Veterinary practices are spaces of deeply meaningful work, professional development and growth, and positive impact on the lives of animals and the humans that care for them. But equally, there are high emotions, work-related stress, and the potential for secondary traumatic stress. The key to fortifying a sustainably healthy, engaged caregiving team and leadership is acknowledging these challenges and cultivating protective factors and skills building.

Becoming Trauma-Informed normalizes the experiences of individuals in stressful environments and provides an understanding of how to be better prepared as individuals and as teams.
The (6) pillars of this framework include:

• Safety (including psychological safety)
• Trustworthiness/transparency
• Peer support
• Collaboration/mutuality
• Empowerment/voice/choice
• Cultural competency.