NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2026
From Nervous System to System Design: Trauma, Safety and the Future of European Health Leadership
From the editor
From Nervous System to System Design: Trauma, Safety and the Future of European Health Leadership
In this edition of our newsletter, we would like to draw attention to a topic that increasingly shapes how we understand well-being, collaboration, and leadership: trauma.
We often think of trauma as something dramatic or rare—something that happens to “other people.” However, as Peter A. Levine reminds us in his work on trauma, trauma is not defined by the event itself, but by how the nervous system responds when we are overwhelmed and unable to feel safe. This perspective shifts the conversation from pathology to physiology. It invites us to see human reactions—especially the difficult ones—through a more compassionate and informed lens.
Why is this relevant in workplaces and in society more broadly? Because trauma does not stay in the past. It shows up in how we communicate, how we handle conflict, how we respond to authority, and how safe we feel in relationships. Many behaviors we label as “difficult,” “unprofessional,” or “overreactive” may in fact be nervous system responses rooted in past overwhelm.
If we want healthier organizations and communities, we must become better at recognizing these patterns—not to excuse harmful behavior, but to understand it. In doing so, we create space for accountability, safety, and healing at the same time.
If trauma shapes how we relate, communicate and respond under pressure, then it also shapes our workplaces.
Across European health systems, we are speaking more openly about burnout, workforce attrition and psychosocial risk. Yet we often approach these challenges as operational or performance problems rather than as signals of prolonged stress within human systems.
Chronic pressure, unresolved conflict and silence around harm do not simply affect morale. Over time, they affect bodies. They influence concentration, emotional regulation and the capacity to collaborate. When people feel under sustained threat, whether through unpredictability, exclusion or power used without accountability, their nervous systems adapt accordingly.
Stephen Porges’ work on safety helps us understand why this matters. Human beings function best when they feel safe enough, not only physically, but socially. Cues of safety such as fairness, respect, transparency and inclusion allow trust to form. They support curiosity, thoughtful decision-making and cooperation. Cues of threat, by contrast, activate protection. We may withdraw, become defensive, over-control situations or shut down entirely.
In healthcare environments already under strain, these protective patterns can quietly become the norm. Teams may continue to perform, but often at a cost. Over time, a lack of safety erodes trust. A lack of trust weakens belonging. And without belonging, even the most dedicated professionals begin to disengage.
This is why leadership cannot be understood as purely procedural. It is relational and embodied. The way conflict is handled, how feedback is given, whether accountability is fair and consistent, these are not peripheral issues. They are everyday signals that shape how safe people feel.
In this sense, leadership behaviour functions as a mental health intervention at work. Cultures designed around safety and trust do not eliminate pressure, but they reduce preventable harm. They allow challenge without humiliation, accountability without fear, and high standards without chronic threat.
If we begin to recognise patterns such as burnout, hypervigilance or silence not as individual weakness but as signs of system strain, a different conversation becomes possible. Rather than asking how we make people more resilient, we can ask how we create environments that require less survival in the first place.
The future of European health leadership may depend on this shift — from reacting to crisis to intentionally designing cultures grounded in safety, trust and belonging.
That is not softer leadership. It is leadership aligned with how human beings actually function.
by Nina Sønderberg and Liza K. Collins
Nina Sønderberg, Emotion-Focused Psychotherapist
Liza K. Collins, Healthcare Culture & Leadership Strategist
This month’s newsletter was co-edited and compiled by Louisa Edekobi, a member of the EHFF.
Trauma, Relationships, and the Workplace
Peter A. Levine describes trauma not as the event itself, but as the body’s unresolved response to overwhelming stress. When the nervous system becomes stuck in fight, flight, or freeze, it affects how we relate to others. In workplaces, this may appear as irritability, withdrawal, overcontrol, or defensiveness—often misunderstood as personality flaws rather than stress responses.
Trauma-informed environments prioritize psychological safety, clear communication, and empathetic leadership. By replacing judgment with curiosity and supporting nervous system regulation, organizations can reduce conflict, strengthen trust, and foster healthier, more humane working relationships.
Book Title: Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma
Publisher link: Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma – North Atlantic Books
From Psychosomatic Insight to Leadership Design
Psychosomatic research and trauma science increasingly demonstrate the impact of chronic stress on cognition, emotional regulation and long-term health outcomes. Yet leadership development programmes rarely include physiological literacy.
If health systems are serious about workforce sustainability, leadership frameworks must evolve beyond performance metrics to include relational safety, trust architecture and power dynamics. This does not mean “softening” leadership, it means strengthening it through an understanding of how environments shape human capacity. Integrating psychosomatic insight into leadership education may be one of the most underexplored levers for systemic resilience in European healthcare.
Learn more about the topic via the link: WHO Mental health at work
Learn more about the topic via the link: EU-OSHA Psychosocial risks and mental health at work
Trauma, Society, and the Current Geopolitical Climate
Peter A. Levine’s understanding of trauma helps illuminate aspects of today’s geopolitical climate. Ongoing wars, political polarization, economic instability, and global uncertainty place prolonged stress on entire populations. When societies are repeatedly exposed to threat—whether through conflict, terrorism, displacement, or constant crisis media coverage—collective nervous systems can shift into chronic survival states. This may manifest as heightened fear, hardened political positions, mistrust of institutions, or social withdrawal.
Viewing these reactions through a trauma-informed lens does not simplify complex political realities, but it encourages responses grounded in regulation, dialogue, and long-term stability rather than reactivity and escalation.
Exploring an EHFF Future of Leadership Dialogue
As part of this evolving conversation, we are exploring whether there is interest within the EHFF community in forming a cross-disciplinary Future of Leadership Dialogue.
The intention would be to convene clinicians, policymakers, researchers, HR professionals and system leaders to examine how trust, physiological safety, ethical power and collaboration can be embedded into health system governance.
Rather than offering prescriptive solutions, this space would encourage shared inquiry: How must leadership evolve if we take psychosomatic evidence seriously? How do we design cultures that prevent harm rather than respond to crisis?
Expressions of interest are warmly welcomed.
You could send an email to the attention of Liza Collins at lizacollins@pm.me
Upcoming events
Beyond Burnout: Trauma in the Workplace – EHFF webinar – March 25, 14-15 CET
Many high-achieving professionals are driven by invisible nervous system patterns that once ensured safety and success – but may now be leading to burnout, exhaustion, and reduced agency.
In our next EHFF webinar we explore the often-overlooked trauma response known as fawning, and how it shapes leadership, decision-making, boundaries, and long-term wellbeing in the workplace.
Join Liza Collins and Nina Sønderberg to learn more.
Supranational Democracy Dialogue, Brindisi, Italy – April 23-24
EHFF members are joining this event to follow up on the democracy workshop in Cologne. Key themes revolve around equity, inclusion, and resilience.
Hosted by the University of Salento
Register and learn more about the event following this link: Supranational Democracy Dialogue 2026
Art & Mental Health Festival, Aegina Greece – May 21-23
EHFF members are joining to share insights and explore pathways to resolve trauma. Key themes are empowerment, listening, restoring and agency.
Hosted by EPIONI, the Greek informal carers association. Event co-organised with WHO Athens Office.
HTAi Annual meeting, Istanbul, June 6-10
Announcements from EHFF
Future Research Master Class
The Master Class for Proposal Writing is a hybrid training and community-building initiative designed to strengthen capacity for successful participation in EU-funded projects.
This initiative is launched as part of the European Health Futures Forum (EHFF), leveraging its network to identify potential partners and participants and enabling the creation of a proposal writing community of practice and academy of peers.
First session will take place in April 2026 – with the concluding, physical event to take place in July 2026.
EHFF in Brussels in February
February 3rd, Lars Münter was part of the panel in conference One Health, One Vision: Advancing Europe’s Health Security organised by the Infectious Disease Alliance to discuss a stronger fight against AMR and a holistic approach to human, animal, planetary, and climate health. Read more about the event and the Brussels One Health Declaration here.
February 25th, Lars Münter participated in the European Health Union Initiative event Empowering the health workforce in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) organised by the European Health Forum Gastein with a wide panel discussion the implementation and framework of using AI in health and prevention. Read more about the event here.
Future Forward Prequel Workshop in Cologne
Challenges to democracy found new challengers in Cologne this February. The Future Forward Prequel Workshop, hosted at Kolping Hochschule, brought together engaged participants to rethink some of today’s most pressing societal issues at the intersection of democracy, health, and education.
Through dynamic discussions and collaborative sessions, participants explored how to better frame hackathon challenges that can realistically lead to impactful, people-centred solutions. The workshop provided a valuable space to question assumptions, share perspectives, and co-design ideas that will directly inform the development of the upcoming Future Forward Hackathon.
Key topics discussed included:
🔷 Human-centred approaches to care
🔷 Autonomy and identity of people living with chronic conditions
🔷 Healthy and sustainable food choices
🔷 Youth inclusion in schools
🔷 Social exhaustion and inertia
The insights and challenges identified during the workshop will now feed into the next phase of our work: expanding the network and engaging new partners to bring the hackathon to life.
Interested in getting involved? Contact European Health Futures Forum at edoardo@ehff.eu.
Next EHFF Members Meet – Save the Date
Join us for the next EHFF Members Meet on 12 March at 14:00 CET.
This session is a great opportunity to connect with fellow members, exchange updates, and discuss upcoming activities and priorities within the EHFF community.
We look forward to seeing you there!
If you want to learn more about this opportunity, send an email to Lars Münter (EHFF Network Director) at lars@ehff.eu
Stay Tuned and Take Action
Thank you for reading this month’s edition of the EHFF Newsletter.
We invite you to stay engaged, share your thoughts, and help us continue building an active and connected community.
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Warm regards,
EHFF