Organisations
Strengthening the conditions for sustainable work, together.
Relational work doesn't have to cost the people who do it.
Yet without the right structures around them, those who hold others through stress, crisis and marginalisation carry distinct and measurable tolls on their own health and wellbeing.
33%
Emergency services workers experience high or very high psychological distress
Source: Lawrenece et al, 2018
61%
Disability support workers in Australia have left or have considered leaving an employer within 12 months.
75%
Australian educators experience mid- high levels of Secondary Traumatic Stress.
Source: Fraser & Molineux, 2024
Other groups with high levels of psychological distress, vicarious trauma and empathic strain include but are not limited to: Child protection workers
Correctional and justice workers
Domestic and family violence support workers
Early childhood educators
Hairdressers
Humanitarian workers
Interpreters and case workers in refugee and asylum seeking services
Journalists covering war, conflict and disasters
Lawyers
Veterinary professionals
(Workers across a range of other occupations also experience relational strain and fatigue. If you or your team-members carry a high relational load in their work, we can adapt our services and offerings to meet your needs. Please get in touch with us directly to discuss, by completing the form at the end of this page).
Why work with us?
1
We understand the unique risks of relational work
We bring lived experience of secondary stress and vicarious trauma alongside learned, evidence-informed practice. We understand the unique risks in this work, and how they combine to create empathic strain, chronic stress, vicarious trauma, and burnout.
Emotional labour
Constant regulation of one's own feelings in service of others, on top of ordinary workload, increasing the risk of empathic strain and burnout.
Trauma exposure
Exposure to both direct and indirect trauma, increasing the risk of vicarious trauma, acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Complex work
Complex work and high demands, often in under-resourced conditions, increasing the risk of chronic stress and burnout.
Resource-constrained environments
The toll when care is compromised by the system, not by the worker, increasing risks of moral distress and moral injury.
2
We build the capacity that relational work requires
The capacity for relational work is built through specific skills, practiced deliberately over time. Rarely are these skills covered in the qualifications that most relational workers have. We can help your team in three key ways:
01
The Care Curriculum
What we build: a toolkit of nervous system awareness strategies, emotional regulation practices, stress recovery practices, and trauma-informed relational skills for constrained, complex, and challenging work.
Why this: relational work is inherently complex, and presents many challenges for our nervous systems and stress management capacities. These skills are not taught in the qualifications that most care and relational workers have - despite being protective of wellbeing.
02
Relational leadership training
What we build: relational leadership skills, including the ability to recognise early signs of empathic strain, chronic stress and vicarious trauma in a team, and the confidence to have direct conversations about workload and capacity before they become crises.
Why this: supervisor support is one of the strongest levers for reducing psychosocial risk in relational work, but it depends on supervisors having these skills. Most people step into relational leadership without structured training in them.
03
Shared practices of wellbeing
What we build: a common set of team wellbeing values and practices, a shared language for naming strain before it compounds, structured reflective practice, and co-regulation skills that teams can draw on together rather than each person managing alone.
Why this: shared practice sustains wellbeing more than individual coping does, and it reduces the isolation that hastens empathic strain and moral injury.
3
We tailor our services
Every service is unique. We work collaboratively with organisations and teams so the training and development activities that we design meet the needs inside your organisation. When you work with us, we will:
01
Listen & Learn
We start by understanding what's already there, gathering information and reviewing existing practice and processes before recommending anything.
02
Co-design
We build every partnership together, shaping the work around your people, not a template. We co-design the parameters of the project, it’s objectives, and what success will look like.
03
Adapt
Trainings, education, strategies and resources are shaped to meet the specific needs of your teams and context.
04
Sustain
Beyond training and resources, we help design change models that outlast a single workshop or workshop cycle.
Testimonials
“This was the best session I have been present in for years and there have been some fabulous presenters. Something was very soulful about her. I loved every minute… I shut down Teams/Inbox etc and never have done so in [my work] environment where I am unable to focus on one thing as there is so much going on - I was 100% present and so very grateful for today, thank you.”
—Good Shepherd Australia & New Zealand Team Manager, learning series"Jo has done exceptional work for BSL over the years. She has a remarkable ability to understand our work deeply and is an absolute delight to work with, engaging wonderfully with people across all levels, including staff and participants. She brings a sense of calm to the work that often has tight deadlines, making the process much smoother and enjoyable."
— Rebecca Pinney Meddings, Director of Children, Youth and Inclusion, Brotherhood of St Laurence“This was my first experience in a trauma-informed learning environment and I have honestly never witnessed that level of connection, respect and safety in a group setting.”
— Resilient Practitioner Training participant"This was brilliant. I really want to give back to my team and pay it forward to everyone I connect with. I feel empowered. I have never been more present! Thank you! So inspiring! "
— Practitioner Care Workshop Series participantLet's work together. If you're interested in working together, please fill out this form. We’ll be in touch within 48 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Still have questions? Get in touch to discuss your specific needs.
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Relational work involves sustained care, emotional labour, and responsibility for the wellbeing of others. This includes healthcare, education, mental health, disability, community services, social work, and other care-sector roles where people regularly work with stress, distress, trauma, and human complexity.
These professions are essential, but often emotionally demanding. Taking Good Care exists to support more sustainable ways of caring and working for peoples, teams and organisations.
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We partner with organisations across the relational and care sectors, including healthcare, education, mental health, disability, community services, social work, and other sectors where people regularly work with stress, distress, trauma, and human complexity.
We also partner with government services, corporate and small businesses - if the work is care-oriented, we are interested!
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Yes. All of our offerings are trauma-informed, systems-aware, strengths-based and feminist and gender-affirming.
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We intentionally separate practitioner wellbeing work from leadership and organisational development.
In our experience, practitioners are often better able to engage deeply with stress, care, recovery, and reflective practice in spaces outside workplace pressures and organisational dynamics.
Leadership and organisational development require a different focus - strengthening the cultural, relational, and structural conditions that support sustainable care.
Both are essential to sustaining care. They simply require different approaches.
Whilst we don’t offer our stress recovery programs in workplaces, we do offer preventative and early intervention programs - especially in settings where other protective psychosocial hazard controls are in place. Reach out to us to discuss: jo@takinggood.care
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Yes, we run an adapted version of this training for workplaces. Please reach out directly to discuss: jo@takinggood.care
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Yes, Taking Good Care runs trauma-informed trainings and relational skills trainings. Please reach out to us to discuss: jo@takinggood.care
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Yes. We have designed a range of shorter, one-off, and retreat-style events for organisations and teams.
Reach out to us directly to discuss.
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Individual practitioners are welcome to join any of our Practitioner offerings. We do not offer 1:1 therapeutic support or group therapy, but can recommend services that do.