Sanctuary in Action

Abstract

The Sanctuary Model (Sanctuary) is a trauma-informed model of care for human services. The model is made up of tools, norms and theoretical underpinnings that form the basis of building safety and promoting recovery from adversity within the context of communities. Sanctuary focuses on healing those who have experienced trauma, by being purposeful and deliberate about the well-being of the system as a whole, including the client, staff, the organisation and more broadly the community. Churches of Christ Care Pathways have been implementing this model within the Australian out-of-home care context including Foster and Kinship Care, Intensive Foster Care, Residential, Supported Independent Living and Intervention Services for the past three years. This article provides a brief description of components of the model, including the SELF model, Community Meetings, Safety Plans, Psycho-Educational Group Work, Self Care Plans, Red Flag Meetings and Team Meetings; detailing practice examples from its use within an Australian context. This article aims to make the link between the model and practice.

Therapeutic Residential Care: Different Population, Different Purpose, Different Costs

“…(Whittaker, del Valle & Holmes, 2014, p. 24) Australian agencies that indicate that they are providing TRC are the Lighthouse Foundation (Barton, Gonzales, & Tomlinson, 2012;Hussein & Cameron, 2014) and Hurstbridge and its satellites (VAG, 2014;Verso, 2011) in Victoria. In Queensland, the Churches of Christ Care Pathways are using the Sanctuary model (Clarke, 2013;Leigh-Smith & Toth, 2014). In Victoria, McKillop Family Services has also embraced the Sanctuary model (McNamara, 2015) which to a significant extent is a model of wide organisational cultural change rather than a model of TRC per se.…”

Sanctuary Model Supervision: Reflections and Implications for the Music Therapy Profession

“…The Sanctuary Model® is the synthesis of four fundamental theories: trauma theory, social learning theory, non-violent practice, and complexity theory (Abramovitz & Bloom, 2003;Clarke, 2013). This model situates care in the context of safety, community, and recovery while focusing on the relationships between the individual or individuals receiving services, the therapist and staff, and the organization as a whole (Clarke, 2013) Responsibility (Abramovitz & Bloom, 2003). These commitments are measured and explored by both the staff and service user (Bloom, 2005;Clarke, 2013).…”

“…This model situates care in the context of safety, community, and recovery while focusing on the relationships between the individual or individuals receiving services, the therapist and staff, and the organization as a whole (Clarke, 2013) Responsibility (Abramovitz & Bloom, 2003). These commitments are measured and explored by both the staff and service user (Bloom, 2005;Clarke, 2013). These elements inform supervision, team meetings, self-care practices, and safety guidelines (Abramovitz & Bloom, 2003;Clarke, 2013).…”

“…These commitments are measured and explored by both the staff and service user (Bloom, 2005;Clarke, 2013). These elements inform supervision, team meetings, self-care practices, and safety guidelines (Abramovitz & Bloom, 2003;Clarke, 2013).…”

“…Staff members and service users all participate in some form of consultation regarding the therapeutic process. This may happen in staff meetings or when service users check in with one another and staff (Bloom, 2017;Clarke, 2013). Community meetings are a regular part of the facility schedule and generally occur at the beginning of other formal gatherings such as team meetings, supervision, and therapeutic groups (Clarke, 2013).…”