Survivor-Centered Work

Seeing Children as Clients Too: Building Hope and Resilience for Young Victims
The Science of Trauma: Understanding Its Profound Impact on the Brain and Body
Trauma-Responsive Advocacy: Building Victim-Centered Legal Support Systems
Implementing Trauma-Informed Care: How Understanding Trauma, Empowerment, & Wellness Strengthens Our Work
Trauma-Informed Victim Interviewing: Enhancing Law Enforcement Responses to Violence
Client-Centered Advocacy: Empowering and Supporting Victims of Violence

Seeing Children as Clients Too: Building Hope and Resilience for Young Victims

Workshop Description: Children exposed to violence are often the unseen victims in family justice centers, yet they are deeply impacted by trauma and adversity. This training emphasizes the importance of viewing children as clients in their own right and ensuring that every interaction fosters hope, resilience, and healing. Participants will explore practical strategies to engage children in fun, age-appropriate activities that increase their Hope Scores while addressing their unique needs. Through trauma-informed approaches, this workshop empowers family justice center professionals to create a supportive environment where young victims can find safety, joy, and a renewed sense of possibility.

Learning Objectives:

Recognize the importance of seeing children as individual clients with unique needs in family justice center settings.
Explore trauma-informed strategies and age-appropriate activities that support children’s emotional well-being and increase their Hope Scores.
Develop practical approaches to create a fun and engaging environment that fosters resilience and healing for child victims of violence.

The Science of Trauma: Understanding Its Profound Impact on the Brain and Body

Workshop Description: Trauma leaves lasting imprints on the brain and body, shaping how individuals think, feel, and connect with others. This training explores the neurobiological underpinnings of trauma, providing insights into how it alters memory, influences behavior, and disrupts social connections. Participants will delve into the science behind trauma’s long-term effects and learn strategies for recognizing and addressing these impacts in a supportive, trauma-informed manner. By understanding the profound ways trauma manifests, professionals can better support victims on their paths to healing and recovery.

Learning Objectives:

Explore the neurobiological effects of trauma and how it alters brain function and body responses over time.
Understand how trauma affects memory processing, influences behavior, and impacts social connections and relationships.
Apply trauma-informed principles to recognize and address the long-term effects of trauma in interactions with victims of violence.

Trauma-Responsive Advocacy: Building Victim-Centered Legal Support Systems

Workshop Description: Navigating the court and legal systems can be daunting and retraumatizing for victims of violence. This training equips advocates with the knowledge and tools to implement trauma-responsive, victim-centered approaches in legal advocacy. Participants will explore strategies to reduce re-traumatization, enhance victim empowerment, and create supportive pathways through complex legal processes without breaching the bounds of their profession. By fostering empathy and understanding, this workshop ensures that professionals can provide equitable and compassionate advocacy, empowering victims to reclaim their voices and pursue justice.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the principles of trauma-informed and victim-centered advocacy in the context of legal and court systems.
Identify practices that reduce re-traumatization and enhance victim safety and empowerment throughout legal processes.
Develop strategies for fostering collaborative, empathetic, and equitable support across multidisciplinary teams to improve outcomes for victims of violence.

Implementing Trauma-Informed Care: How Understanding Trauma, Empowerment, & Wellness Strengthens Our Work

Workshop Description: Trauma-informed care acknowledges the need to understand a survivor’s life experiences in order to deliver effective care, and has the potential to improve the experiences and outcomes of the people we serve. A comprehensive approach to trauma-informed care must be adopted at both the direct-services and organizational levels. Too frequently, providers attempt to implement trauma-informed care at the micro-level without the proper supports necessary for broad organizational culture change. This can lead to uneven, and often unsustainable, shifts in day-to-day operations. This narrow focus also fails to recognize how other staff, such as front desk workers and security personnel, often have significant interactions with clients and can be critical to ensuring that survivors feel safe. In this workshop, we will be taking a look at trauma-informed work from multiple angles, across organizations and role to ensure implementation that can support both clients and staff.

Objectives:

Understand the foundational principles of trauma-informed care and their importance in improving outcomes for survivors of violence.
Identify strategies for implementing trauma-informed practices at both the micro (direct services) and macro (organizational) levels to foster sustainable cultural change.
Explore the critical roles of non-direct service staff, such as front desk workers and security personnel, in creating safe and supportive environments for survivors.

Trauma-Informed Victim Interviewing: Enhancing Law Enforcement Responses to Violence

Workshop Description: Law enforcement professionals play a critical role in ensuring justice and safety for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. This training equips officers with the skills to conduct trauma-informed interviews, recognizing how traumatic experiences impact victim memory, reactions, and behavior. Participants will explore strategies to foster trust, enhance communication, and gather accurate information without bias. By postponing judgment and conducting thorough, victim-centered investigations, officers can build stronger cases and provide a more compassionate, effective response to survivors.

Learning Objectives:

Describe how trauma impacts victim memory, behavior, and reactions, and understand how these responses may influence investigations.
Develop strategies for fostering trust and communication with victims during interviews to gather comprehensive and accurate information.
Recognize potential sources of officer bias and implement practices to mitigate their impact on the investigation and reporting process.

Client-Centered Advocacy: Empowering and Supporting Victims of Violence

Workshop Description: Trauma-responsive, client-centered advocacy is essential for providing compassionate, effective support to victims of violence. This training will delve into the principles of victim empowerment, understanding trauma responses, and fostering empathy in advocacy practices. Participants will learn how trauma shapes behavior, memory, and decision-making and how advocates can build trust, promote resilience, and respect survivors’ autonomy. This interactive session will empower participants to create safer spaces for survivors and enhance their capacity to support healing and recovery.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the impact of trauma on victim behavior, memory, and decision-making to better tailor advocacy approaches.
Develop strategies to empower victims by respecting autonomy, promoting resilience, and building trust.
Strengthen empathy and compassion in advocacy practices to foster meaningful and supportive survivor interactions.