Aldridge Palay to NADD/NADSP Summer Series


Healing from the Heart: How We Can Connect to Help Ourselves and One Another in Times of Trauma and Loss


The series is held on five consecutive Wednesdays starting on August 18th at 2:00 (EST). Click on either icon below to register.

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Session One: Beyond Trauma-Informed: Trauma Responsive Care, Part One

Description: In this session we look at the basics of trauma. We’ll explore how having a disability or multiple life stressors can increase the risk of traumatic events and the damage they can do. We’ll explore the brain-body connection in trauma and what happens neurologically when we are confronted with a threat. We will cover the two kinds of trauma and how they impact us. We will learn about all the hidden ways trauma can impact a person’s life: physically, cognitively, behaviorally and socially.


Session Two: Safe, Connected, and In Control: Trauma Responsive Care, Part Two

Description: In this session we build on the material from week one. Trauma Responsive Care a research-based approach to trauma. Using TRC can give you the “next steps” beyond being informed when dealing with someone who has been affected by trauma. TRC is a brain-body relational model that also helps staff to help people heal from their wounds. We’ll explore why safe, connected, and in control are the neurological steps to helping people to regulate themselves, and how this can be used with other interventions and models. Finally, we’ll learn to how to use TRC as a universal precaution—helping everyone to feel safe, connected, and in control.


Session Three: Dangerous Empathy: Burnout, Compassion Fatigue and Empathetic Distress

Burnout and compassion fatigue in helpers are bigger problems today than at maybe any other time in recent history. People in the helping professions often say that their most important quality is their empathy. We’ll explore how this critical trait may also contribute to the damage of secondary traumatic stress, “compassion fatigue” and burnout. We’ll recognize and explore the extraordinary stress of this past year, especially for people who play multiple caregiving roles.


Session Four: Wings of the Bird: Everyday Brain-Body Practices for Healing, Resilience and Self-Care

In this session we’ll pull the threads of the previous sessions together. Our emphasis in this session will be practical, researched and brain-based strategies to reduce stress in the moment and into the future. We’ll also discuss creating self-care habits and rituals to strengthen resilience and positivity over time.


Session Five: One Step Ahead: Being a Trauma Responsive Supervisor in Crazy Times

In this final webinar, we shift our focus to frontline supervisors. These have been stressful times for finding and keeping staff and putting out fires throughout the pandemic. Giving feedback, prioritizing, troubleshooting, supporting stressed-out staff and strengthening morale are key to doing your job effectively and reducing your own stress. This session will build skills in these areas. We’ll use principles from the previous sessions to help address burnout on the job. We’ll review critical skills supervisors need to help themselves and their staff feel supported—safe, connected, and in control.