Staff, trustees, and volunteers are the backbone of the health, social care, and voluntary sectors, often meeting people on their hardest days. While they bring immense empathy to their roles, they frequently encounter persons they support who are carrying significant, unresolved trauma. 

Without the right framework, the desire to help can quickly lead to over-involvement, blurred boundaries, and burnout. 

This introductory training bridges the gap between deep compassion and professional safety. The core premise is simple: you do not need to be a trauma specialist to be trauma-aware, and maintaining strong professional boundaries is the most trauma-informed action you can take. This workshop provides the essential vocabulary and practical scripts needed to support safely, redirect compassionately, and leave the work at the door. 

This 3-hour interactive online session provides a foundational understanding of trauma-aware practice. The training focuses heavily on practical application for everyday roles across the sector. 

Specifically, this training covers: 

• The "Window of Tolerance": Understanding why the persons you support may suddenly escalate into anger or shut down entirely over minor frustrations. 
• Role Clarity: Defining the exact boundaries of your specific role and letting go of the pressure to fix systemic issues. 
• Managing Over-sharing: Recognising when sharing becomes unsafe for both parties (trauma dumping). 
• Scripting the "Pivot": Using exact, ready-to-use phrases to gently interrupt, validate, and redirect a person you support back to the immediate task at hand. 
• Navigating Guilt: Addressing the inherent guilt often felt when saying "no" or drawing a boundary. 
• The "De-Rolling" Routine: Step-by-step strategies to mentally and physically transition out of the support role at the end of a shift or meeting to prevent moral distress. 

Learning Outcomes 

By the end of this 3-hour workshop, participants will be able to: 

1. Recognise the signs of a dysregulated nervous system in the persons they support. 
2. Differentiate between healthy context-sharing and trauma dumping. 
3. Deploy respectful, boundary-setting scripts to keep interactions safe, focused, and professional. 
4. Identify the personal signs of vicarious trauma, burnout, and moral distress. 
5. Implement a personalised "de-roling" practice to protect their own wellbeing and longevity in the sector.