The Roots Tool
Date 18.11.2022
About The Roots Tool
The Roots Tool is designed to provide an individual, team, service or organisation with a reflective overview of how well they are delivering services that aim to be trauma-informed.
The Roots tool is designed to be delivered cyclically, prompting mapping, planning, action and review. The results provide learning value to inform individuals and organisations towards self-knowledge and a culture of development. Learning and knowledge sharing can take place with the comparison of results across individuals and settings.
The contents and language used within The Roots Tool are highly dependent on context. This fact, in combination with evolutionary priorities and dynamic definitions of trauma-informed care, is why maintenance is encouraged when using The Roots Tool.
The Roots Tool facilitates positive discussion around growing into a trauma-informed service.
What is it?
Roots is comprised of 7 domains: Safety, Language, Social, Trauma-specific Interventions, Empowerment, Whole System and Compassionate Leadership. Each of these domains consists of several potential practical items.
There are two parallel forms: one for staff and one for service users. Each form gives a different perspective but comparatively, they can highlight different perceptions that may need addressed and together they give a more rounded overview of actual delivery, helping to mitigate against bias. A RAG (red, amber and green) rating system is proposed for each domain.
The RAG rating
The quantitative or scaled measure within Roots is the red, amber, and green rating which is used by most NHS trusts in the UK. The RAG ratings are standardised as follows:
green
- Significant awareness and resources dedicated towards a trauma-informed service
- Proven efforts in achieving a trauma-informed service
- Significant evidence of extensive value-based applications
Amber
- Moderate attention and resources are dedicated towards a trauma-informed service
- Recognisable efforts in achieving a trauma-informed service
- Some evidence of good enough practice
Red
- A lack of dedicated resources for the implementation of trauma-informed care
- Very few progressive efforts to achieve a trauma-informed service
- Little to no training, development or learning offered by the service
The Domains
The domains within Roots emerged from a summit of clinicians, managers, leaders, people with lived experience, researchers, and others on Thursday 28th March 2019.
An organisation that promotes that the individual feels of worth, validates their experiences and opinions, and is safe from physical harm from others and feeling a sense of belonging.
The description of services and mental health, the language that is used within services and wider communities and everyday language promote a more equal and inclusive discussion.
Awareness of the way that people, when under stress, may be triggered in their current relationships with others based on their previous relationships (attachment patterns). The delivery of support by ‘peers’/people with lived experience of trauma and mental health difficulties.
Interventions that are trauma-informed, and any support that is delivered in a way that appreciates the impact of trauma and minimises further harm.
The confidence gained by owning efforts towards change and feeling the outcomes is of value to you and a result of your own choices. Staff are motivated toward service change and feel positive about their work.
Processes and programmes are meant to bring about positive change within the organisation and encourage ways of working that are trauma-informed. People in the whole system can easily access a range of therapies, which are specially designed to treat trauma, for the length of time that is right for them.
A leadership style that facilitates trust, transparency, empowerment, respect and devolved innovation and collective decision-making. People with lived experience of using mental health services can develop their leadership skills and take on leadership roles.
How do I use it?
There are many ways to use the Roots tool. Exercises using Roots can range from being a simple one-day team event to a full-scale organizational effort to determine trauma-informed practice.
The intent for any service is to achieve the ‘green’ state on the RAG rating for all items, although this may not be possible for certain services or specific circumstances. There is always work to be done, even if services are ‘green’.
Roots is a facilitated discussion for staff, service users and teams to think about what might make up trauma-informed care in their areas.
Who uses it?
All services and individuals can use The Roots Tool. Health and social care services are more likely to use Roots as they are more likely to interact with people who have experienced complex trauma. It can be used by all human services.
These are a few organisations that have used The Roots Tool – if you would like help using it, get in touch!
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