Understanding grief and trauma
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Understanding grief and trauma
Chapter 2: Strategies to assess and engage with families
Establishing safety and trust
“I was very naïve about how the ICU works...I came away realizing how important it is for families to feel safe”. – ICU Family Advisor
Trust between family and staff is established through positive, respectful and honest conversations, actions, and behaviour.
Click on the button below to view ways to build trust with families and actions that prevent you from establishing trust.
Ways to build trust Barriers to building trust
Direct communication
Compassion
Genuineness and authenticity
Simplicity
Openness
Honesty and transparency
Empower families to as questions
Give them choice and agency (when possible)
Insincerity
Withholding information
Rushing and conveying a lack of time
A depersonalized experience where the patient or family is treated like a number
Clinician Tip