top of page
Trauma-Informed Leadership and Workplace Culture Insights
Tools, language, and implementation guidance for leaders building safer, more accountable workplaces.
Categories
Start With These!
Start here if you are leading culture change, supporting staff well-being, or navigating conflict. These three posts teach the core tools we use in training and implementation.






All posts


The Role of Training in Effective Trauma-Informed Change Management
Training plays a crucial role in nearly every change management strategy, especially when implementing trauma-informed practices. This...

Shenandoah Chefalo
Nov 19, 20245 min read


Discussing Microaggressions through a Trauma-Informed Lens
Understanding the foundational concepts of microaggressions and microresistance helps us promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and...

Shenandoah Chefalo
Jun 18, 20243 min read


Structural Violence in Medicine: “Doctors Have a New Plan for Fat Kids”
The institutions that hope to repair the damage of structural violence are often the same ones that cause it. I began listening to the...

Shenandoah Chefalo
Jun 4, 20246 min read


Beyond Awareness: Understanding the Interconnections of Foster Care and Societal Challenges
May is foster care awareness month, and this year, I'd like to increase awareness about the foster care system and how it ties into other social issues we hope to heal from. Foster Care Awareness Month is traditionally a time dedicated to highlighting the needs and challenges within the foster care system. This year at Chefalo Consulting, we're going to do something a little different. My goal is to broaden the conversation. In this article, we'll explore how the foster care

Shenandoah Chefalo
May 14, 20244 min read


Removing Obstacles to Self Care is Self Care
When committing to self-care is too challenging, preparing for self-care is sometimes the best decision we can make to take care of ourselves. Whether you want to chalk it up to mental health struggles, depression, anxiety, or the symptoms of trauma, it's extremely common to struggle with self-care. While some of us might struggle with basic hygiene, other workaholics might struggle to break, and others still might struggle with striking a balance between caring for others an

Shenandoah Chefalo
Apr 16, 20243 min read


Healing Through Mindfulness: Slowing Down & Asking for Help
What does healing look like? We often think the answer will be sold to us in pretty packaging, but the truth is that healing requires...

Shenandoah Chefalo
Apr 2, 20245 min read


Discover the Power of Trauma-Informed Change: Transforming Lives & Organizations
Trauma-informed change is a revolutionary approach that acknowledges the far-reaching impact of trauma on individuals, communities,...

Shenandoah Chefalo
Feb 27, 20243 min read


11 Practical Tips for Building Secure Attachments and Healing from Trauma in Relationships
Understanding attachment theory helps us make the important first step of the trauma-informed paradigm shift. Once we make the shift, we can set our sights on healing in our relationships. Whether you’re here because you have an insecure attachment style or you want to know how you can support someone with an insecure attachment style, you’ve come to the right place. These practical tips for building secure relationships can help you and those you care about—whether they’re y

Shenandoah Chefalo
Feb 20, 20246 min read


Trauma-Informed Attachment Theory: How Childhood Experiences Impact Adult Relationships and Attachment Styles
Attachment styles can help us understand how our trauma impacts our relationships—and what we can do about it. I work with many...

Shenandoah Chefalo
Feb 13, 20244 min read


7 Characteristics of a Healthy Relationship
Whether you’re considering your romantic, platonic, or professional relationships, knowing these 7 characteristics of a healthy...

Shenandoah Chefalo
Feb 6, 20244 min read


9 Phrases That Build Trust at Work (What to Say, Not Just What to Do)
Use these 9 ready-to-say phrases to build trust and psychological safety at work—plus when to use each one and what to avoid so it lands well.

Shenandoah Chefalo
Jan 30, 20244 min read


5 Secrets to Personal Growth No One Tells You
People are always asking me: what do I do to heal my trauma? And people are always disappointed when I tell them the answer. Why? Because...

Shenandoah Chefalo
Jan 23, 20244 min read


7 Tips to Create Cultural Change at Work through a Trauma-Informed Lens
If you take a look at history, it’s obvious that cultural change happens slowly. Many of the changes we experience hardly feel like changes at all. They happen gradually over the course of a lifetime, and they elude our attention. But when we shift our perspectives and take an intentional, measurable, and trauma-informed approach to cultural change, we discover that it is not only larger and faster than we initially believed—it is also more impactful, more achievable, and mor

Shenandoah Chefalo
Aug 16, 20226 min read


How to Change a Toxic Workplace Culture: The Paradigm Shifts Leaders Must Make
A trauma-informed framework for shifting toxic workplace culture. What leaders must change in norms, communication, and accountability to build trust and safety.

Shenandoah Chefalo
Aug 8, 20225 min read


Talking About Mental Health at Work
Despite the importance of vulnerability at work to promote a trauma-informed environment, the stigma surrounding emotional vulnerability...

Shenandoah Chefalo
Jun 16, 20222 min read


LIAR, LIAR - Looking Beyond the Lie
Lying is a topic that I have been meaning to cover on this blog for sometime, but frankly every time I sit down to write it, I get...

Shenandoah Chefalo
Sep 3, 20173 min read
bottom of page