A hands-on training where you will learn the basics of working safely with trauma, which includes trauma-informed tenets, the 3-phase trauma model, post-trauma symptoms and survival strategies of fight, flight, freeze, disconnect and flop.

We will also cover the 3 basic principles behind polyvagal theory, the impact on the nervous system and brain, and how to safely complete therapeutic assessments.

This experiential day will build on the first day, covering the concept of hyper-arousal, hypo-arousal and dissociation in more depth.

It will give you a chance to practice with safety techniques to help manage or reduce trauma-symptoms, such as the use of an anchor, window of tolerance, tapping, grounding, dual awareness, and the flashback halting protocol.

We will also look at the concept of moral injury and how it relates to therapeutic practice.

An experiential training where we will apply basic principles of contextual therapy when using Playmobil figures. Each figure can represent a part of the self or a part of the system.

Externalising internal material gives clients a chance to process difficult experiences, as it creates slightly more distance.

You will have a chance to practice with other creative materials and we will explore how you can utilise creativity in Group Therapy.

Working with trauma puts every professional at risk of vicarious trauma.

This training provides education about burn-out, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress and burn-out, whilst relating it to your own current well-being and safety as you work with traumatised clients.

We will look at certain keys to emotional safety and actively practice with regulation skills you can employ when working with trauma.

Many clients have experienced complex trauma such as domestic and sexual abuse. We will work together to discover some of the taboos connected to complex trauma (including trauma-bonds), as well as societies views and blame towards victims/ survivors. We will explore the connection between attachment and trauma, the legal framework of pre-trial therapy and how to build safety where there is none.

Trauma and suicidal risk often go together, as trauma hits us in our core and can uproot our very existence. We will explore myths and facts around suicide, your own views, and determine risk factors and protective factors. This is an opportunity to safely practice 3 different steps we can use in a session to navigate suicidal risk from a trauma-informed perspective, whilst managing survival states, as a “live client” (an actress) will be present.

The body plays a big part in trauma, as trauma lives “in” the body. The body remembers what it has been through and therefore often experiences a wide variety of complaints, such as panic attacks or headaches. We will explore basic sensory connections and we will practice with several somatic skills, such as tracking and somatic resourcing, whilst discovering our own ‘body signature’.

Refugees, migrants, and victims of exploitation and trafficking have often experienced complex trauma on 3 layers: In the country of origin, on the journey to the UK and when they arrived. But they also may deal with additional complexities, such as age assessments, the asylum process and working with interpreters. We will explore these difficulties through a trauma-informed therapeutic lens, whilst practicing with various skills.

When clients experience sufficient safety and regulation (Phase 1), they may want to process (Phase 2) and integrate (Phase 3) some of their traumatic experiences. We will explore when to process (and when not to). You will gain some knowledge about Trauma-Focused CBT and practice accompanying skills of titration and pendulation. We will also work with negative thoughts, shame, guilt and self-blame.

Post-traumatic growth occurs for some clients, as they may ‘transcend’ the horrors they have experienced. This does not take anything away from the trauma, but it does have the ability to change a sense of meaning. We will look at the neurobiology, as well as the self-actualising tendency. We will explore the 5 dimensions of post-traumatic growth, whilst practicing with skills such as self-compassion techniques.

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