Healing at Work: How We’re Building a Trauma-Informed Workplace

Healing can be complicated. 

For nearly 30 years now, Thistle Farms has seen this truth play out time and time again. We know that the pain of the past doesn’t magically end when someone graduates from our residential program, and that healing isn’t confined to the walls of a therapist's office.

That’s why earlier this year, we devoted every Monday in February to a series of all-day departmental training initiatives to strengthen our work in being a trauma-informed workplace. Our goal? 

To cultivate a thriving workforce and work environment by: building and developing emotional regulation tools, strengthening trust and collaboration through peacekeeping circles, and connecting brain and body through wellness activities.

Basically, we wanted to make sure we were walking the walk and not just going through the motions, which is easy to do when you've been at this work day in and day out since 1997. 

Many of our team members are graduates or residents of our program; women who have survived trafficking, prostitution, addiction, incarceration, and unimaginable trauma. Others are in long-term recovery or carry their own histories of trauma and survival, having experienced various forms of interpersonal violence, addiction, and more. In fact, most of our team self-identifies as a survivor in some way. 

When that’s your reality, being trauma-informed must be both a philosophy and a necessity as life's stressors and your past experiences don't linger at the door when you clock in for work. It can show up in the workplace through stress, conflict, shutdown, or dysregulation, and we recognized how important it is to create systems that support healing, not punishment. 

We believe that modeling what healing looks like can transform the way we live, work, and lead. And that includes how we communicate, how we set boundaries, and how we navigate hard days as a team. 

“Investing in trauma-informed care training has been transformational for our workplace. It wasn’t just a top-down initiative; it was a collaborative effort that truly embodied our core value that "we are stronger together." By working across teams to design and facilitate the training, we created a shared language and commitment to empathy and trust. Since completing the training, we've seen stronger team dynamics, improved communication, and a deeper sense of connection across the organization. The impact has been both powerful and lasting.” 
- Courtney Sobieralski, Director of People & Culture 

Our internal Trauma-Informed Care Taskforce designed a four-week training series grounded in neuroscience, self-regulation, and community building. Each all-day session included education, embodied wellness practices, and opportunities for deep connection. Each week, a different department stepped away from our desks, the warehouse, or the cafe and into a day of learning as a community.

These full-day retreats helped us build the tools, teams, and trust needed to cultivate a healthier, more supportive work environment for everyone. The trainings were taught by members of our community and were designed to help us learn, reconnect, and regulate…together. 

Together, we explored: 

• The science of trauma and how it impacts the brain and nervous system
• Self- and co-regulation tools for navigating conflict and emotional stress
• How trauma can manifest in the workplace and ways we can respond with empathy 

In addition, each day included holistic, healing-centered activities like: 

• Sound baths
• Gentle yoga
• Drum Circle
• Walking meditations 

And we ended every session in a community circle facilitated by our friends at The Circle Center, which created a structured, intentional space for storytelling and vulnerability so each voice was heard. 

The trainings offered space for everyone, whether someone's been with Thistle Farms for two weeks or twenty years, to show up more authentically and with the knowledge that this is a safe place to have a bad day. 

"Working here is not just a job. It pays the bills, but it's also a community where I can continue to recover.”
- Latisha, Shop Inventory Specialist and 2013 Graduate 

By offering space to learn about trauma and the brain, engage in some joyful movement (or stillness), and to understand one another’s stories a little better, we strengthened the kind of culture we all want to be part of. 

This four-week training series was a significant investment, not only in time and resources, but in people. And it’s one we’re proud to make. We know that becoming a trauma-informed workplace is a lifelong process that requires intention, vulnerability, and the courage to keep growing together. These trainings were just one step of many on that journey. 

Just as we have for the past three decades, we’re committed to making Thistle Farms a place of healing for the women we serve as well as for everyone who walks through our doors as a staff member, volunteer, and customer.