Strengthening Trauma-Informed Practice: Learning from NAPAC

In our expert witness work, we regularly meet children, young people and adults whose lives have been affected by trauma. For some, this trauma is rooted in adverse childhood experiences, instability, abuse or neglect. For others, it is a result of experiencing modern slavery, criminal exploitation or violence. Often, it is a combination of abuse in childhood and exploitation later in life.

This reality is central to how we approach our work. If we are to produce evidence that is accurate, credible and fair, we must first ensure that the people we meet feel safe, listened to and taken seriously. Being heard is not a soft outcome - it directly affects an individual’s wellbeing and trust in the justice process. 

When survivors are supported properly, we empower them to share their experiences, ensuring we can reliably capture these experiences. For us, trauma-informed practice is therefore not an add-on, but fundamental to good expert evidence.

It was in this context that our team undertook a two-day trauma-informed training programme with NAPAC (the National Association for People Abused in Childhood) earlier this year.
 

Who are NAPAC?

NAPAC is a national charity providing specialist support to adult survivors of all forms of childhood abuse. Their work spans direct survivor support, professional training and sector leadership, with a particular focus on helping individuals navigate the long-term impacts of childhood trauma. Through their training and advisory work, NAPAC supports professionals across the criminal justice, public health system and private sector to better understand trauma, communication and survivor needs.

From the outset, NAPAC’s training felt grounded in real-world practice. It acknowledged both the complexity of survivors’ experiences and the responsibilities of professionals working in high-stakes, emotionally demanding contexts.

Why This Training Mattered to Our Work

Although trauma-informed practice already underpins our assessments, the training offered an important opportunity to pause, reflect and stress-test our approach. Much of our work involves asking individuals to talk about experiences that are painful, confusing or difficult to articulate. Trauma can shape memory, communication, emotional regulation and trust in ways that are often misunderstood within formal systems.

The training reinforced something we see repeatedly in casework: behaviours that are sometimes framed as “inconsistency”, “avoidance” or “poor engagement” are very often trauma responses. Recognising this is essential if assessments are to accurately reflect lived experience rather than inadvertently distort it.

NAPAC’s input helped us refine how we hold space during assessments, how we listen and how we ensure individuals retain a sense of agency throughout the process. The emphasis was not on changing what we do, but on sharpening how we do it - ensuring our practice remains careful, ethical and responsive in complex cases.

Reflecting on Neurodivergence, Communication and Vulnerability

The training also encouraged deeper reflection on how neurodivergence and cognitive difference intersect with exploitation and trauma. We know from research and practice that neurodivergent individuals can be at heightened risk of exploitation, and that their communication styles are too often misinterpreted within legal processes.

Rather than approaching this through rigid frameworks, the focus was on a person-centred approach: noticing how individuals communicate, adapting our pace and language, and being responsive rather than prescriptive. This aligns closely with how we already work - meeting people where they are, rather than expecting them to conform to institutional norms of disclosure.

Looking After the People Doing the Work

Another important strand of the training centred on the impact of this work on professionals themselves. Regular exposure to trauma narratives carries risks, particularly in deadline-driven environments where emotional processing is often squeezed out. NAPAC created space for honest discussion about vicarious trauma, fatigue and sustainability, without framing these issues as individual weakness.

This has reinforced the importance of collective responsibility within our team. We work closely together, share workload pressures and remain alert to the subtle ways emotionally demanding work can affect people over time. Supporting one another is not only necessary for staff wellbeing - it is integral to maintaining the quality and integrity of our work. Properly supporting our clients begins with adequately supporting ourselves.

From Training to Scrutiny: Our Ongoing Audit

As part of this process, we have also committed to a voluntary audit of our expert witness assessment practice, supported by NAPAC. This has included detailed review of our assessment questions, consideration of language and tone, and reflective feedback on how our assessments are experienced by those we meet.

With informed consent, this has also involved observation of live assessment work, allowing for thoughtful, practice-based feedback rather than theoretical critique. In parallel, NAPAC is supporting a review of our new website to identify and challenge any language that could unintentionally reinforce victim-blaming or minimise trauma.

This level of scrutiny is intentional. We believe that strong practice should be open to challenge, and that continuous reflection is essential in work of this nature. Being trauma-informed is an ongoing and evolving process.

Appreciation and Next Steps

We are extremely grateful to NAPAC’s training and advisory team for the depth, sensitivity and care they brought to this work. Their feedback has been both constructive and affirming, and has helped us strengthen practice that sits at the heart of our expert witness work.

For us, this process is about ensuring that when individuals speak to us - often at points of profound vulnerability - they feel seen, respected and understood. That, in turn, allows us to produce clearer, fairer and more reliable evidence for the courts.

We will continue to reflect, review and learn, as part of our commitment to supporting victims and survivors with care, integrity and professionalism.