Many important twitter debates this week on researching trauma. Having watched these unfold I’ve reflected on my experiences and what I’ve learned after researching in the area of trauma and vicarious trauma. 1.) Be prepared to justify your position on the term ‘trauma’.

Set this out clearly in your manuscript. Doing this allows others to consider the transferability of your work. 2.) immerse yourself in the trauma literature. Good start points for me have been the books of Levine, van der Kolk, and Rothschild. For PTG I continually go back to

Stephen Joseph’s work. 3.) consider your own competencies. Trauma research often involves interviewing - are you protecting yourself and your participant by being competent/well trained? Seek out training from trauma specific organisations/run by practitioners who regularly

engage in trauma work. Listen to their stories. In my area (South East England) I’d recommend @wealdencollege who run trauma-focused training.