Trauma-Informed Practice Training: The Foundations

WORKSHOP DETAILS:

DATE: Sunday April 10, 2022

TIME: 10:00AM am to 2:30PM PST (Vancouver BC time).

ONLINE ( Using Zoom. Participants will be sent Zoom link prior to the workshop start time)

This is a Foundational/introductory trauma-informed practice training workshop geared to non-therapists, and open to all. It is suitable for anyone interested in increasing emotional awareness, learning emotional regulation skills and increasing their understanding of a growing body of trauma-informed knowledge and research.

Certificate of completion will be provided.

Additional trauma-informed training dates: https://trishwalsh.ca/trauma-training/

Background:

This strength-based introductory workshop, adapted from a series of Trauma-informed Practice trainings for mental health care professionals, provides an easy to understand, practical and useful understanding of these same key concepts for the general public. Psycho-education is a critically important tool in trauma healing, increasing emotional awareness, increasing relational response-flexibility, and for building resilience.

Primary components inherent in the experience of psychological trauma are feelings of overwhelming helplessness, feelings of a lack of safety, uncertainty, and disconnection; whether it be from self, other and/or the world. Our nervous system has adaptively evolved to respond, often below the level of conscious awareness, to threats in the service of survival.  As with a trauma response, societal uncertainly, fear, and exposure to certain events can also lead to chronic shutdown, collapse, fear, helplessness, anxiety, and depression; presenting as a myriad of symptoms within ourselves and those around us. Research also shows that a direct correlation between our levels of emotional dysregulation, with higher levels of 'threat bias', which is the way that we view and interpret the world around us. This in turn, perpetuates the body's instinctive defensive mechanisms and cycles of dysregulation, often leading to ongoing suffering, and/or re-traumatization.

Much new information has been learned in the area of the neurobiology of trauma, and trauma healing, over the last two decades in particular. Increasing our understanding of trauma, and the body's natural defense mechanisms in the face of threat, both real and perceived - are critically important components of healing and in the building of long term resilience.

This workshop is grounded in research and focuses on understanding, and providing practical, effective tools for healing emotional dysregulation, unresolved trauma, and emotional triggers. It will also provide tools for strengthening emotional self-awareness, and building psychological and emotional resilience, both at individual and societal levels.

The workshop is grounded in research, and informed by the work of experts including: Dr. Allan Abbass, Dr. John Briere, Dr. Steve Cole, Tara Brach, Dr. Susan David, Dr. Ale Duarte, Dr. Diana Fosha, Dr, Linda Graham, Dr. Chris Germer, Prune Harris, Dr. James Hollis, Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad , Dr. Donald Hoffman, Dr. Rick Hanson, Thomas Hubl, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, Byron Katie, Dr. Peter Levine, Nick Ortner, Dr. Susan Pinker, Dr. Stephen Porges, Dr. Isabelle Mansuey, Dr. Monica McGoldrick, Dr Resmaa Menakem, Nick Ortner, Dr. David Richo, Dr. Allan Schore, Dr. Daniel Siegel, Dr. Diana Schiller, Dr Elizabeth Stanley, Jesse Thistle, and Dr. Michael Unger.

This workshop is suited to both personal and professional interest, and those working with individuals who are affected by childhood, intergenerational, complex, single-incident, environmental, collective, community, gender based or racialized trauma.

*Please note - if you would like to attend this workshop but are unable to due to experiencing financial hardship, please contact the organizer.

Certificate of Completion will be provided.

In this workshop you will learn:

• The basics: What is trauma? How unresolved trauma can impact our view of self, other and world
• What is meant by "trauma-informed practice"
• The basic neurobiology of trauma
• The signs and symptoms of trauma
• How traumatic memory is formed, and stored
• How we increase relational 'response flexibility' and decease reactivity
• Understand implicit memory, and its role in the formation of trauma-based beliefs and emotional triggers.
• What are emotional triggers? How they are formed, and healed
• Triggers that can be associated with recent climate based events, and the Cov19 pandemic; tools for healing
• How trauma-based beliefs are formed, and healed
• Why we hold on to beliefs that keep us suffering
• How to avoid re-traumatization, and avoid re-traumatizing/re-triggering others
• What are: vicarious trauma, secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, collective trauma and moral injury.
• Understanding the concept of attunement and its role in trauma healing and preventing re-triggering others.
• What is meant by our nervous system's "window of tolerance". How is it widened?
• What is emotional resilience; what is vicarious resilience
• Strengthening relational resilience through increasing "response-flexibility".
• Overview of the concept "neuroception"; and the role of the vagus nerve in emotional regulation.
• Resourcing and self regulation skills/tools.
• Important components in trauma healing
• An overview of therapies, tools, modalities, which are aligned with trauma-informed practice and facilitate the healing process. What to look for when seeking a trauma therapist
• Somatic and expressive arts methods for healing trauma
• What is Intergenerational trauma and new research re: healing epigenetic transmission.
• What is meant by post traumatic growth, and how is it fostered? Practices that lead to post-traumatic growth, and questions to ask which are specific to fostering post traumatic growth following the Covid19 pandemic.

FACILITATOR:

Trish Walsh BA, MTC

Trish is a Master Therapeutic Counsellor, Instructor, and workshop facilitator, located in Vancouver, British Columbia,  the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.   From 2008 - 2016 Trish was the Executive Director of the InnerChange Foundation; a Canadian foundation with the mandate of increasing funding, education and awareness in the area of addiction and concurrent disorders.  In Trish’s clinical practice her focus and training are in the area of Transpersonal Psychology, which integrates eastern philosophies within the framework of modern psychology.

Since 2016 Trish has focused on developing and facilitating strength-based trauma informed trainings for university students along with health and mental health professionals who working in the field, and who are interested in updating their knowledge and skills in the area of trauma healing.  Trish also provides trauma-informed, and resilience-informed, trainings and workshops on healing intergenerational trauma, collective trauma, compassion fatigue, secondary trauma and moral injury, to front line workers, school teachers/ administrators, organizations, and the general public.

In addition to Trish’s counselling practice, her work over the last 20 years has focused on knowledge translation: specifically, conveying research findings in medicine and mental health care to government decision makers, physicians, mental health professionals, allied health care providers, along with corporations, community groups and the general public. She has also consulted for several organizations to bring health information to their staff, stakeholders, and the general public. Trish has a particular passion for conveying research information in an engaging and easy to understand way, aiding decision makers in their funding and public policy decisions, and helping individuals to learn practical strategies for better health, happiness, and personal success. 

Trish also provides training in Trauma-Informed Coaching and Transpersonal Coaching, for professional coaches.

For more info please see: www.trishwalsh.ca

Recent Feedback:

"Trish, thank you for your wonderful presentation on Trauma-Informed Care. The feedback received from many of the participants was very positive, with many people saying it was the highlight of the 3 day conference!  We found it highly valuable". - BC Provincial Health Authority 

"Thank you so much Trish, this was beyond doubt one of the best and most useful trauma trainings that I have ever attended! Thank you! " – Emily Chan, Vancouver BC

"Trish you have such a passion for this work that comes across in your delivery even through a screen. I love how each topic is presented with such clarity. You make the work so accessible and tangible. Thank you!!” – Jenn Anderson

“The Family Support Institute of British Columbia had the good fortune to do a custom tailored workshop on Trauma Informed Practice with Trish and Galen for our provincial staff team. The session was profound and impactful. The presenters were gentle, skilled, and imparted deep knowledge, research and practice into all aspects of our time together. They made space for all participants to feel safe, nurtured and left them with a newly acquired set of tools, strategies and knowledge. Our time together was set at a wonderful pace and had great structure to enable the participants to easily ask questions, pause and reflect, and take breaks or connect as they personally needed. FSIBC would highly recommend Trish and Galen to anyone who is looking for a team session on Trauma Informed Practice”.

– Angela Clancy, Executive Director of the Family Support Institute of British Columbia:

https://familysupportbc.com/

“I want to thank you so very much on behalf of the Jordan's Principle Hub Team and the participants. Many found your presentation informative, relevant, and safer for them. The participants came for varied cultural and socio-economic backgrounds and felt that was respected. We received very good feedback during the day spent with you, and the positive conversation about your presentation continued into the second day. It was good to have such an interactive and responsive presentation style. Many commented that it helped them remain engaged. I am certain that we will be looking to work with you again in the future.”

- With gratitude, Raymond Cauchi, Jordan’s Principle Hub Resource Coordinator, BC Aboriginal Child Care Society

"The workshop is filled with very relevant material that can be used directly in your therapeutic practice. Trish's delivery style and notes makes the material very accessible and clear. I appreciate her warmth, compassion and passion for this work that puts the participants at ease and generates engaging conversations" - public training survey feedback

“Trish’s way of conveying the neuroscience was very well articulated and understandable (especially for myself who has “academic burn-out” and finds scientific language/jargon hard to understand) with the right mix of personal stories and examples. Thank you! " - public training survey feedback

“This training created space for individuals to learn alongside one another; this training was both educational and experiential, in that we learned rich educational content, but we also engaged in discussion, and learned from the stories of one another, or the stories of those who have walked the journey of trauma before us. This seminar was an incredible opportunity to honor Indigenous peoples through active participation in celebrating Indigenous culture and modes of healing.” – Hannah Hube

“This workshop is filled with very relevant material that can be used directly in your therapeutic practice. Trish’s delivery style and notes makes the material very accessible and clear. I appreciate her warmth, compassion and passion for this work that puts the participants at ease and generates engaging conversations” – public training participant; written survey feedback