What Do the 'Five Pillars of Protection' & 'Together in Practice' Have in Common?

Sass Boucher

What Do the Five Pillars of Protection and Together in Practice have in common, research mainly!

But this is also alongside eight years of delivering training to thousands of frontline practitioners, listening to their realities, and drawing on nearly forty collective years of frontline and professional experience across domestic abuse work, counselling, social work education, and trauma-informed practice.

As we move towards the launch of Together in Practice in January, Kate and I wanted to share a little more about where the programme came from, and why it matters.

It all began ten years ago, with my MSc research project, Looking Through a Lens of Terribleness, which explored not only the impacts of frontline work (introducing the term Professional Trauma & Fatigue) but also how we might better support those who support others.

Through a qualitative thematic analysis, combining a literature review across counselling, social work, domestic abuse services, trauma studies and occupational health, clear patterns began to emerge. Patterns of what had helped those of us who had struggled and how this information might lead on to an early intervention model.

Later, when Kate and I began designing training together for SelfCare Psychology, we realised those themes consistently clustered into five core areas. We also realised how little of this was being recognised across the frontline.

We really wanted to have conversations that can move towards accepting that as professionals:

We are not disposable, and we do not have to be broken by the work.

We simply need to understand more about how the work impacts us.

This is where the Five Pillars of Protection came from.

They were never abstract ideas or commercially packaged concepts.They were born from research, from the literature, and they continue to be developed and inform, as we listen to what practitioners repeatedly tell us they need in order to stay well in emotionally demanding work:

Awareness

Rooted in research across stress, burnout, vicarious trauma, secondary trauma, compassion fatigue and moral distress, the ability to name the emotional impact of the work without shame or judgement. What we now refer to collectively as Professional Trauma and Fatigue.

Supervision

Aligned with decades of counselling and social work research showing that reflective, relational supervision improves practitioner wellbeing, safety and ethical decision-making. Also recognising that supervision looks different across sectors, there isn’t a single “right” model. For us, it’s the quality of the relationship that matters.

Peer Support

Supported by organisational and trauma research showing that shared load reduces isolation and protects against stress and emotional fatigue. We are often our own best support, not to reduce capacity, but to share, talk, laugh and acknowledge that generally, only people who do what we do truly get it.

Trauma-Informed Practice

Reflecting the wider trauma literature that emphasises practitioners are human beings with histories, nervous systems and limits,  not detached professionals somehow immune to impact.

Self-Care

Not the commercialised version, but the everyday human practices that help practitioners remain steady, connected, and resourced without turning wellness into an individual “fix.” Making it acceptable, and ethical, to care for ourselves, rather than a guilty, furtive, self-sacrificing afterthought.

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Earlier this year, when Staffordshire County Council began looking for a preventative, relational model for their Social Work teams, Kate and I set out to weave these elements together.

The result is Together in Practice a programme bringing therapeutic space, peer support and evidence-based learning into structured monthly 90-minute sessions, standalone modules that can be dipped in and out of.

Together in Practice (TiP) was built around the Five Pillars for a reason.

They offer a structure that is:

• reflective rather than reactive

• relational rather than prescriptive

• evidence-informed rather than trend-driven

• human rather than organisationally detached

And this is why TiP matters.

It gives practitioners regular, protected space to feel supported, grounded, connected and understood, not only in moments of crisis, but as part of the ongoing rhythm of practice itself.

As January approaches, we’re genuinely looking forward to walking alongside teams again, holding space for the realities of frontline practice, and building something that helps people stay well in the work they care deeply about.

#TogetherInPractice #ProfessionalTraumaAndFatigue #FivePillarsOfProtection #HelpingProfessionals #LeadershipDevelopment #TraumaInformed

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