September 19, 2023

September 7, 2023

In this webinar, RC Treaters will investigate the negative health outcomes correlated with adverse childhood experiences for LGBT+ individuals. They will engage applications of the RC Framework that address the impaired self-capacities associated with LGBT+ lifestyle factors, such as daily interactions in intolerant environments and an inability to actualize one’s self-concept (to be their true self).

Additionally, RC treaters will take stock of their awareness, biases, and personal relationships to gender and sexual identity to address any limiting beliefs that may adversely affect these goals.

June 15, 2023

This presentation provided an overview of how trauma impacts people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and presented interventions for emotion regulation. We discussed behavior as communication, as well as the functional nature of behavior in terms of meeting our clients’ needs. Engagement strategies such as building rapport with verbal and non-verbal clients were reviewed, as well as interventions to increase emotional awareness, help scaffold independence to empower clients to make healthy and self-regulating choices, and (re)build trust. Relaxation techniques for emotion regulation were presented and practiced.

May 9, 2023

We know that when we work closely with trauma survivors, there are implications to the treater during the process of building healthy attachment. When not acknowledged, these implications can impact the treatment process for both the treater and trauma survivor. Using a self-reflective, trauma-informed care framework allows the treater to improve their practice and focus on ways of creating safe space for both treater and trauma survivor. In this training we explored opportunities for self-reflection about attachment style as the treater to re-engage in providing stronger connections with trauma survivors.

March 15, 2023

Stop It Now! is a child sexual abuse prevention program that is – like TSI – part of Klingberg Family Centers. For 30 years, Stop It Now! has been a global leader in preventing child sexual abuse. They are a unique one-stop-shop for resources to help youth, parents, adults, and organizations prevent child sexual abuse before a child is harmed.

This webinar introduced the Stop It Now! program and resources to participants, encouraging a hopeful perspective that views child sexual abuse as preventable, not inevitable. By actively addressing both behaviors and environments where children are vulnerable early, with safety plans and organizational polices, professionals strengthen children’s protective factors.

September 27, 2022

This was an in-person event.

Don’t freak out. This may just be the most enjoyable and hilarious RC Trainer Consult groups we’ve ever done. Laughter, silliness, and stepping slightly outside your comfort zone can be the perfect antidote to VT. After this Consult Group, you’ll be saying, “I can’t believe I got to do that on work time…AND GET PAID FOR IT.”

Lacey Byrne, Assistant Touring Company Manager for Sea Tea Comedy Theater in Hartford, CT, took RC Trainers through a variety of exercises and games to build confidence in public speaking, foster creativity…but mostly just have fun! Read more about it and get activity descriptions you can use in your program in this blog post.

May 19, 2022  

This workshop provided a view of trauma from the perspective of the lives of people with intellectual disabilities.  It explored the sources of trauma, the effects of that trauma on both a biological and psychological level, and the key ingredients for healing. Healing and case studies were examined in depth.

March 22, 2022

Vulnerabilities greatly contribute to the development of vicarious trauma (VT).  We looked at how historical trauma serves as both a vulnerability and resiliency factor to VT.  For BIPOC communities there is a constant back-story of collective, historical trauma that impacts present experience.  We will learn more about how this ongoing narrative can contribute to vicarious trauma and vicarious resiliency.

December 9, 2021

Like so many institutions, the Traumatic Stress Institute has set a strategic priority on embodying anti-racism in our organizational culture. Like others, we are inspired by the racial reckoning of the past year. And, like so many, we acknowledge the blind spots of our whiteness that have only now spurred us to make this a high priority.

We are determined to do better — not by short term actions in reaction to the moment, but rather by steady, continuous, long-term learning, self-examination, and through–most importantly–action.

One of our first actions is the creation of new supplement to the Teaching Manual for Risking Connection called “Teaching Risking Connection with and Anti-Racist Lens.” In collaboration with an Advisory Committee made up of RC Trainers and Champions with diverse racial and ethnic identities, we are currently writing this supplement.  It is NOT meant to replace the Teaching Manual, but rather offer insights and strategies to weave an anti-racist mindset into your teaching.

This important webinar introduced the resource to our RC community. In it, presenters  described the process that went into creation of the resource, reviewed its content, and talked about how it can be used to deepen your RC teaching.

November 11, 2021

The most valuable relationship in any organization is the one between manager and team member. Managers in programs that work directly with clients work side-by-side with these team members daily and significantly impact their development, environment, and experiences. When an organization operates from a strengths-based rather than a deficit mindset and embraces the diverse, unique talents of its staff, creativity and innovation is abundant.

One concrete method for building a strong relationship between manager and staff is the “stay interview”. Rather than only conducting exit interviews when some decided to leave, a stay interview is a proactive way to engage staff around why they do stay and would continue to stay in their job in the future.

October 19, 2021

Post-traumatic growth states that those who experience highly challenging life circumstances – where one’s core beliefs are rattled and psychological struggle is endured – can ultimately experience a sense of personal growth and transformation. This past year, RC treaters and organizations have faced unprecedented challenges in the form of perpetual racial violence and trauma, deeply polarizing political division and violence, and the devastating global COVID-19 pandemic. Individually and collectively we have endured tremendous harm and loss. All of this in addition to the standard occupational hazard of supporting trauma survivors – vicarious traumatization – creates a deep need for connection and an opportunity for transformation in our RC community.

August 26, 2021

In many ways the world shut down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  As trauma professionals, we can see this as a healthy and adaptive response. But to effectively manage stress and heal trauma (especially during a global pandemic), we must also open up – by widening our individual and collective windows of tolerance.

This webinar will take a deeper look at the neurobiological window of tolerance (WOT), which represents an individual’s optimal zone of physiological arousal. In short, a wide window supports a normal threat response, executive function, social engagement, regulation, and resilience.  A narrow window, on the other hand, leads to a malfunctioning threat response, disruption of both social engagement and executive function, dysregulation, and less resilience.

June 8, 2021 – extended time

Aggressive behavior–along with other types of dysregulated behavior–can be motivated and precipitated by a variety of factors.  Understanding the needs met by the behavior as well as the underlying neurological factors that may lead to dysregulation and aggression is an essential element in developing effective interventions.  This webinar will examine some of the different pathways that lead to aggressive behavior in the clients we see and discuss options for assessing and treating dysregulated and aggressive behavior, especially for those clients who have been unresponsive to more typical behavior management approaches.

March 23, 2021

We have all had to endure many changes and stressors during the pandemic crisis. Since we have no way to avoid experiencing this, how can we use our experiences to enhance our clinical compassion? Participants will examine their experiences during this crisis and consider what they can learn from them. As we allow ourselves to explore in-depth, we can develop a more visceral understanding of our clients’ everyday world. How can we translate this new awareness into changed practices for our work?

Mindfulness: The Inner Work of Racial Healing and Trauma-Informed Care

October 13, 2020

Due to COVID-19 this training was held virtually and was open to both Local and Distant RC Trainers.

This event was bookended by two acclaimed keynote presenters in the global mindfulness movement: Jenée Johnson and David Treleaven.

Participants engaged in RICH community-building activities, learn about the cutting-edge neuroscience of mindfulness, gain insight about how to make mindfulness trauma-sensitive, understand the important role of mindfulness in anti-racism work, and discover how mindfulness can expand the collective healing power of our growing Risking Connection community.

At a time when our nation is in much need of healing – from the stress and trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic to the suffering and destruction caused by historical and ongoing racial trauma – this event was meant to inspire and empower RC Trainers and treaters to promote the hope and healing we all so deeply desire.

June 16, 2020

Due to COVID-19 this training was held virtually.

The human service workforce generally reflects higher rates of childhood adversity and trauma than other sectors. This can be an asset to organizations in that workers with lived experience can be especially motivated and dedicated to serving others. They often can see gaps in service provision that others cannot and have insights about clients stemming from their own history. At the same time, especially staff with unprocessed trauma, can have blind spots that get in the way of effective service and can be harmful.

This webinar will explore how our organizations can be responsive to the needs of workers who bring their lived experience to the workplace. It will discuss their assets and potential challenges and discuss how to support their success via hiring and onboarding, supervision, and practices to address vicarious trauma.

May 19, 2020

Due to COVID-19 this training was held virtually.

Trauma-informed supervision is one of the most effective strategies that agencies can employ to sustain their trauma-informed approach and to decrease staff turnover. Research shows that staff’s rating of their supervisor and their immediate work group are what determine their job satisfaction.

But what is trauma-informed supervision? This workshop will discuss the principles of reflective supervision, and the parallel process of supervising in a way that models the attitudes we want our staff to display with our clients. Video examples will be used to explore the dilemmas of supervision, such as wearing many hats, managing both supportive and administrative roles, and developing self-awareness. The supervisor’s role in enhancing team functioning will also be discussed.

October 1, 2019

Racial trauma is an inescapable by-product of persistent exposure to oppressive circumstances that emotionally, psychologically, and physically devastates one’s sense of self while simultaneously depleting one’s strategies for coping. It is a life altering and debilitating experience that affects countless numbers of people of color over multiple generations. Unfortunately, the failure to consider the interrelationship between racial oppression and trauma limits our ability to work effectively with People of Color. Even when work is trauma-informed, it rarely devotes adequate attention to racial oppression and the pervasive trauma associated with it.

May 14, 2019

We got such great feedback on last year’s advanced Trainer Consult group on this topic and nearly everyone said they wished it was longer and wanted more …well, we heard you! This year we will do a 2.0 version of the topic, starting where we left off last year by exploring Transference and Countertransference (T/CT) from more angles. You don’t have to have attended last year, but if you did, there will be plenty of new stuff.

ADVANCED topics for RC Trainer Consult Groups are designed to meet the needs of longtime Trainers with many years of clinical experience. Of course, any RC Trainer can attend, but this Trainer Consult Group will be pitched at a higher level.

April 2, 2019

New this year!  RC Trainers will gather to look deeply at treatment cases through a Risking Connection, trauma-informed lens.  Trainers will have the opportunity to use the brain trust of their fellow RC Trainers peers to unpack, analyze, and design practical solutions for our most challenging cases…and we all know there are plenty of those. We may also choose a success case to explore intensely with the goal of learning what makes things go well, what specifically did we do to promote healing, and how to hone that secret sauce. TSI staff will facilitate the discussion but this is mostly a chance to learn from each other.

May 8, 2018

Transference and Countertransference (T/CT) dynamics are happening moment-to-moment, hour-to-hour, day-to-day in our programs. While challenging with all clients, these dynamics are especially perplexing and activating with trauma survivors. They evoke powerful feelings in us. We often feel “between a rock and a hard place.” They pose boundary dilemmas and invite boundary transgressions, small and large.

We fall into these traps and cannot get out when we are not aware of T/CT dynamics, we lack the frameworks to understand them, and we don’t know how to address in our supervisions and treatment teams. Our presenter was Laurie Anne Pearlman, Ph.D., co-creator of Risking Connection®, co-founder of the Traumatic Stress Institute, and co-writer with Kay Saakvitne, Ph.D., of one of the seminal books about countertransference in the trauma field called Trauma and the Therapist: Countertransference and Vicarious Traumatization in Psychotherapy with Incest Survivors.