Plan to Protect^® and Psychological Safety:

It is vital to incorporate measures to protect against psychological abuse within your abuse prevention framework. Ensure that your policies and procedures explicitly address psychological abuse and emphasize that it won't be tolerated.



1) Understanding and Awareness: Recognize that your responsibility as a leader is to be aware of potential psychological hazards and risks within your organization. Understand the potential harm that can occur and the importance of preventing it. A significant aspect of awareness building is understanding the terminology and the indicators of the behaviour and harm that can occur. Check out our blog for definitions of psychological abuse, emotional abuse, and spiritual abuse.

2) Policy and Procedures: Ensure that your organization has clear policies and procedures in place that address psychological safety. These policies should cover issues like bullying, harassment, discrimination, whistleblowing, and stress management.

3) Training and Education: Educate individuals in your organization to recognize and prevent psychological and spiritual abuse as part of a holistic abuse-prevention training program.

4) Reporting Mechanisms: Establish clear and confidential reporting mechanisms for individuals to report all abuse – psychological, spiritual, or emotional. We recommend a clearly articulated whistleblower policy that protects individuals from being penalized when raising concerns. 

5) Awareness Campaigns: Raising awareness about psychological and spiritual abuse is crucial. Create campaigns, workshops, or seminars to educate employees, volunteers and leaders about the signs of psychological and spiritual abuse and how to address it.

6) Regular Assessments: Conduct regular assessments and surveys to gauge the psychological well-being of your staff, volunteers, and members. Use this feedback to identify issues and make improvements. 

7) Support Systems: Provide trauma-informed support systems for victims of abuse. This can include counseling services, victim advocacy or access to resources that can help them cope with the effects of abuse.

8) Leadership Commitment: Encourage leaders to model the behaviour you want to see and hold them accountable for maintaining a safe and respectful workplace culture. This is essential to promoting psychological safety in your organization.

9) Crisis Response: Be prepared to respond promptly and effectively to crises or incidents that threaten psychological safety. Create a crisis management plan. If you don’t have one yet, check out our Crisis Response and Management course, or book a complimentary coaching call with us on this service. 

10) Continuous Improvement: Regularly review and update your abuse prevention policies and procedures to stay current with best practices. Lori Adams-Brown in her recent A World of Difference podcast: Unlocking Psychological Safety by Empowering Diverse Individuals for Workplace Impact, encourages one-on-one conversations with your team members by asking three questions:

1. What do you love about working here?
2. What do loathe about working here?
3. What do you need to feel more empowered and successful?

Remember, the work you do aligns with your faith and values, and promoting psychological safety is essential for creating a compassionate, respectful and safe environment. 

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As you live out your mission, values and faith, approach your duty of “psychological” care as an opportunity to demonstrate love, compassion, and a commitment to the well-being of others. At Plan to Protect^®, we discuss this topic regularly within our leadership team. We also read about it extensively. Not only do we encourage you to create safe environments, but we strive to model this level of care within our own team, honouring God in all we do and say. We aren’t perfect, but we are committed to raising the bar on safeguarding.



Jean and Jared were long-time attendees at their parish. Jared worked part-time at the church, and Jean was a long-time Council member. For twenty-five years, Jean and Jared led a vibrant outreach ministry. Many of their team members had served with them for years. Together, this couple and their team built a strong sense of friendship within the community. Some community members had even started attending church regularly.

Jean had served on the search committee to hire the new Rector, Pastor Dan. She and Jared had hoped that Pastor Dan would see the value of this program to their community, but their hopes were dashed when the Rector dismissed Jared without notice just six months into Dan's term. He told them both that they were no longer needed and that he was taking the program in a different direction.

When Jean and Jared asked to meet about their concerns, Pastor Dan only gave them five minutes after Sunday service. At the meeting, Pastor Dan dismissed the couple’s questions about why the ministry was being cancelled, declaring that he was in charge. When they asked to meet with the Church Council, Pastor Dan said, “If you’re not going to be loyal to me, go find another church.”

The Council offered Jared three months of severance pay on the condition that he sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). The agreement required them to leave the church, not disclose the amount paid, and not speak disparagingly about their experience, the church or Pastor Dan.

Jean and Jared felt psychologically and spiritually harmed by this experience. They felt that Pastor Dan had abused his authority, influence and control. He did not create a culture of listening and did not value his staff and volunteers.

Jared felt that three months’ severance was inadequate compensation for 25 years of service. Both Jared and Jean felt that the NDA was yet another form of manipulation and intimidation that robbed them of their voice. They were devastated. 

This case study is far too common. When Jared and Jean reached out to friends, they encouraged them to seek legal counsel. 

To mitigate risk, organizations should do regular volunteer and staff reviews. This ensures that concerns regarding a person’s leadership are well documented and addressed in advance of job termination.

Before offering a severance package, organizations should seek legal counsel to determine the correct amount of notice and compensation. 

This case study also raises concerns about psychological safety for the church’s staff members and volunteers in general. When a leader demands loyalty, does not create a space for questions and concerns to be voiced, and attempts to silence or control the narrative, these are the indicators of a toxic environment and a narcissistic leader.

There is much discussion on the topic of non-disclosure agreements these days. We do not support the use of a non-disclosure agreement when abuse is involved. An NDA can be yet another device used to abuse and silence victims. 

The primary concern with NDAs is that they can be used to limit or prohibit individuals from sharing or disclosing information. While they are helpful for keeping the financial terms of a settlement private, there are potential problems:

1. Chilling Free Speech: NDAs can sometimes be overly broad, preventing individuals from discussing or “blowing the whistle” about critical issues. This stifles free speech and transparency and prevents one from owning their story. 
2. Unfair Power Imbalance: In some cases, NDAs may be presented to individuals with significantly less power or leverage, making it difficult for them to negotiate terms or understand potential consequences.
3. Abuse of NDAs: Some entities may misuse NDAs to hide illegal or unethical activities. This can prevent justice from being served.
4. Lack of Transparency: When NDAs are overly secretive, they can lead to a lack of transparency and accountability, which can harm public trust.

It's important to carefully consider the terms and implications of an NDA before signing one, and legal advice is often recommended, especially in complex situations.