Trauma Informed Helping 

The effects of trauma on the brain and nervous system create three major categories of symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTSD). These symptoms include the inability to follow a conversation for any length of time, and the inability to learn and retain new information. The symptoms also include the inability to recall and communicate details in the correct chronological sequence. These symptoms can result in the traumatized person being labeled as uncooperative.

The symptoms of PTSD can also manifest in the traumatized persons being triggered by your questions, or by their inability to recall. If the triggers are severe, the traumatized person may flashback and feel the anguish of the original trauma. A flashback can cause dissociation, which is a split with reality in all three spheres (time, place, and person).

During this workshop you gain knowledge of how to communicate in ways that prevent triggers and the resulting dissociation; that show understanding of how trauma interferes with a person’s ability to communicate, and you learn patterns of communication that help the traumatized person receive the information and the resources needed.