and provides detail on the similarities and differences of these distinct perspectives. The guidelines acknowledge the need for the Lived Experience workforce to be reflective of our diverse communities.
View National Lived Experience (Peer) Workforce Development Guidelines HERE.
Supporting Trauma-Informed Legal Services (STILS)
Researchers from La Trobe University, in partnership with National Legal Aid, Legal Aid NSW, Victoria Legal Aid, and Northern Territory Legal Aid, have received an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant to research trauma-informed practices in the Australian legal assistance sector.
What is STILS?
The STILS project is designed to transform how legal services are delivered to people who have experienced trauma. By integrating trauma-informed principles into legal practice, the project aims to:
- Improve client outcomes
- Enhance staff wellbeing
- Identify best practices in trauma-informed lawyering
As part of the project, legal teams in each partner organisation will implement key elements of the With You Trauma-Informed Organisational Toolkit, including trauma-informed supervision for staff and coaching for managers.
Why it Matters
People's legal needs often intersect with poor mental health and trauma. Despite growing awareness, there’s still limited empirical research on systemic trauma-informed legal practices.
STILS fills this gap by using a research-driven approach to tailor legal services that meet the unique challenges of trauma survivors, including First Nations peoples, family violence survivors, and those with mental health conditions.
Project Goals
This research will advance the evidence-based training of the With You project to assess the impact of training, supervision and coaching on legal service delivery.
The primary objectives of STILS are to:
- Implement and critically evaluate trauma-informed legal practices across key Legal Aid Commissions in three Australian states and territories, in three practice areas.
- Assess the effectiveness and benefits of trauma-informed lawyering for both clients and legal staff, with a focus on improving client experiences, outcomes, and staff wellbeing.
- Identify and disseminate best practices in trauma-informed legal services to inform future policies and legal practice frameworks.
Expected Impact
The project is expected to benefit both clients and legal professionals. In the long term, it could influence the broader adoption of trauma-informed lawyering across Australia and beyond.
In a statement for La Trobe University, researcher, Associate Professor Chris Maylea, has stated that he hopes the work will lead to "enhanced client experiences and improved legal outcomes and set new standards in legal assistance."
"This strategic research alliance promises significant community benefits by developing an evidence-base for trauma-informed practices in the Australian legal system."
Further information can be found on La Trobe's website here: ARC Linkage Project to examine trauma-informed practices in public legal services, News, La Trobe University