Two-Day Workshop on Understanding Trauma

Traumatic events confront human beings with the extremities of helplessness and terror, disrupting the ordinary systems of care that afford us a sense of control, connection, and meaning (Herman, 1992). The importance of evaluating the effects of trauma is critical and has substantial implications for case-formulation and treatment planning in therapy (Cloitre, et al., 2009). Therefore, before mental health practitioners can work in depth with a client’s trauma they need an understanding of what trauma is and how to engage with it safely. This two-day workshop will look at those initial requirements.

Course Content

• Understand the key components of psychological trauma
• Be able to identify the many sources of trauma
• Know the difference between developmental trauma and traumatic injury
• Recognise the many symptoms of trauma
• Have a good understanding of the physiology of the brain and its role in trauma
• Understand the reaction of trauma clients
• Recognise the body’s role in trauma and use some basic body-orientated techniques to help the body do this safely
• Appreciate the immediate & long-term effects of PTSD
• Be introduced to why talking therapies may not help in this initial stage of trauma work
• Start to work with establishing safety through resourcing & boundary setting
• Understand the concept of the ‘window of tolerance’ and its importance
• Understand the “three trauma types” of clients and the implications for therapy