Creating and Supporting Trauma Informed Environments

January 5, 12 and 19, 2024 (3-part series)
9:00 am - 12:30 pm each day

Register here to be sent an invitation to the online meetings in advance of the start date.

The emotional response that lasts because of a traumatic event causes stress and unpredicted emotions. The purpose of this workshop is to build trauma awareness and learn how to build trauma informed environments. The workshop will include how to apply the key principles of trauma informed practice (Safety, Trustworthiness, Choice, Collaboration and Empowerment) and sessions will also explore how staff can mitigate the effects of working in trauma exposed and/or stressed environments.

Learning Objectives:

  • Increase trauma awareness (definitions, types, impacts, prevalence).
  • Discuss the Neurobiology of Stress and Trauma; Review the differences between positive, tolerable and toxic stress.
  • Increase knowledge on the impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences and resiliency across the life span. 
  • Understand the key principles of trauma informed care and how to apply them.
  • Discuss the common elements of creating and supporting trauma informed environments. 
  • Discuss burn out, compassion fatigue, moral distress, and vicarious trauma.
  • Review how to take steps to mitigate work related stress and distress.

There will be a with a mix of Powerpoint presentations and small group learning exercises.

*This training will be lecture style with some small group exercises and chats. This training is for all staff who work at Dalhousie University (i.e. Admin, Student Support, Faculty, Supervisors, Leaders etc.). 

About your trainer:

Tonya Grant (she/her) MSW, RSW has over 25 years of experience in the community/health fields working with children, youth, adults and families from diverse backgrounds.  Tonya has been a Social Worker for 21 years since completing her BSW from the Maritime School of Social Work and later graduating in 2004 with a MSW from the Dalhousie School of Social Work.  After completing her MSW, she worked as a Clinical Social Worker in the areas of community mental health & addictions, family therapy, children’s inpatient mental health, complex case, clinical leadership and she spent five years as the Professional Practice Chief of Social Work at the IWK Health Centre.  In recent years Tonya’s work includes being the IWK/NSH Mental Health & Addictions Provincial Clinical Lead for Trauma Informed Care and she teaches as a Sessional Instructor at Dalhousie School of Social Work.  Tonya uses strengths-based trauma informed approaches and critical social work practice to collaborate with people and systems to explore and improve their experiences, their environments and their relationships.