At A Positive Start CIC, we believe that healing doesn’t begin with theory. It begins with safety. And safety begins with TRUST—a trauma-informed framework rooted in lived experience, nervous system science, and human compassion.
For those living with complex trauma, especially from early childhood, being in a constant survival state often becomes the default. Many of our responses—what we label as fight, flight, freeze, or fawn—are not choices. They are reflexes. And most of them happen outside of our awareness.
The TRUST framework was born from this understanding. It’s how we work, how we train, and how we create the conditions for regulation, recovery, and growth—for both practitioners and clients.
T – Trigger Recognition
For individuals who have spent most (or all) of their lives in survival mode, triggers are rarely obvious. Often, they are subtle, implicit, and automatic. Someone may find themselves suddenly overwhelmed, shut down, or in conflict—without a clear reason why.
At A Positive Start, we recognise that when someone is triggered, they are no longer anchored in their body. They’re dysregulated. And because they’ve never had the experience of their needs being named, validated, or met, they may not know what they need, or how to meet those needs.
This state of being unanchored often drives people to seek comfort externally—through food, alcohol, cigarettes, medication, or other temporary soothers. These offer short-term relief, but not safety. As Dr. Wayne Dyer famously put it, it’s like losing your keys in the house and looking for them outside. You won’t find what you need in the wrong places.
To truly regulate, we need co-regulation—which leads us to the next step.
R – Reassurance
When someone is dysregulated, they need another person’s nervous system to help them settle. This is how we learn to regulate—through co-regulation first, then self-regulation later. It’s not a flaw. It’s how humans are wired.
Reassurance is a powerful tool. Words like “You’re safe here,” or “I’m with you,” can soothe the chaos in someone’s system. Conversely, language like “Pull yourself together” or “You’re just attention-seeking” deepens dysregulation and reinforces shame.
And this is key: what may appear as attention-seeking is, in fact, connection-seeking. From a survival state, the nervous system is searching for safety. Reassurance is the answer. It restores co-regulation, it anchors, and it calms.
U – Understanding
True trauma-informed practice requires understanding—not only of what trauma is, but what it feels like. When we understand the nervous system states—fight, flight, freeze, fawn—we can respond with compassion instead of judgement, curiosity instead of control.
Sadly, many institutions (including schools) still default to punitive measures. But punishment retraumatises those with complex trauma. It reinforces the very beliefs trauma planted: “I’m bad,” “I don’t matter,” “There’s something wrong with me.”
Instead, we need to see the unmet need beneath the behaviour. Understanding creates connection. Connection creates calm.
S – Safety
Safety is not just about the environment. It’s about how the environment feels. This is called Neuroception—our unconscious scanning of safety and threat. If someone senses incongruence, judgement, or inauthenticity, their body will not relax.
Safety is built through consistent compassion, reliable presence, and an atmosphere that feels emotionally safe. When someone feels seen, heard, and not judged—they can start to trust.
T – Truth
Without truth, there can be no trust. And without trust, no safety. And without safety, no healing.
Truth here means congruence. Genuineness. Transparency. It means that the practitioner shows up authentically—not perfectly, but present. Because healing requires a relationship that feels real.
At A Positive Start, all our practitioners and therapists are first taught how to recognise when they are dysregulated. They learn how to regulate themselves before supporting others. This is essential, because TRUST only works when the person leading is regulated.
From TRUST to RAPPORT: The Next Step in Healing
Once we can offer TRUST, we can begin to cultivate RAPPORT—not just with others, but within ourselves. At A Positive Start, we say:
Healing begins with self-care. And self-care starts within.
Here’s how we guide people through RAPPORT:
R – Recognition
We start by recognising what’s happening in our nervous system. Are we calm, overwhelmed, shutting down? Can we name the state we’re in? Recognition is the foundation of self-awareness.
A – Awareness
This goes deeper—becoming aware of our patterns, our triggers, our protective parts, and the stories we’ve carried. Awareness builds the bridge between experience and understanding.
P – Process
We can’t bypass the feelings—we must move through them. In this stage, we begin to feel, name, and process what’s been held in the body for too long.
P – Practice
Healing is not a one-off insight. It’s a daily practice. Breathwork, grounding, journaling, mindful movement, compassionate self-talk—all become part of our regulation toolkit.
O – Observe
We begin to notice changes in our responses, our thoughts, and our nervous system. We become the compassionate observer of our inner world, rather than the judge.
R – Reflect
We take time to reflect on what’s working, what we’ve learned, and how far we’ve come. Reflection solidifies growth.
T – Transformation
This is where the shift happens. Not that the past disappears—but our relationship with ourselves changes. We become less reactive, more regulated, more anchored in truth and safety.
Living the Practice
At A Positive Start CIC, we don’t just teach these frameworks. We live by them. TRUST and RAPPORT are woven into everything we do—our training, our workshops, our client care, and our team support.
Because people heal in safe spaces.
And safe spaces are built by people who are committed to self-awareness, congruence, and compassion.
If you’re a practitioner, educator, or someone supporting others:
Let this be your invitation to embody #TRUST.
To offer #RAPPORT.
To become the regulated, compassionate presence that makes healing possible.
Applied TRUST & RAPPORT Workshop
Learn how to create emotional safety – for others and for yourself
Written by Deborah J Crozier | Founder of A Positive Start CIC
Person-Centred Counsellor & Trauma-Informed Practitioner