Trauma-Informed Teacher Trainings
As teachers we are on the front lines of a rapidly changing world.
Our students, communities and families are suffering from the results of diverse traumas (environmental, social, interpersonal, familial, systemic, etc) and though we may feel compelled to make a difference, we may not know where to begin.
Teachers are tasked with the vital and formidable task of - above all else- providing a safe space for students to learn and grow into their best selves within our classrooms in the short time we have them - whether those classrooms are virtual or brick and mortar.
All teachers know that until that key baseline of safety is met, our students cannot learn what they need to learn to make the progress they are capable of.
And there is so much outside of our control.
Students come with challenges and stories that drastically affect their ability to connect, meet expectations, and make the progress we know they are capable of. Violence, rage, disassociation, depression, substance abuse, reactivity, disconnection… these are all very real challenges faced by our students. The subsequent behaviors they bring to our classrooms as they navigate these understandable emotions shape our school and classroom communities. As the professional in the room, we may even find ourselves triggered and traumatized as a result of doing this difficult work.
As educators, we have chosen this field because we know the transformative power of education.
We know the life-or-death consequences that many students face when it comes to establishing their ability to self-advocate and achieve their goals. And we are here because we want to help. We want to be part of the solution to this problem that does not discriminate based on age, race, gender, socioeconomic class or any other determining factor.
We are overwhelmed with the enormity of the problems faced by our students and the challenges they bring to our classrooms. And in our darkest moments, we may want to quit because we feel that there is nothing we can do or because we ourselves are triggered.
But, truly, there is hope.
Trauma has been a part of the human experience since the dawn of time. But we live in an exciting time in which new research is being presented daily that not only provides a deeper understanding of the physiology of trauma, but gives us answers to our most pressing questions about how WE can make a difference in the lives of our students.
My trainings will share that research and provide easily digestible information that will help you understand the universality and diversity of trauma, as well as the foundational connective and self-reflective practices that you can include in your classroom TOMORROW - practices that bring hope and build resilience in traumatized people and populations.
I have worked with traumatized youth in multiple settings and helped teachers widen their lens on what constitutes trauma. My training workshops are full of practical, easy to implement tools and methods for mitigating the effects of trauma on students, teachers and school communities.
I have sat through my share of teacher in-service training and I know the need for practical, action steps that can be applied easily and without extensive preparation or study. Tools that build on your own internal drive to connect and empower your students, while taking good care of your own wellness as a foundational piece.
I draw from the teachings of Peter Levine, Bessel Van Der Kolk, Steven Porges and Becky Bailey among others.
I understand trauma from a personal and professional perspective. I have attended many trauma-informed teacher trainings and have made this my life’s work - to support teachers to manage their own experiences as they work with traumatized populations.
I have a deep passion for helping teachers understand trauma so that they can more authentically show up for their students, create responsive and inclusive learning communities, and do the work they desperately want to do: create empowering learning environments in which students feel safe, seen and successful.
Teachers truly change the world. Perhaps more than any other profession.
Let’s get to work.
Teacher Inservice Workhops & Trainings
Trauma & The Brain: Neuroplasticity for the WIN!
Trauma is a natural part of the human experience.
Teachers are uniquely situated to create and manage connected and structured environments that can help mitigate the effects of trauma on students.
Trauma Informed best practices provide a framework for educators to more effectively manage their own experiences with compassion fatigue when working with traumatized populations.
This workshop will cover the basics of trauma, how it affects brain development as well as the diverse presentations of trauma (not all trauma-responses are disruptive!).
Participants will participate in embodied learning practices designed to help manage trauma responses and will be provided with actionable tips for scaffolding environments to support executive functioning as a means to mitigate the effects of trauma on student achievement and overall wellness.
Emphasis is on providing strategies to build self-monitoring, self-awareness and self-advocacy skills in students as well as methods for creating connected and safe learning communities within classrooms.
Mindful Metacognition: Trauma Informed Mindfulness + Executive Functioning Scaffolding
The problems that present the most frustrating challenges for classroom teachers: lost materials, missed deadlines, lack of focus, potential not matched to output, emotional overwhelm, dysregulation, disruptive behavior, withdrawal… these are all areas that can be improved by EMPOWERING kids to understand and navigate their OWN learning executive functioning development.
In 1949 a Canadian neuropsychologist by the name of Donald Hebb first used the axiom ‘neurons that fire together, wire together’.
What Hebb was trying to explain is that as we experience and learn our brains are LITERALLY forming connections to make future learning easier!
In this workshop educators are given the opportunity to reflect on their own Executive Functioning Skills profile and create a plan for strengthening their areas of weakness. Simple and practical pedagogical tips are shared to help scaffold learning environments to better support students’ actively growing frontal lobes.
Trauma-informed embodied mindfulness practices are shared to build students’ capacity to respond rather than react, increase connections within classroom communities, support increased resilience in the learning process and a develop a deeper sense of intrinsic motivation.
