Building a Trauma-Informed Community: Applying Community Building Circles to an Academic Health Research Setting

Within health science disciplines, power dynamics exist that can not only perpetuate harm but also foster feelings of powerlessness and disengagement. Although diversity, equity, and inclusion approaches have been prioritized by many institutions to improve student and staff recruitment, few effective structures exist to promote the retention, support, and inclusion of these individuals.

Restorative justice circles facilitate a collaborative and personal exercise that welcomes the input of all members, thus acting as a catalyst toward broader and more deeply rooted culture changes and conflict resolution. Restorative justice circles can be applied to strengthen academic learning environments by building community and creating intentional dialog spaces to promote accountability and belonging. The Phoenix Gender-based Violence Lab is an interdisciplinary health research lab composed of diverse researchers who meet monthly for a restorative justice-inspired community-building circle and discussion. The lab members participated in community-building circles from August 2021 to August 2022 during which circle facilitators aimed to prioritize safety, trustworthiness, and transparency and provide collaboration opportunities.

All 10 research team members consented to an anonymous evaluation survey to share their perspectives about incorporating this approach into lab time. Research team members expressed many benefits of circle discussions, including mitigated power dynamics (n = 5), increased lab cohesion (n = 9), improved research processes (n = 6), and enhanced honesty and accountability (n = 4).

Circle practice has shown promising results within the Phoenix Gender-based Violence Lab, indicating that other academic and medical settings should consider its potential to enhance group dynamics, foster accountability, and cultivate deeper collaboration and appreciation among group members. Further investigation of circle practice in diverse medical and academic settings is needed to fully comprehend the range of outcomes resulting from this intervention and whether they align with the fundamental principles of restorative justice.