March On Stress

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Does my organisation need TRiM?

• If your organisation operates in a high risk, or high threat location, or in the course of day-to-day work staff are likely to face traumatic or potentially traumatic situations, then you should consider TRiM
• We deliver TRiM to a wide range of organisations. Emergency service organisations are among our biggest clients. We also work with media organisations, charities, government agencies and security firms. We have a client list here 
• The implementation of TRiM has benefited many 'at risk' organisations – legally (by providing a duty of care); economically (by keeping people at work) and morally (by looking after personnel)

What is TRiM?

• TRiM is a trauma-focused peer support system designed to help people who have experienced a traumatic, or potentially traumatic, event
• TRiM Practitioners are non-medical personnel who have undergone specific training allowing them to understand the effects that traumatic events can have upon people. They are not counsellors or therapists, but understand confidentially and are able to listen and offer practical advice and assistance
• TRiM originated in the UK Armed Forces and the model is based on ‘watchful waiting’, that means keeping a watchful eye on individuals who have been exposed to a traumatic event, whether that person has been directly involved or involved from afar. Read more under ‘the NICE view’ below

TRiM Practitioner training

• TRiM Practitioners are trained to spot signs of distress in people that may go unnoticed, they carry out TRiM assessments and TRiM planning meetings and signpost people to support if required
• The TRiM Practitioner course is two days
• We can deliver training at your organisation for groups of up to 8 (with one instructor) or 9-16 (with two instructors). Or you can attend one of our all comers courses 

TRiM Manager training

• TRiM Managers are firstly trained at Practitioner level. They co-ordinate a TRIM response, including allocating Practitioners, carry out Tactical Incident Briefings (TIBs), ensure Practitioners are ‘in date’ and refresh them when needed. At March on Stress, we also train TRiM Managers to provide trauma awareness briefings in their organisation 
• The TRiM Manager course is also two days
• We can deliver training at your organisation for groups of up to 4 (with one instructor) or 5-8 (with two instructors). Or you can attend one of our all comers courses 

How does TRiM benefit my organisation?

• Saves money - good mental health practices in an organisation can help to reduce sickness absence and presenteesim
• Shows a legal duty of care to employees
• Helps to break the stigma of mental health – this not only supports your people but can lead to early interventions thus reducing sickness absence as above
• Building a resilient workforce through TRiM outside the time of a crisis can help during a difficult time or when crisis hits 

What do I need to implement TRiM?

We recommend that for successful implementation of TRiM, that you consider the following:

1. Who to train – we can offer advice about selection of Practitioners/Managers.
2. How many personnel to train - Every organisation is different, there are no exact numbers for how many you should train. We recommend ensuring a good spread across the organisation, so that you have a TRiM Manager and Practitioner available across different departments, geographical locations, shift patterns if relevant, to cover annual leave and so that your TRiM Managers or Practitioners are not overloaded.
3. TRiM Policy – have a policy in place to support TRiM, this helps to organise and structure the approach and sets out a commitment from the top of the organisation. We can advise on policy, please contact us to discuss. 
4. TRiM and trauma awareness briefings – these are important for leaders – so they understand and support the process and also for staff to be aware that TRiM is available as a supportive measure to them, consider a short TRiM briefing as part of staff inductions. Your TRiM Manager will be able to advise, or we can provide sessions as required.
5. Internal communications – the briefings above are one element of internal comms, let people know TRiM is available in your organisation, we have TRiM materials that can help with this. 
6. Review – ensure a regular review of TRiM, how is it working in your organisation? do you need to refresh your Practitioners, train new Managers or Practitioners? Are there CPD opportunities coming up that would help your TRiM team?

Training with us

We are proud to be the leading commercial TRiM training provider and work hard to deliver a quality and professional service both before, during and after training. We regularly receive excellent feedback for our training and pride ourselves on providing pre and post course support at the highest level.

NICE view

• The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the UK's body which sanctions medical interventions.
• NICE has issued guidance on the management of post traumatic illnesses and at the core of the guidelines is the principle of not 'making a meal' of normal levels of post incident distress. For most individuals, post incident distress is not a medical problem nor does it require complex interventions.
• NICE suggests that for the first month after an incident, a policy of watchful waiting should be employed; that means keeping a watchful eye on individuals who have been exposed to the traumatic event. This does not just mean those who were 'there' but also those who might feel responsible such as those who might have been on a radio line or those who had to help with the aftermath.
• The TRiM approach is fully consistent with the traumatic stress management guidance issued by NICE.