Course Overview
Care professionals in the helping field are increasingly faced with more complex cases and clients experiencing trauma. Applying ‘sanitised’ approaches prescribed in textbooks often proves futile in addressing the convoluted mess of problems these clients encounter. It is like applying sterile first aid plasters to a person in a serious car accident. Care professionals may also find themselves feeling helpless, defeated, or overwhelmed when emotionally drawn into their clients’ experiences, and they may even experience secondary traumatization.
This course addresses the current challenges faced by care staff in managing children and young people in out-of-home care, as well as the increasing demands placed on social workers and counsellors due to the surge in mental health cases such as anxiety, depression, emotional distress, and suicidal tendencies. It incorporates trauma-informed approaches inspired by experts in trauma work such as Franz Ruppert, Gabor Mate, and Daniel Siegel. Drawing on their insights and methodologies, this training provides a comprehensive understanding and practical strategies for working with clients who have experienced trauma.
This course comprises 3 parts: Part A: The gateway to effectively working with and supporting clients lies in the practitioners’ ability to establish a deep and heartfelt connection with the client. However, many practitioners struggle with disconnection and internal splits, surviving by coping and firefighting rather than engaging at the heart level. To provide authentic caring and facilitate deep healing, practitioners need to reconnect with their hearts, fostering self-healing and reconnecting with their own essence. This course helps participants to reconnect with Self and learn how to establish therapeutic relationships. They will learn to provide authentic and compassionate care to clients who have experienced trauma.
In Part B, participants will gain the necessary knowledge and tools to guide their clients through the healing journey and foster positive transformation. They will learn how to help their clients see and make sense of their trauma. Participants will learn how to establish safe and trusting therapeutic relationships and support clients in self-regulation and building a safe space.
In Part C, participants will experience significant personal and professional growth, enriching their practice. This is in the form of a half-day session held after adequate time is given to put lessons learnt in Parts A and B in practice. Participants will return to class to share their successes and challenges, engage in reflections, and to develop plans for growth and development.
This practical workshop is delivered in a multi-modal format including immersive and experiential training via role-play, expressive and experiential activities, and observation in addition to traditional teaching strategies.
Course Objective
By the conclusion of this course, care professionals will:
- Deepen their self-awareness and understanding of how their own experiences shape their therapeutic relationship with clients.
- Unravel the elements within themselves that support and facilitate the healing process
- Develop practical tools and techniques to establish safe and trusting therapeutic relationships
- Enhance their capacity to support clients in self-regulation and creating a safe space
- Identify and harness clients’ strengths to facilitate their healing process
- Rebuild clients’ relationships with themselves and others
Target Audience
This course is designed for care professionals, including Social Workers, Counsellors, Youth Workers and Psychologists working with complex cases or clients who have experienced traumatic stress. Those aspiring to provide trauma-sensitive care will also benefit from this course.
Duration
The course spans 2.5 days, providing ample time for immersive learning and application of knowledge and skills.
Topics
Part A: Reconnecting with Self and Establishing Therapeutic Relationships
- Engage in experiential and embodiment exercises to enhance self-awareness and reconnection.
- Discover and access internal resources for establishing safe and trusting therapeutic relationships with clients.
- Learn techniques for self-grounding and centring before, during, and after sessions.
- Recognize and manage tendencies towards over-caring or detached-caring.
Part B: Supporting Clients with Trauma
- Identify and understand trauma and its impact using the Split Model from Identity Oriented Psychotrauma Therapy (IOPT).
- Help clients make sense of trauma and internal experiences through the use of metaphors, stories, and analogies.
- Establish a foundation of trust, strengths, and appreciation with clients through expressive and experiential activities.
- Acquire skills in identifying and managing dysregulation in sessions, including grounding, state-shifting, and containment methods.
Part C: Cultivating Collective Wisdom & Professional Growth
- Share successes and challenges encountered in practice, fostering insights, camaraderie, and perseverance.
- Engage in reflective practices and role-playing to refine therapeutic approaches.
- Develop a plan for personal renewal, sustained self-care, and professional thriving
- Share and receive feedback on successes and challenges in practice
- Engage in reflective practices and role-playing to refine practitioner clinical approaches
- Develop a plan to renew passion, sustain self-care, and thrive professionally