I spent yesterday with the amazing team at the Cathedral Archer Project in Sheffield, supporting their work to become a P.I.E. (Psychologically Informed Environment).

This included looking at the personalities of the team and how their differences and similarities impacted their interactions together and the relationships with their clients. We discussed whether certain personality types were more prone to certain lifestyles and presenting behaviours than others; looked at nurture and trauma and considered how early childhood experiences may continue to affect their lives of their clients. Understanding the cause of challenging behaviours and finding ways of working more creatively and constructively with these was another huge area we began to tap into.

Inevitably, there were triggers for some of the staff as they recalled their own past.

Despite crisis situations to deal with every day, budget limitations and an increasing client base with complex needs, the centre’s vital work is a life line to many and the commitment, care and empathy for individuals was powerfully evident when I was with the team yesterday.

The plan is to build on this training in the future to equip staff, volunteers and their clients to understand better how each persons early experiences still has a huge effect on their ‘now’.