Co-Creating Safety: A New Direction in Mental Health Practice
In recent years, mental health services across Australia have been undergoing a quiet but powerful shift — away from control-based models and toward truly collaborative, trauma-informed approaches. One of the most promising developments in this space is Co-Creating Safety: a practice that’s gaining traction across the sector, including at organisations we have been working with where it is now being embedded into frontline service delivery nationwide.
So, what does Co-Creating Safety mean in practice — and what does it mean for you as a mental health professional?
Moving Away From: Control, Risk Management, and Compliance-First Models
Traditionally, many mental health services have leaned heavily on risk-based frameworks to guide decisions. This has often meant:
A focus on identifying and managing risk (rather than building connection and understanding)
Use of restrictive interventions or escalation plans that prioritise the safety of others over the autonomy of the individual
Limited input from the person receiving care in designing their own recovery journey
An organisational focus on compliance, documentation, and control – sometimes at the expense of meaningful human connection
While these practices were often well-intentioned, they could feel impersonal, overly clinical, or even re-traumatising for the very people they aimed to support — particularly those with histories of complex trauma.
Moving Towards: Collaboration, Trust, and Shared Responsibility
Co-Creating Safety flips this approach on its head.
It’s about building psychological safety with the person you’re working with — not for them, or around them.
This model asks:
✨ What would make you feel safe here?
✨ How can we make decisions together?
✨ What does support look like for you right now?
At its heart, Co-Creating Safety means:
Partnership and empowerment: Clients are involved in co-designing their support plans, setting boundaries, and identifying what safety looks like for them.
Person-centred language: Shifting away from clinical labels and towards language that reflects strengths, preferences, and lived experience.
Flexibility in care: Recognising that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work – each person’s needs and goals are unique and evolving.
Trauma-informed environments: Reducing re-traumatisation by fostering respect, transparency, and choice in every interaction.
What This Means for Your Practice
If you’re working in (or considering working in) community mental health, here’s how Co-Creating Safety might show up in your day-to-day work:
Using curiosity instead of assumptions when discussing behaviours or needs
Checking in about how someone wants to be supported during distress
Creating shared agreements around boundaries and responses, rather than defaulting to blanket policies
Recognising your role as a collaborator, not an enforcer
It’s a model that requires reflection, emotional intelligence, and a willingness to be human — even in clinical spaces.
A Culture Shift — And an Opportunity
Organisations we are working with are leading the way by embedding this approach into their policies, training, and supervision models. As the mental health landscape evolves, candidates who bring trauma-informed, person-centred thinking to their work will be well positioned to thrive.
At Be Recruitment Group, we’re proud to partner with organisations who are embracing these modern, compassionate approaches to care.
Looking for your next opportunity?
Whether you’re a Mental Health Support Worker, Peer Worker, Clinician, Nurse Practitioner, Psychologist or Leader — we’d love to hear from you.
We’re always on the lookout for professionals who want to work with people, not just for them.
Reach out today to explore current roles aligned with Co-Creating Safety principles — and join a workplace where humanity, trust, and shared decision-making are at the core of practice.
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