Trauma Informed Community of Practice

What is this Community of Practice?

Many of the people we work with arrive carrying trauma, whether from the dispute itself or from experiences long before it. How we respond can shape not only the outcome, but whether people leave the process feeling heard, safe and treated fairly.

This Community of Practice is a reflective series for experienced legal and dispute resolution professionals who want to bring trauma-informed principles into their everyday work. Each session opens with a short insight drawn from current research and international practice, followed by facilitated, honest conversation about the realities of the work - the difficult moments, the judgement calls and the emotional weight we often carry quietly.

There is room for everyone to contribute. If you can’t attend a session, you’re welcome to pass your place to a colleague.

How we work together
Discussions are confidential, and client matters are always de-identified. You’re welcome to take part at whatever level feels comfortable. We aim to model the same safety, choice and respect we hope to offer the people we work with.

Who is it for?

This series is designed for practitioners who work with people at difficult moments in their lives, including:

• Lawyers

• Mediators and FDRPs and Parenting Coordinators

• Barristers and in-house counsel working on sensitive matters

Topics

Each session focuses on a challenge that sits at the heart of trauma-informed practice. Sessions follow the same rhythm: a short research insight, facilitated peer reflection, and a closing focus on what you’ll take back into your practice.

Session 1: Understanding Trauma and how it impacts on memory and credibility

When someone’s story shifts, gaps appear or their manner seems “off,” it’s easy to read this as unreliability. Often, it’s trauma. Anne-Marie shares research and international insights on how trauma shapes memory, recall and demeanour, and what this means for interviewing, evidence and assessing credibility. The group then reflects on how this shows up in their own matters and what fairer practice might look like.

Session 2: Safety in the room. Designing trauma-informed processes

Small changes can make a real difference to whether people feel safe enough to participate. This session explores intake and screening, shuttle and online formats, choice and predictability, and trauma-informed written communication. Anne-Marie draws on approaches she observed in Scotland, the UK, the US and Canada. The group shares what is working in their own settings and considers what could be adopted here.

Session 3: The cost of caring. Vicarious trauma and sustaining practice

Working alongside trauma and conflict affects all of us, often more than we acknowledge. This session looks at the emotional load of the work, how to recognise the early signs of vicarious trauma, and what individuals and organisations can do to support practitioner wellbeing. It’s a space for peer support, honest reflection and practical strategies for staying well in the work we care about.

Who facilitates the sessions?

Sessions are led by Anne-Marie Cade, a lawyer, Nationally Accredited Mediator, Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner and Parenting Coordinator, and Adjunct Lecturer at the College of Law.

In 2025, Anne-Marie was awarded a Creswick Fellowship to research trauma-informed approaches in the justice sector and workplaces across the UK, Scotland, the US and Canada. She is also a Churchill Fellow and was named Australian Mediator of the Year at the 2023 Australasian Law Awards.

After more than 12 years in legal practice, Anne-Marie moved into dispute resolution, and she brings both the lawyer’s and the mediator’s perspective to the room. Her facilitation style is calm, warm and practical, with a focus on creating space for practitioners to think, share and learn from one another.