The Making Sense of Trauma webinar is a condensed version of the full-day workshops run by New Directions for Children, Youth, Adults & Families, a community-service agency operating in Winnipeg, Manitoba, since 1985.  The webinar is designed to provide a clear and helpful understanding of trauma and its effects, and to provide the caregiver with practical skills and ways to conceptualize trauma that will be immediately effective.  It is designed to be accessible for all: caregivers, front line workers and therapists. 

The webinar was developed from a one-day workshop created by Kate Kiernan, M.Sc.,  and Billy Brodovsky, M.S.W., which they have presented to foster parents, Child & Family Services workers, and other professionals working with children and youth in Manitoba.  Kate and Billy are clinicians at the Families Affected by Sexual Assault Program for New Directions in Winnipeg, and they each have over 25 years’ experience working with children and youth who have experienced trauma. 

Trauma is pervasive and impacts all of us, children and adults. Becoming trauma-informed helps us when working with children to shift from saying “what is wrong with you” to “what has happened to you”. The webinar is designed to help understand the patterns of children’s behaviour and to learn some practical tools to begin helping children to manage those behaviours.

The webinar takes approximately 3.5 hours to complete.  A certificate of completion is available once the webinar and evaluation have been completed.

Topics include:

Getting Started (6 min)

• Getting Started
• Objectives
• Being Trauma-Informed
• Principles of Being Trauma-Informed

What is Trauma (21 min)

• Defining Trauma
• Trauma
• When a Child or Adult’s Trauma is Unresolved
• History: How we have Thought about Trauma
• Making Sense of Trauma
• Keeping your balance

The Nervous System (13 min)

• The Nervous System
• Window of Tolerance – Capacity to Cope
• Healthy Ways that You Can Regulate

The Brain & Development (17 min)

• Parts of the Brain
• The Downstairs and Upstairs Brain
• The Downstairs and Upstairs Brain and Self-Regulation
• Trauma and Development
• Keeping your Balance

Working Towards Trauma Resolution (9 min)

• Importance of Co-Regulation
• Working Towards Trauma Resolution
• Trauma Begins to be Resolved by
• Keeping your balance.

Understanding Freeze (12 min)

• Why Focus on Freeze, Flight and Fight?
• Examples of Freeze
• Dissociation Continuum
• Tools for Responding to Freeze
• Flashbacks – Connecting to the Present
• Keeping your balance

Understanding Readiness and Flight (12 min)

• Readiness – Try This
• Examples of Flight
• Tools for Flight
• Tools for Flight (continued)

Understanding Fight (12 min)

• Examples of Fight
• Tools for Fight
• We’re Stuck – Adults and Kids Caught in Fight
• How to Talk to Children about Freeze, Flight and Fight

Mindfulness (7 min)

• What is Mindfulness
• Keeping Your Balance – Guided Meditation
• Compassion

Making Sense of Trauma (13 min)

• When More Bad Things Happen
• How to Listen to Trauma Stories
• Creating New Pathways
• Grief and Sadness
• How We Heal is in Relationship

Staying Self-Regulated (5 min)

• When My Nervous System Is Regulated
• Laughing Baby

Becoming Trauma-Informed (5 min)

• Principles of Being Trauma-Informed
• Becoming Trauma-Informed
• Making Sense of Trauma for Children and Youth