Swansea Social Services Training in Trauma Informed Practice

We were really happy to be invited to run a Trauma Informed Practice Course for Swansea Social Services Workforce.  This course was to be delivered virtually and consisted of the use of pre-recorded materials as well as four live sessions. 

The learning objectives are as below:

• Practitioners will understand the values and principles that underlie Trauma Informed Practice
• Practitioners will develop an understanding of Adverse Childhood Experiences and how they impact on the developing child
• Practitioners will understand what is meant by the term “trauma” and how it affects the nervous system
• Practitioners will recognise how trauma symptoms may present in young people who attend the service
• Practitioners will understand the basic principles of self-regulation and exercises that can promote this in young people
• Practitioners will understand what Trauma Informed Practice looks like and how it applies to your setting/service
• Practitioners will explore the different ways of taking a trauma informed approach in supporting children who are at different levels of their recovery
• Practitioners will consider how they manage the impact of supporting traumatised children on their own well-being
• Practitioners will feel confident with taking a trauma informed approach with young people and families on their caseload
• Practitioner develop practice skills using a trauma informed approach
• Practitioners develop and action plan to ensure a trauma informed approach is embedded in the wider organisation

With training groups of no more than 10 per group, it allowed for plenty of opportunity to discuss how to bring the theory into practice.  A variety of teaching methods were used on this course, including case studies, quizzes, experiential learning, and the use of short films.  As well as using break out rooms for group discussions, we also had opportunity to try out some more embodied approaches which practitioners had time to experience for themselves.  This made for a varied and interactive course, which was much appreciated by staff. 

Feedback from the course was excellent and we have since been commissioned to carry out another round of training in 2022.