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 their understanding of a growing body of trauma-informed knowledge and research.

Certificate of completion will be provided.

Background:

This strength-based introductory workshop, adapted from a series of Trauma-informed Practice trainings for 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 for trauma healing, increasing emotional awareness, and 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 lead to chronic shutdown, collapse, fear, helplessness, anxiety, and depression; presenting as a myriad of symptoms within ourselves and those around us. Our nervous system has adaptively evolved to interpret certain feelings, certain bodily sensations, experiences, and even feelings of isolation and disconnection, as a potential neurobiological threats. In turn, this invokes prolonged threat response cycles within our nervous system, increasing symptoms of emotional dis-regulation (such as hypervigilance, emotional shutdown, anxiety, and higher levels of emotional reactivity), as well as, potentially, a myriad of emotional and physical symptoms stemming from unresolved trauma. Research also shows that a direct correlation between our levels of emotional dis-regulation, 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 dis-regulation, 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 building long term resilience.

This workshop is grounded in research and focuses on understanding, and providing practical, effective tools for healing emotional dis-regulation, 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
• Understanding implicit memory, and its role in the formation of trauma-based beliefs and emotional triggers.
• What are: vicarious trauma, secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, moral injury and collective trauma.
• How to avoid re-traumatization, and avoid re-triggering others
• What is meant by our nervous system's "window of tolerance". How is it widened?
• What is allostatic load
• What is emotional resilience; what is vicarious resilience
• Overview of the concept "neuroception"; and the role of the vagus nerve in emotional regulation.
• What are emotional triggers? How they are formed, and healed
• Triggers that could 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
• 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 recently developed to heal trauma
• What is Intergenerational trauma and new research re: healing epigenetic transmission.
• What is meant by post traumatic growth, and how is it fostered? 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