Humanizing Education to Access and Activate Joy
Services
Updates regarding COVID-19
Until professional learning spaces resume being in person to accommodate large numbers safely, our delivery model is virtual and has been met with great success since April 2020 when we made the transition to virtual professional learning spaces with our content.
This is emotionally heavy content at the outset and then it becomes more technical as we learn the strategies. Because of this, it is highly recommended that there be intentional self-care and spaciousness provided for participants after the training. We are happy to discuss what this can look like for your context in a way that exemplifies you as a supportive leader in this work for your staff/organization.
We do not recommend a day-long training unless there is a significant 60 - 90 min break in the middle. We have found great success in offering SAWUBONA in either two 3-hour sessions or three 2-hour sessions. These sessions work best when given a few days to a week in between or even simply spread over two days. Generally, districts or organizations do the 2 - 3 sessions within about 3 - 6 weeks and it has worked very well. Again, each context is different and we are happy to work with you on a scheduling format that suits your needs.
**TrUTH is intentional and explicit about using an equity and anti-racist lens in our trauma training. TrUTH has expertise in supporting all student demographic groups and we emphasize the following student populations:
* Girls and young women of color
* Students disproportionately affected by suspensions or the juvenile justice system
* English learners
* LGBTQIA+ students
* Students impacted by housing inequities or homelessness
Training/coaching
TrUTH provides job-embedded training and coaching that uses a growth mindset and inquiry stance framework that focuses on the importance of caring for students and their resiliency.that transforms the lives of students on a daily basis. This form of coaching supports educators in developing capacity as professionals by providing effective tools that build sustainability, equity, and safe classroom environments.
It introduces teachers to an educational pedagogy grounded in trauma informed practices, including somatic healing, restorative justice, hip-hop pedagogy, and theater of the oppressed that supports educators to discover their vision for teaching and learning. As a result of their work, students become empowered and engaged learners. It will ground educators in understanding how to create paths of accountability that will disrupt patterns of inequity in education while supporting the success of their students.
Educators will be introduced to the following:
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Somatic Abolitionism
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Trauma-sensitive classroom management practices
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Equitable teaching practices
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Restorative Justice
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Building positive teacher and student relationships
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Social-emotional learning competencies
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Ethic of Radical Empathy
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Epigenetics
Workshops
Introduction to Trauma-responsive Practices and Inside-out Work
Trauma-sensitive Practices and Equity in Action
Trauma-informed Critical Pedagogy: The Impact of Cultural Trauma and the Importance of Resilience
For Parents: Transforming Triggers into Empathy
The Value of Connection: Creating Trauma-responsive Colleges/Universities
Trauma-informed Care for Health and Human Services Professional
Becoming a trauma-responsive school or organization mandates deliberate actions that create physical and psychological safety. Currently, becoming “trauma-responsive” is about launching and maintaining systems change. But first, it begins with recognizing that the present purpose and structure of many public service organizations (i.e., education, healthcare, social services, etc.) create stressful, toxic responses rather than alleviate them. It is crucial to acknowledge that our trauma is often re-triggered by the nature of our work with children in the high-needs schools we serve. This dynamic human experience we call “school” compromises the relational connection between educators and their students. Further, race-based trauma and societal conditioning have also informed our equity-lens resulting in implicit bias and stereotypes that have limited the quality of our cultural- responsiveness in teaching and how we lead in our schools.
This series of seminars drives to improve trauma-informed behaviors and educational equity by grounding participants in social-emotional awareness, mindfulness, trauma theory, and trauma-sensitive practices which possess the vision and power needed to transforms schools, improving culture and climate that directly impacts learning outcomes. We do this by using contemplative practices and popular education theory grounded in trauma-informed practices, unique embodiment exercises, and emotional intelligence strategies. Participants also learn key considerations in initiating change in a system, being culturally-responsive, adaptive challenges, and adaptive leadership.
Participants build understanding, knowledge, and capacity for creating systems change with a trauma-informed lens that will have a long-term impact for many years to come. Workshops can be tailored to run 60-90 minutes, 3 hours, or 1 – 2 days.
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Introduction to
Trauma-responsivePractices
& Inside-Out Work
Approximately 70% of adults in our country have an ACE score of 1 or more. These adults were once children. Now, over 2 million adults are teaching in our schools nationally.
As educators, we are coming to work with trauma. It’s time that we understand how common trauma is and how it can be healed so that we can better serve our students. We must do our own “inside-out” work to be more effective as educational leaders and teachers. After all, you cannot teach what you do not embody.
Outcomes:
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Participants will understand the interconnectedness of trauma- informed, social-emotional learning, and equity.
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Participants will understand trauma-informed pedagogy as it relates to students.
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Participants will engage in reflective inside-out work.
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Participants will understand trauma reactions as survival responses versus defiance.
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Participants will discover new capacities to improve pedagogy, social-emotional awareness, and increase outcomes for teaching and learning.
Training Format:
In-Person
Target Audience:
Behavioral Health Services
Providers and Management
Health and Human Services Professionals
Educators
Parents and Caregivers
Law Profession
Nursing
Policymakers
2
Trauma-sensitive Practices and Equity in Action
This one-of-kind, interactive seminar is designed to train participants the relevant trauma-informed information and trauma-sensitive practices that will help transform their practices and, therefore, their schools.
The information presented in this workshop will focus on how trauma impacts student learning and behavior, how educators and support staff can help students develop a greater sense of safety at school, and how to build new emotional regulation skills. Participants will leave this workshop with specific tools and strategies to implement immediately to improve academic outcomes. Further, this workshop supports educators in developing social-emotional awareness about triggers, stressors, and their ability for healthy self-regulation. They learn to recognize the signs and location of stress “activation” and “settling” in their bodies through various embodied activities, along with connections to the latest neuroscience research.
Outcomes:
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Participants will learn trauma-informed practices and strategies in their settings.
Training Format:
In-Person
Target Audience:
Behavioral Health Services Providers and Management
Health and Human Services Professionals
Educators
Parents and Caregivers
Law Profession
3
Trauma-informed Critical Pedagogy
Trauma-informed critical pedagogy places value on student's voice and lived experience. It is also rooted in an understanding of how trauma affects brain development, which guides the teacher in implementing modifications that set students up for success. Historical and race-based trauma along with societal conditioning has informed our equity lens resulting in implicit bias and stereotypes that have limited the quality of our cultural-responsiveness in teaching and learning. We must use our educational spaces to interrogate systems of power that cause harm and to work toward transforming those systems. Moreover, it means centering practices of compassion and love in everything we do. Often, our trauma is re-triggered by the nature of our work with children and colleagues in the high-needs schools we serve.
Here we will take a deeper dive into the epigenetics of cultural-trauma, healing centered engagement, becoming aware of new emotional capacities to improve pedagogy, social-emotional awareness, and increase outcomes for teaching and learning.
We will also look at how resilience is a building block for overcoming trauma both as a skill and an emotional capacity.
Outcomes:
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Participants will learn the current impact of cultural trauma and epigenetics.
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Participants will gain a deeper awareness of the interconnectedness between resilience and being a caring buffer.
Training Format:
In-Person
Target Audience:
Behavioral Health Services Providers and Management
Health and Human Services Professionals
Educators
Parents and Caregivers
Policymakers
For Parents:
Transforming Triggers into Empathy:Supporting Your Child Through a Trauma-informed Lens
This interactive embodied workshop is designed to give parents relevant trauma-informed information and trauma-sensitive practices that will inform and enhance parenting and support their children who have been exposed to adverse childhood experiences. The information presented in this workshop will focus on how trauma impacts a child's learning and behavior and how parents can support them to develop a greater sense of self and build new emotional regulation skills.
The workshop will also engage parents to critically examine and engage in dialogue about intersections of oppression, privilege, and create pathways of accountability that will disrupt patterns of inequity their child may be experiencing at school. Using contemplative and popular education pedagogy grounded in trauma informed theories and practices, parents will discover their vision for trauma-informed parenting.
Outcomes:
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Participants will learn the current impact of cultural trauma and epigenetics.
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Participants will gain a deeper awareness of the interconnectedness between resilience and being a caring buffer.
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Orient participants toward creating a trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive home that fosters resiliency to empower and engage children in healthy ways.
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Participants will understand the role of a trauma-informed home and help their child self-regulate their emotions and behaviors, succeed academically while supporting health and
well-being. -
Participants will understand trauma-informed language.
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Utilize trauma-informed evidence-based practices.
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The Value of Connection:
Creating Trauma-responsive Colleges/Universities
It is important for college students to feel grounded and have access to their whole, authentic selves in any space on campus. As the education field is becoming more aware of trauma, especially K-12, it is imperative that higher education institutions develop their own approaches to support in disrupting the cycle of trauma for students. Currently, K-college educators are recognizing and supporting students impacted by trauma by engaging them in various modalities,
providing them with resources, and creating safe space for them to achieve academic success.
Many students face challenges as they transition into college. It can be all the more difficult for them arriving on campus with a history of trauma. Additionally, college students are at higher risk of experiencing new trauma, including sexual assault, than members of the general public (Galatzer-Levy, Burton, & Bonanno, 2012). Trauma also increases susceptibility to depression and substance abuse, making it a pressing concern for campus mental health and student services professionals (Rytwinski, Scur, Feeny, & Youngstrom, 2013). Trauma-affected students can persist in postsecondary education, however, and those who do can thrive as models of resilience and
success—if the campus community works together with a sense of shared responsibility for their physical, social, emotional, and academic safety.
Here we will engage participants to take a deeper dive into understanding this generation of college students and the emotional challenges facing them. Participants will engage in some inside-out work, learn about trauma, its impact and begin to see things through a “trauma lens,” the importance of connection, building resilience in students, and strategies to make their campus
trauma-informed.
Outcomes:
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Engage in reflective inside-out work
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Understand the interconnectedness of trauma-informed, social-emotional learning, and equity
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Understand trauma informed language & pedagogy as it relates to students
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Understand the importance of connection and empathy
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Learn strategies to rebuild school culture in the context of trauma
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Trauma-informed Care for Health and Human Services Professionals
The prevalence of traumatic stress in the lives of individuals and families experiencing homelessness is exceptionally high. A large percentage of them have been impacted by childhood trauma (childhood abuse and neglect, domestic violence, community violence, etc) and the trauma linked with poverty and the loss of home, safety and sense of security. These overwhelming experiences have a notable impact on how people feel, behave, think, relate to themselves and to others, and deal with future experiences, and their resilience. Survival is the bottom line and Individuals and families have learned to adapt to these traumatic circumstances. but their coping mechanisms may seem in disarray in their current circumstances.
With the high rates of traumatic exposure among individuals and families who are homeless, it has become evident that understanding trauma and its impact is crucial for shelter and housing organizations to meet the needs of their customers and provide quality care. It is imperative that programs serving trauma survivors adapt their services to account for their clients’ traumatic experiences, and become “trauma-informed”. Empathetic responses are necessary in these environments because it makes clients feel physically and emotionally safe. Most importantly,
people working with the unsheltered population must at the very least avoid re-traumatization, and all practices and programming must be provided through the lens of trauma.
Here we will engage participants in some inside-out work, take a deeper dive in understanding trauma and its impact, and begin to see things through a “trauma lens,” Participants will also critically examine their organization via a trauma-informed organizational self-assessment that is designed to help them evaluate current practices, policies, and structures. Based on the results, participants can work together to adapt their programming to support recovery and healing among
their clients.
Outcomes:
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Engage in reflective inside-out work
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Understand the interconnectedness of trauma-informed, social-emotional learning, and equity
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Understand trauma informed language & pedagogy as it relates to individuals who are homeless
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Understand trauma reactions as survival responses
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Learn strategies to rebuild organizational structure and culture in the context of trauma