Essential trauma awareness training on the causes, symptoms and best ways to treat PTSD
Join our expert tutor live online to deepen your understanding of trauma and our responses to it – recovery is possible…
Accredited CPD Certificate: 6 hours
Length: 1 day (9.15am - 4.00pm GMT)
Excellent online trauma course! I've worked with complex trauma for over 5 years and there was still plenty for me to take away...KAT MARLOW, PSYCHOTHERAPIST
Why do some people become traumatised and others not? What makes an event traumatic? Why are the symptoms of trauma so many and varied? What happens if someone freezes – or experiences a shutdown or dissociative response – during a traumatic event?
Live Online Training – Join Ros Townsend on Tues 16th April 2024 to find out the answers to these questions, and many more… You’ll also have time to ask your own questions and benefit from the group discussions. Once you’ve booked you’ll receive emailed confirmation – you’ll get your Zoom link the day before the event.
Limited numbers – book soon to ensure your place.
BONUS RECORDING – the training is recorded, in case anyone experiences technical difficulties on the day, so you will also get a recording for a limited time afterwards to maximise your learning.
This inspiring and helpful online course with Ros Townsend, a highly experienced psychotherapist and trainer who specialises in treating trauma, will give you a thorough, clear understanding of how and why we can be impacted by traumatic events, what is happening in our brains, what causes post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, why we respond in different ways (fight, flight, freeze or shutdown/dissociation), how to help someone who is suffering, when to seek professional help – and more.
Why take this course
Suffering from trauma, whether from a single incident or multiple events spread over the course of many years, can have a significantly detrimental impact on a person’s mental and physical health, and their quality of life. It can also greatly affect the lives of those around them.
Since the Covid-19 Pandemic, more people than usual have experienced extremely stressful, distressing and/or frightening events, and many are finding that it has left them with symptoms of post-traumatic stress which can, in themselves, be very frightening.
Recovery is possible – understanding is key
Understanding what causes PTSD symptoms, how our brains and bodies react to distressing events and what makes us vulnerable to becoming traumatised, are all key to successful recovery. This knowledge creates a firm foundation on which to build successful coping strategies and clarifies what needs to happen to enable successful self-help and recovery.
During the day you will also gain a clear understanding of how to spot the ‘early warning signs’ of trauma, before they go on to affect further areas of someone’s life, which red-flag signs indicate that it is time to seek professional help, and how trauma specialists are able to help people recover, from even the most difficult times, effectively – and lots more.
Jam-packed full of essential information and important insights, real-life case studies and tips, this trauma course clarifies the different ways trauma can impact on people, leaving you better equipped to help support recovery and build resilience. It is an essential course for anyone who works with distressed people or who wishes to support someone they care for in their recovery from trauma, or for those simply wishing to better understand what they, or someone they care for, are experiencing.
You will have plenty of time to ask questions throughout the day as the course is designed as a balance between structured learning, group discussion and activities (it is a live, expanded version of our shorter online course: Understanding Trauma).
Ros is a brilliant teacher and presenter. She made the whole course interesting, engaging and informative as well as very supportive. She was also very patient with all our questions!GEMMA ROGERS, COUNSELLOR/COACH
What you will learn
A clear understanding of what trauma is – and the different survival responses we have evolved to help us deal with it
What happens in our brains when we experience a traumatic event
Why some people are affected by traumatic events, but not others
What makes something ‘a trauma’
What symptoms may indicate that someone has been traumatised
Why post-traumatic stress (PTS) occurs and the many different ways it can present
The physical and psychological causes of post traumatic stress symptoms such as flash backs, hypervigilance, anger, poor sleep, poor memory, physical pain, difficulty thinking, digestive problems, low mood, apparent over-reaction to non-threatening situations
Why PTS symptoms can develop years after a traumatic event
The fight, flight and freeze response – its impact on our brain and body, and why it can be triggered inappropriately
Why experiencing trauma in a passive survival state – such as freeze, shutdown or a dissociative state – can affect an individual particularly deeply
How high emotional arousal impacts on our ability to think clearly
Why our brains evolved this way
Why some people experience trauma in a passive survival state such as freeze, shutdown or a dissociative state – and why we shouldn’t feel ashamed or guilty if we do
The double whammy that comes with the ‘freeze’ response
Why some sufferers experience ‘shutdown’ or dissociation as a result of trauma – and how this can lead to feelings of shame or guilt
Why anger and other strong emotions can follow when someone comes out of a shutdown state during recovery from trauma
How traumatic memories can stay ‘live’, keeping us on constant alert for danger
‘The straw that broke the camel’s back’: why one seemingly small event can tip someone into PTSD after years of exposure to other distressing events
The importance of pattern-matching in understanding how our brains work
Why post-traumatic stress triggers seemingly inappropriately extreme fear reactions
The far-reaching impacts of unresolved trauma, including the development of co-morbid conditions and unhelpful coping strategies, such as addictions
How unresolved trauma can lead to depression – the trauma / depression cycle
Differences when treating single incident trauma, multiple trauma or ‘complex trauma’
When to seek professional help – spotting the ‘red-flag’ signs that you, or someone you care for, might need further support
Where to find effective professional help
An understanding of how the rewind technique works; its many advantages and applications
The common elements of all effective treatments for post traumatic stress (PTSD)
How we need to adapt traditional approaches to treating trauma for those experiencing shutdown or dissociative symptoms in the present
Working holistically from the human givens approach
The natural way we recover from distressing events
What we all need as human beings to live emotionally healthy lives
How to best employ self-help strategies to support your own recovery or to help others’ suffering from the effects of trauma
How to build resilience and recover from symptoms
How to access the ‘recovery zone’
Using breathing techniques with clients suffering from trauma
Self-help strategies for improving your mental health and minimising traumatic symptoms
A wonderfully informative course – I learned so much about traumaCOUNSELLOR
Please note
This live online training course is an expanded, live version of our shorter online course: Understanding Trauma.
If you work with people with Complex Trauma, you may also like our attended workshops: Complex Trauma: Working effectively with challenging cases.
Who this workshop is suitable for
Anyone interested in understanding trauma and the many different ways it can present, the physical and psychological causes of post traumatic stress symptoms (PTSD), and what can be done to help – whether for personal or professional reasons.
Anyone working with traumatised people including health and welfare professionals, such as: psychologists, counsellors, psychotherapists, mental health nurses, psychiatrists, school counsellors, student wellbeing officers, doctors, nurses, OTs, social workers, health visitors, youth workers, outreach, support workers, clinical psychologists, midwives, welfare officers, youth workers, hypnotherapists
Anyone working with traumatised members of public services, such as: firefighters, police, paramedics and military personnel
Family members of a traumatised individual who wish to understand more about how they can support their recovery or help them to access support
Individuals wanting to understand more about their own experience of symptoms relating to trauma and learn more about what effective support is available – you will find the information on this course hugely helpful.
Please note
As the course deals with the subject of trauma, participants should be aware that discussion of specifically chosen examples of trauma and PTS symptoms will take place, for illustrative purposes, during the day.
These will be generic examples for teaching purposes, however, and will not go into unnecessary detail or be voyeuristic or inherently distressing. Participants on the course will not at any stage be expected or put under pressure to discuss or disclose details of any personal experiences of a traumatic nature that they may have had.
Course Programme
The ‘Trauma: Patterns from the Past’ live online course starts at 9.15am and runs until 4.00pm.
9.15am Join the Zoom meeting
9.30am Introducing PTS
11.00am Comfort break and discussion
11.30am Understanding PTS
1.00pm Lunch break
1.45pm Red-flag signs – when to seek professional support
2.45pm Comfort break and discussion
3.00pm Self-help strategies
4.00pm Day ends
This course has been independently accredited by the internationally recognised CPD Standards Office for 6 hours of CPD training.
On completion of this training you’ll receive CPD certificates from the College and the CPD Standards Office.