Buzzword 7 - Trauma

Every time I ran into Dr. Sergio Moreira, our conversations left me inspired and thoughtful. We’d talk about AI, mental health, and the challenges of field work, and I always walked away with new perspectives. So it was obvious he had to be on The No Nonsense Sustainability Podcast. Beyond his work as a social performance practitioner, he’s a trained psychologist. That combination of expertise made for an episode that’s both insightful and human.

One of the reasons it was timely to sit down with him was his involvement in SPCircles, a therapy support system launched by the Community Insights Group. It provides a space for individuals or groups to process the emotional weight of working in the field. That’s something we rarely talk about openly - the emotional baggage that comes from being on the receiving end of people’s frustrations or witnessing extreme hardship.

In our line of work, when we travel, we’re on a mission. We’re gathering information, doing consultations, interviewing people, and trying to make projects happen. There’s no time for feelings - at least, not our own. After a long day when a whole village shouts at you, or when you see families living in conditions you can hardly imagine, there’s barely space to pause. You might discuss over dinner, but it is not the kind of environment where the required level of vulnerability is provided so you’re left without fully processing your feelings. And most of the time, you just keep going.

I’ve cried in my hotel room after site visits, moved by the people and their stories. I’ve seen colleagues break down in tears, sometimes in front of a client. These moments are not a failure on their part, rather they’re a reflection of a system that doesn’t allow E&S experts to be human. We’re trained to observe, analyse, and solve, but rarely to process our own feelings in real time.

That’s why SPCircles and conversations like the one I had with Dr. Moreira matter so much. Having a credible place to go for support, and normalising discussions about emotional strain, is a step forward for all of us. It acknowledges that we’re human beings first, even when our job demands that we appear unshakable.

What struck me most in our conversation was how universal this challenge is. It doesn’t matter whether you’re working in a remote village, in urban development, or on a multi-country project. The weight of witnessing human suffering, of being yelled at, or of navigating bureaucracies while trying to help, can pile up quickly. Without outlets like SPCircles, those experiences can fester, unnoticed and unspoken.

Talking about trauma is not an exaggeration, as these experienced if not processed, can turn into that. We titled the episode Trauma, Drama and the Space between, because nowadays these concepts are thrown around without a second thought as to their clinical definition. In a culture that promotes self-care, it is mind-blowing that it’s 2025 and we only now have the SPCircles. The mental health of people on the ground directly affects the work we do, and by extension, the communities we serve.

Ask any social specialist and they will tell you that the best part of their job is helping people. Having initiatives that talk about the motional baggage, resilience and working with those feelings so they don’t become trauma is vital. Dr. Moreira’s insights and SPCircles highlight the importance of recognising that emotional weight and giving it a space to be processed.

So if there’s one takeaway from this episode, it’s this: acknowledging trauma, seeking support, and sharing experiences is part of doing sustainable work responsibly. It doesn’t make you less professional. It makes you more human, more aware, and ultimately, more capable of making a meaningful impact.