"What I’ve learned is the amazing ability of people to recover if they’re given a chance"
- CHT Comms Team
- Apr 7
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 8
An interview with Dr Peter Cockersell on Psychologically Informed Environments.
In a timely and insightful interview with the Brazilian mental health journal Pluralidades em Saúde Mental, Dr Peter Cockersell, our CEO and one of the originators of the Psychologically Informed Environment (PIE) approach, explored the history and impact of PIEs and Trauma Informed Care (TIC) on the outcomes of people experiencing mental health challenges and social exclusion, and the barriers to their implementation.
What are Psychologically Informed Environments (PIEs)?
PIEs were first developed to support staff in the homelessness sector without clinical backgrounds to understand and address trauma. PIEs (like those offered through our residential communities) are supportive spaces for staff and service users that integrate trauma-informed practices into care, promoting understanding, positive relationships, and personal growth and recovery.
Mental distress often stems from repeated trauma, damaged attachment relationships, and environmental factors such as deprivation and inequality, which disproportionately affect and marginalise vulnerable people. PIEs offer a framework to provide immediate support for these intersecting needs and pave the way for sustainable, long-term solutions.
“With the right support, right care...having someone who will listen and form an honest, caring relationship with them, then people will go on to recover”
Yet, despite their benefits, there are numerous challenges to implementing PIE and trauma-informed care frameworks in mental health services. These include short-term funding, public sector budget cuts, and lack of support, training and poor pay for frontline staff. There can also be the challenge of organisational resistance to change and the reality that building trust and authentic relationships, especially with people who are traumatised and marginalised takes time, which can be challenging given the pressures faced by many frontline health or support staff.
In the interview, Peter offers guidance to practitioners looking to adopt trauma-informed or psychologically informed approaches in their work. He also emphasises the need to advocate for systemic changes that prioritise compassionate care and enhance health services, including policies that support sustainable funding models, improved conditions for staff, and better training in trauma-informed practices.
Read the full interview here
About Dr Peter Cockersell
Peter has had a long career as a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist, Trainer, and Organisational Consultant in Psychologically Informed Environments, specialising in psychotherapy and psychosocial interventions with people experiencing homelessness or other forms of social exclusion, histories of compound trauma, and ‘complex needs’.
Before joining CHT in 2018, he worked for St Mungo’s for over 20 years, most recently as Director of Health & Recovery. Peter was also one of the co-authors of the DCLG-sponsored national guidance on Psychologically Informed Environments, published in 2011, and is the author of various articles, chapters and two edited books.