A trauma-informed approach ensures that support services are designed to recognise the needs of individuals who may have suffered trauma. Many other UK government departments and organisations – including the Department of Work and Pensions, Ministry of Justice, NHS and Social Security Scotland – are embedding trauma-informed principles. In addition, this project follows the MOD review of welfare services in 2023 recommendation to adopt trauma-informed practice.

The new project, led by Professor Lisa Scullion, will seek to understand the current experiences of MOD welfare services from a trauma-informed perspective. Working specifically with the Armed Forces People Support Team, which supports a range of complex welfare issues, the project aims to help the MOD to understand how policy and practice can become more trauma-informed in a sustainable and evidence driven way.

The project is scheduled to run for 18 months from June 2025.

Lisa Scullion, Professor of Social Policy and Lead Professor for Social Sciences at the University of Salford, said:

“We are grateful to Forces in Mind Trust for supporting this project. It builds on our existing impactful work with the Department for Work and Pensions which helped support enhancements to their Armed Forces support and is currently supporting their trauma informed approaches integration programme. We are really excited to be able to use that learning to support the MOD to look at the value of trauma-informed approaches and hope that we can help the wellbeing of both service users and staff.”

James Greenrod, Head of Armed Forces People Support – Ministry of Defence, said

“We are delighted to be part of this important initiative, which will provide valuable lessons to us in how we support those whose work exposes them to difficult topics and materials.  I look forward to the outcomes of this project, enabling us to better support those who support others, and generating useful insights for future policy and practice”.

Michelle Alston, Chief Executive of Forces in Mind Trust, said:

“Trauma-informed approaches to services provide that additional understanding and support that helps those living with trauma in the Armed Forces community thrive. We are pleased to fund this project that will help inform policy and practice to become trauma-informed.”