How I Helped a Health Center Strengthen Culture with SEL and Trauma-Informed Care

Key Points

• A Chicago health center partnered with a consultant to address the social and emotional toll of the pandemic on staff through trauma-informed care (TIC) and social and emotional learning (SEL).
• She collaborated with staff to develop an approach that helped the center begin to shift its culture—building relationships, equity, and trust that supported both staff and patient care.
• Her conclusion: Trauma-informed care isn’t just about addressing staff burnout or patient trauma. It’s about building a culture where everyone feels seen, valued, and empowered to do their best work.

In the spring of 2022, PrimeCare Health, a federally qualified health center in Chicago, noticed some concerning trends in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff were caring for a population deeply affected by trauma while experiencing collective trauma themselves. The toll on staff well-being and the workplace environment was significant.

To address these concerns, the organization brought me in to help launch a trauma-informed care (TIC) initiative. Drawing from previous work in education, I saw an opportunity to blend TIC with another powerful strategy—social and emotional learning (SEL). What followed was a three-year journey toward becoming a trauma-informed organization.

Co-Designing a Trauma-Informed Approach

I began by collaborating with project staff to assemble a core implementation team, representing a cross-section of roles across the organization to help guide the work. Next, I used an all-staff survey, interviews, and focus groups to conduct an organizational assessment. The findings resonated with what I heard in schools: Staff wanted a more supportive work environment, improved communication from leaders, and greater relational trust.

Inspired by systemic SEL, I designed a multi-phased approach—engaging everyone from frontline staff to executive leadership—to generate a cultural shift across the organization.

The first phase began with an all-staff foundational training that defined trauma, introduced TIC principles, and explored impacts of trauma on both patients and staff. Participants completed the Professional Quality of Life assessment to reflect on individual stressors and identified personal strategies to mitigate stress and build resilience.

In the second phase, I facilitated a five-session learning collaborative for managers, directors, and senior leaders to apply TIC approaches to team meetings, supervision, and HR processes. Participants practiced creating community agreements, developing trauma-informed meeting agendas, and using reflective listening and self-regulation techniques.

The third phase focused on TIC leadership development. I worked with the executive leadership team around modeling positive behaviors and mindsets and embedding practices into their roles and routines. We also launched a train-the-trainer series, preparing several staff to deliver TIC training moving forward.

The fourth phase centered on implementation at the site level—where patient care happens. I coached medical directors and site managers across seven centers to embed TIC and SEL into teams, observed site meetings, and provided feedback on strengths and areas for improvement.

One Year Later: What Changed?

Surveys and evaluations showed positive results throughout the project, but it wasn’t clear if changes would last. A year later, in April 2025, I followed up with several staff.

Here’s what I found:

New policies and norms

PrimeCare revised its PTO policy to provide equal paid time off for all staff, regardless of role or tenure—a clear shift toward equity. Staffing ratios improved, allowing more consistent supervision and support. Meetings now routinely follow clear agendas, incorporate community agreements, and begin with mindfulness or connector activities. TIC training is now built into onboarding, introducing new staff to TIC principles from day one.

Stronger relationships and SEL skills

Managers reported increased empathy and collaboration on their teams. One said, “My team is better able to recognize each other’s stress and understand that we all react to it differently.” She recalled a time her team restructured schedules to support an overwhelmed colleague. Another director noted improved collaboration across health specialties, reinforcing PrimeCare’s Integrated Care model.

Executive leadership has become more responsive. An annual all-staff event now celebrates employee contributions and will soon introduce a “Wellness and Culture Champion” award. When concerns about ICE raids arose, leadership developed an organizational policy and shared resources that demonstrated genuine concern for both staff and community.

Personal impact on staff

Staff described personal practices they’ve adopted to prevent burnout and support self-care. One begins each morning with a mindfulness activity, while another is more diligent about using PTO. A third shared, “I’ve finally found my voice in the organization” and described feeling more effective in her role. She cited techniques like “pausing rather than reacting” to strongly worded emails and asking “What happened?” rather than “What did you do?” in supervision as particularly helpful.

What I Learned

What I love about consulting is the shared learning it fosters. Here are a few key takeaways from this journey:

1. Integrating SEL and TIC creates lasting change. Each framework reinforces the other—helping build a culture of  growth, healing, and relational trust that is essential for an organization to thrive.
2. Education and health share common ground. Both face challenges such as high-pressure environments, secondary trauma, and cross disciplinary and multi-site collaboration. As mission-driven fields, they both benefit from passionate staff and leadership potential.
3. Yet, differences matter. The missions of education and healthcare (i.e., academic success versus patient well-being) lead to distinct professional roles, approaches, and systems which inevitably influence TIC and SEL implementation.
4. Context matters. Each organization—and even each site—has a unique culture. External factors like COVID-19 and today’s sociopolitical climate also profoundly shape staff experiences and the workplace. Contextualizing practices to these realities is critical to success.
5. Change is a process. Lasting change requires continuous reflection, revisiting practices, and sustained investment in relationships. Viewing TIC and SEL as an ongoing journey—not a destination—makes meaningful transformation possible.

Conclusion

The PrimeCare initiative reinforced a core belief: trauma-informed care isn’t just about addressing staff burnout or patient trauma. It’s about building a culture where everyone feels seen, valued, and empowered to do their best work. This project shows how small, intentional steps can lead to a more compassionate, resilient workplace—and ultimately, transform an entire organization.

The views in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of CASEL.

Laura Hurwitz, LCSW, is an independent consultant based in Chicago.  She consults for schools, districts, community-based agencies, and national organizations, developing innovative, cross-disciplinary strategies to drive positive change for young people. Laura is a subject matter expert in school health, school mental health, social and emotional learning, and trauma-informed care. For more information, visit www.laurahurwitz.net.

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