Crisis & Trauma Recovery Working Group
Convened by the Complex Trauma Institute
A cross-sector think tank and knowledge-translation forum bringing together universities, agencies, and invited contributors to develop practical briefing papers, system guidance, and policy-relevant recommendations that support clearer standards, safer pathways, and more accountable practice across crisis and trauma services.
The Crisis & Trauma Recovery Working Group is convened by the Complex Trauma Institute to connect trauma practice, research, and policy. It brings together universities, clinical and non-clinical agencies, and invited contributors to identify real system and practice problems, and to translate existing knowledge into practical outputs for commissioners, service leaders, and the wider workforce. In this way, the Working Group supports not only knowledge exchange, but also stronger standards, clearer service expectations, and more consistent practice across sectors.
What this Working Group is
A practical cross-sector think tank focused on real system and practice problems.
A knowledge-translation forum linking research, practice, and policy.
A light-touch collaboration designed to produce useful, service-facing outputs.
What this Working Group is not
It is not a membership body, regulator, accreditation body, or formal academic consortium.
It does not require everyone to attend every meeting or undertake new research.
Who can join
The Working Group is open to universities, clinical services, non-clinical agencies, and invited contributors whose work is relevant to crisis, trauma recovery, workforce support, service delivery, policy development, or improvement of standards in practice.
What we produce
The main outputs are briefing papers, system guidance, and policy-relevant recommendations designed to translate existing knowledge into practical, usable outputs. These outputs are intended to help services and decision-makers strengthen practice, improve pathways, and support safer and more accountable responses.
How the model works
The Working Group starts with a real system or practice problem, links it with relevant knowledge and contributors, and translates this into clear service-facing outputs.
Review and coordination
CTI convenes and coordinates the Working Group, supports drafting, invites relevant input, and manages a short, proportionate review and sign-off process for each output.
Public listing and permissions
A participant page is being developed to list participating universities, agencies, and contributors where permission is given. No organisation or individual will be listed publicly without permission. Those who prefer not to be listed may still contribute.
Current focus
Current areas of work include crisis stabilisation, non-narrative care, referral pathway design, vicarious trauma, and related questions of service quality, workforce support, and practical standards.
Why this matters
Many services are working under pressure across fragmented systems, with limited practical guidance on crisis stabilisation, trauma recovery pathways, workforce support, and consistent standards. This Working Group exists to help close that gap by producing clearer, more practical, and more system-usable outputs that can also support safer, more accountable practice.
Interest in joining or contributing
The Working Group remains open to universities, agencies, and invited contributors whose work is relevant to these aims.