Schwartz Rounds: Reflections from our early Rounds
14 February 2023
Leanne shares Freedom from Torture’s experience of Schwartz Rounds and how they’ve become essential for supporting staff with the human dimensions of their work.
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Across our organisation people come together to provide specialist therapy services and support for survivors of torture. With, and alongside survivors, Freedom from Torture campaigns for change in the UK and across the world, raising awareness and influencing decision-makers about torture and its impact. This can, and often does, include being exposed to traumatic materials and facing parts of human nature and society that are painful, difficult and at times, incomprehensible.
To continually engage in this work requires consideration of the potential impact that this repeated and cumulative exposure can have upon an individual’s health and wellbeing. The recognition of, and the willingness to, explore these inherent risks is paramount in strengthening our caring and compassionate offer to staff and clients.
Schwartz Rounds invite us to be present, to listen and to reflect upon the emotions within the stories shared by our colleagues, and encourage us to be curious of any possible resonance within our own individual experiences. Since their introduction, Schwartz Rounds have been viewed by us as an essential methodology in supporting staff with the human dimensions of the work that is undertaken here, and ultimately ensuring effective and sustainable services for survivors.
Starting Schwartz Rounds
Prior to introducing Schwartz Rounds to Freedom from Torture in December 2021, I was very mindful of how we could collectively provide and nurture the space required. Most significantly, that by requesting colleagues to share stories and personal reflections with us, we are asking them to trust us. I was reflective of how people could feel that they could trust and feel safe, especially so in a virtual space, which was our only available format at the time.
Drawing upon the mentorship and support provided by the Point of Care Foundation enabled us to collectively establish this purposeful approach to centring respect and compassion at the very outset of the programme.
“The respect that colleagues had for each other and their stories was evident.”
– Schwartz Round participant
Many of us at Freedom from Torture are likely to be experiencing Rounds for the first time, gradually becoming more attuned to the flow of the sessions, more accustomed to the rhythms and rituals of the counter-cultural space and learning how we can contribute to the emotional safety and containment required.
A word cloud of participants from Freedom from Torture reflections relating to their experience of attending a Schwartz Round
Our experience of Schwartz Rounds
The purpose of Schwartz Rounds is to understand the challenges and rewards that are central to providing care. To do this, we invite individuals to share what is often very personal to them. They are required to trust others and the space that they are so crucially influential in co-creating.
After their sharing, colleagues are invited to explore resonance, and to reflect upon equally personal experiences. Often there can be differences – not all experiences are the same – but what feels important is that people feel heard and that they have the time and space to really listen to others.
We steer ourselves away from problem solving interjections to simply focus upon what it feels like to work with, and for, survivors of torture. This can, at times, feel challenging when our natural response is to seek solutions to support our colleagues and seek out opportunities to strengthen our systems and processes. Instead, what we reflect on are the similarities and differences within our experiences – often finding connection within these.
“It was very powerful to hear other staff members are feeling the same emotions and challenges as me.”
– Schwartz Round participant
Furthermore, Schwartz Rounds feel relevant due to the context within which we are working. Remote and hybrid models implemented to keep us physically safe during the pandemic have not been without unintended consequences. Simply, we have missed our colleagues and the peer support which often presents itself naturally in face-to-face meetings and ad-hoc conversations.
Schwartz Rounds offer us an antidote, an opportunity for interconnectivity. We speak, we listen, and we are heard.
“I was really struck by how able people felt to share and express themselves.”
– Schwartz Round participant
This space is so different from any other meeting or forum that we attend. What is important here is how people feel, and how participating in conversations about the emotional, social and ethical challenges of our work can support individual and collective wellbeing and influence the compassion we show to those at the heart of our communities.
What we’ve heard in response is a recognition of shared experiences and insights into the diverse roles and responsibilities held here. Importantly, there is also recognition and appreciation of how collectively the community is holding this space with safety, trust, and respect.
Our experience of Rounds so far is quite clearly that colleagues are trusting the space, and our workplace community, to take care of their personal stories, feelings, and reflections. It feels important to continue to get this right as Rounds are further established.