John Richardson-Lauve posted:I do trainings with YMCA summer camp and after school staff quite regularly. I usually take my Trauma Basics curriculum and reduce the trauma content, almost nothing on ACEs (depending on the population that they are serving). I focus on brain science (whether its trauma or stress, we all flip our lid) and then about chronic toxic stress. But the majority of the time I talk about building resilience, which is good for kids away from their families in a new environment as well as the global good that resilience heals trauma. It is almost the opposite of trainings that I do for first responders, which focuses a lot on science and neurobiology (what is going on in their head when you encounter someone in the community) and less on what to do with them.
Your insight that a lot of people in your audience might be very close to their own lived experience of trauma is good thinking. Also, maturity plays a large part in how to frame the information. I remember training about 6 months ago with YMCA after school staff. I always include the "what happened to you" question as a key component of TI care. One of the program managers pulled me aside later and said, "I don't really want these 18-22yo staff, who are working in areas of high trauma/poverty/crime, to ask the kids who they are serving, "what happened. Because they aren't going to know what to do with the answer."
Have fun, and good luck!
Thank you for this info! We used the 'flipping your lid' analogy in our Parent Nights and I could totally pull that over for this staff training. I am thinking that modifying that presentation and focusing on the topics you suggested is a great direction to go with it. I appreciate the ideas!