The Ombuds Blog: Guidance for Trauma-Informed Ombuds Practice

June 20, 2025

Guidance for Trauma-Informed Ombuds Practice

The Pace Institute (founded by Angela Dash, the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine Ombuds Officer and frequent IOA speaker) has posted a free, recorded webinar on trauma-informed practice for Ombuds. The discussion explores why trauma-informed practices are essential, and not optional, for Organizational Ombuds. The video explains how trauma awareness transforms interactions, creates psychological safety, and prevents retraumatization for visitors.

More from The Pace Institute:

Key Takeaways:
Why trauma-informed? Trauma rewires the brain, altering stress responses. Ombuds must adapt to avoid triggering harm.
Practical tools: Invitational language ("Would you feel comfortable sharing…?"), reflective listening, and procedural safety.
Systemic impact: Spot organizational patterns (e.g., policies causing anxiety) and advocate for change without breaching confidentiality.
Self-care for ombuds: Avoid vicarious trauma with peer support and boundaries.
Audience: Ombuds, coaches, HR professionals, leaders. Trauma-informed approaches foster trust, resilience, and healthier organizations.

(YouTube.)

2 comments:

Angela Dash6/20/2025 8:40 PM
Thank you for sharing this Tom. Your Google Alerts don't miss! I was just scrolling through for my regular updates from you and was surprised to see this. 😊
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Organizational Ombuds

Organizational Ombuds serve as a confidential, independent, neutral and informal dispute resolution resource for a specific entity. They are accessible to a defined population and can advocate for fairness. These unique characteristics distinguish Organizational Ombuds from Classical Ombuds, mediators, arbitrators, and other alternative dispute resolution professionals. The term "Ombuds" is shorthand for "Ombudsman," "Ombudsperson" and "Ombuds Officer," which also are used widely.

Some other variants include:

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

Germany/Austria -- Ombudspersonen and Ombudsleute

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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