For over a decade now, the UU Trauma Response Ministry has provided support to UU communities and congregations for a myriad of critical incidents. From national spotlight events to smaller, yet no less significant, incidents that are known only to the local community involved, if UUTRM is called we are there.

One key protocol for UUTRM is that the team does not self deploy, which means UUTRM will not just show up but must be invited in order to respond to an event. This ensures that we are not a drain on local resources, and are seen as people who are part of the larger team. 

In the beginning the team was comprised mostly of clergy, but not entirely. Mental health professionals who were UU lay people were recruited for much needed clinical oversight and later the board added a UU lay person retired from the military. UUTRM was never intended to be a chaplain team; it has always encompassed lay as well as ordained members. 

There are several reasons for having a mix of personnel on the team. The UUTRM uses a peer-driven model of crisis intervention. Since we provide support for more than just clergy, we need team members who can “peer up” with folks in many categories (religious educators, administrators, congregants). We are often called upon to provide a variety of care during a response. To do that well, we need a variety of team members with a variety of skill sets. To use clergy exclusively would limit our ability to responsibly and robustly respond to the needs of those who call for assistance. 

We call our members “responders” not “chaplains,” even the ordained clergy. But what about the folks who are clergy? Clergy are called “responders,” mental health professionals are called “responders,” religious educators are called “responders.” We don’t privilege the status of clergy on our team, we value the gifts every responder brings. To use different titles would bring a hierarchy that is unproductive for the purposes of this ministry.

The care the team provides can involve both on site and off site components. Each event brings different questions and needs. UUTRM’s model is one that can expand and contract depending on the demands of the situation. 

All of our direct care is crisis intervention-driven, rather than counseling or crisis counseling. UUTRM is designed for the acute phase of a critical incident or disaster. Our training and resources focus on early and short-term interventions with referrals for longer term needs. For communities and individuals in crisis, crisis intervention goals are to stabilize, assess needs, reduce any immediate symptoms, support in returning to adaptive functioning and/or referrals to continued care.

Even those of our members who are licensed counselors understand (as do all our responders) that the skills required in these settings are those of crisis intervention. UUTRM is not set up to be the long-term solution for issues stemming from critical incidents.