Growing Resilience: Being Trauma Informed
12 Week Professional Development Course
For change makers: teachers, administrators, directors,
organizers, legislators, bodyworkers, activists and you
The prevalence of trauma and its effects are astounding.
Knowing the body holds the experiences of our lives, and given the complexity of the world,
many professionals witness the effects of trauma on a daily basis.
Join a community of professionals and other dedicated change makers
for in-person experiential learning of
somatics, trauma, resilience and social justice
with experienced educators and practitioners.
Create and/or grow your trauma informed classrooms, work places, private practices, activism, board rooms, government and families.
Where do you have power?
Are the places you inhabit trauma informed?
Would you like to grow your tools and capacity to create change?
Let’s create a trauma informed and resilience informed world together.
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Learning Objectives:
*You will be able to narrate the effects of trauma and resilience on the body. *You will have a working knowledge of trauma and its impacts (including personal, cultural, collective and systemic trauma). **You will orient to the relationship of positionality, trauma and resilience. *You will have a working knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the nervous system. *You will demonstrate an ability to define and apply integral concepts about trauma and resilience including neuroplasticity, neuroception, and Polyvagal theory. *You will learn and practice embodiment skills that grow resilience, including grounding, orienting, resourcing, co-regulation, shaking, and titration. *You will create a list of your own trauma informed principles specific to your professional context or personal life. "The Growing Resilience Course has been a revolutionary experience for me. It is informing the work I do every day with students, and helping me create a more supportive space for everyone in my family too. We are also a new foster family and I highly recommend this course to other foster families. The invitation to be more in tune with my own body has been a wonderful gift. " ~Teacher at U-32, Foster Mom and 2018 Growing Resilience Graduate
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Abbi and Amanda have been creating insightful embodied curriculum for over 10 years. As experienced Somatic Movement Educators and Therapists, embedded in community resilience organizing, Abbi and Amanda share their unique skill sets to create a whole body learning experience. This is a potent educational classroom setting that includes experiential, collaborative and embodied learning. All course activities are optional and can be scaled to meet a diversity of student needs. “Knowledge is only a rumor until its in the muscle.” (Proverb) Discover what makes embodied learning different in the Growing Resilience course. Learn more about embodied learning here. "Growing Resilience: Being Trauma Informed really walked the walk and talked the talk! Working in the mental health sector there are trainings that give you lots of information and focus on trauma-informed language and practices without really embodying the practices. This course changed the way I think, speak, and embody trauma in my personal experience and in relationship to others. The positive and resource-rich focus and fun, engaging facilitation made this the highlight of my week!" ~2018 Growing Resilience Graduate
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The Everything Space's Trauma Informed Definition:
Trauma Informed Space is held by practitioners and community members who are;
Educated in the prevalence and nature of trauma, with an understanding of positional impacts and implications,
Act with compassion and skillfulness,
Actively create a culture where it is safer to listen to the body and share emotion/desires
Embrace the transformative power and strength of vulnerability and triggers, and who
Create space for checking in, feedback, and growing together.
Educated in the prevalence and nature of trauma, with an understanding of positional impacts and implications,
Act with compassion and skillfulness,
Actively create a culture where it is safer to listen to the body and share emotion/desires
Embrace the transformative power and strength of vulnerability and triggers, and who
Create space for checking in, feedback, and growing together.
The Embodied Curriculum Includes:
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Building Resource (practical skills for growing resilience)
Anatomy and Physiology of the Nervous System
Information About Trauma
Creating Trauma Informed Principles and Culture
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Embodiment Practice (skills may include)
Projects
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Logistics and More Info:
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Cost: $2500
Sliding Scale $1200-$3000 We can offer a few spots in each financial tier. BIPOC Folks: 5 spots @ Pay What You Want More info located in our application. *40 hours of training and support *Eligible for VSAC Non-Degree grants. *Includes a one-on-one mid-course meeting with Abbi or Amanda. Homework: There is 3-4* hours of engaging homework each week. *Take a moment to consider this commitment, as 3-4 hours of homework means 40 hours of class time and 40-50 hours of homework over an 13 week time period. Homework includes reading, experiential practices, and the projects listed above. Online links to the readings are provided and you can print the readings for your convenience with an additional cost to you. There is also an online platform for learning and discussion with your classmates. ***Earn 3 Graduate or Undergraduate College Credits or CEUs with additional hours and cost.** Learn more here. *You will receive notification of your course enrollment status by Sept 7th.
Contact Abbi Jaffe with questions: [email protected] |
Your course includes a one-on-one mid-course meeting (1 hr). This meeting is a chance to check in about how the course is going for you, ask any questions about the material or how you are applying the material, check in about your final project or ask any questions about somatic movement education or your professional development in general. This session is an opportunity to be seen and heard, ask questions and choose next actions that will support you in applying the learning from the course into your life and profession.
Studying trauma is potent and can provide a unique access point into your own personal work. In order to support your journey we recommend you make space in your schedule for gentleness, a good night's sleep, and other supportive activities. Note: This is an educational activity, and not a therapy group. We are not able to provide crisis services, or other clinical interventions. We are not mental health providers. As the nature of studying trauma and resilience can be personal in nature for trauma survivors, it is expected that students will seek out mental health supports on their own if needed. We consult on an as needed basis with clinical psychologists that have expertise in trauma recovery. This course welcomes people of all backgrounds, including BIPOC and white participants, recognizing that the main facilitators are white. Both Abbi and Amanda bring years of experience of politicized somatics, racial justice and decolonial work to our practices. We are both in active interrogation of our positionalities and how they shape our experiences and teaching. We recognize colonization and white supremacy as interlocking systems of domination, and hold this container with these systems and their impacts in mind. This course focuses on education and culture creation, and will aim to support folks through affinity spaces and support mapping when personal or cultural content arises. |
The vagus nerve is a vital part of our parasympathetic nervous system. It connects your brain to mostly all of your organs and sends signals to the brain about how you are doing and if you are safe. Learn more with us in the course.
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“As human beings we belong to an extremely resilient species. Since time immemorial we have rebounded from our relentless wars, countless disasters (both natural and man-made), and the violence and betrayal in our own lives. But traumatic experiences do leave traces, whether on a large scale (on our histories and cultures) or close to home, on our families, with dark secrets being imperceptibly passed down through generations. They also leave traces on our minds and emotions, on our capacity for joy and intimacy, and even on our biology and immune systems.” ~Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D. a leading expert in trauma: The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma "As a bodyworker, it is not uncommon for people to access trauma while on the table. Through Abbi and Amanda’s course, I have been able to more consciously create a supportive, safe environment for my clients, be more present and grounded when trauma may arise, and have a clearer sense as to when to make the suggestion to schedule time with a trained therapist." ~H. Turrone, massage therapist, 2017 Growing Resilience Graduate |
Recommended Reading:
Books we read from in the course:
Books we recommend, influence and/or inspire us:
- My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem
- The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.
- Mindsight, by Daniel Siegel, M.D.
- Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy by Pat Ogden, Kekuni Minton, and Clare Pain
- Clearing Trauma Books 1-5, by Beth Dennison, S.E.P., M.A.
- When the Body Says No, by Gabor Maté M.D.
- Body Sense, by Alan Fogel
- Sacred Instructions, by Sherri Mitchell
- Decolonizing Trauma Work, by Renee Linklater
Books we recommend, influence and/or inspire us:
- In an Unspoken Voice, by Peter Levine, PhD
- 101 Trauma-Informed Interventions, by Linda Curran
- Emergent Strategy, by adrienne maree brown
- Trauma Stewardship, by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky
- Healing Sex by Staci Haines
Amanda Franz
Abbi Jaffe
Sister Sankofa
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Amanda Franz (she/they) and Abbi Jaffe (she/they) are somatic movement educators and therapists with a mission to re-center the body's wisdom in our lives and in our cultures. Through bodywork, education, facilitation, embodiment activism and community building, they invite people into the profound intelligence of their bodies and empower them to bring that intelligence everywhere they go. They are both certified Somatic Body Practitioners, and registered ISMETA Somatic Movement Educators. Abbi has a Bachelor's of Social Work from the University of Vermont and Amanda is a certified Level II Collab trainer and facilitator and has a BA in Visual Arts from Oberlin College. Abbi and Amanda collaboratively curate The Everything Space, a somatic education and therapy studio dedicated to unleashing the intelligence of the body. The Everything Space acknowledges the global implications of climate crisis, collective trauma and embedded systems of oppression and aims to unite personal growth and dynamic social change. They see through the lens of somatics and work to actively unbody white supremacy. Sister Sankofa (she/her) is a small business visionary, creator, and owner of SD Communications and Marketing Consulting Group LLC. She is also the one of the Assistant Directors of CROs (Community Resilience Organizations). Her innovative business venture offers social justice programs, small business consulting, networking events, event facilitation and creation, and talent promotion to conscious-minded businesses, organizations, and artists in Vermont and beyond. Sister Sankofa is committed to increasing equity opportunities toward BIPOC homeownership while helping people heal their financial trauma. She produces financial liberation programs and is the creator of the Money Matters: Financial Liberation and Wellness series, for which she was awarded “2023 Innovator of the Year” by the Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation. She is also active with An Economy of Our Own as a collaborator and program presenter. As a changemaker, reparations activist, equity strategist, and BIPOC community advocate, Sister Sankofa facilitates and co-organizes the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Color) groups for The Everything Space's My Grandmother’s Hands Study Groups. She is a teaching assistant for The Everything Space’s Growing Resilience: Being Trauma Informed course. She curates BIPOC affinity spaces throughout Vermont and is the founder of the Central Vermont BIPOC Advisory Group. Sister Sankofa is active in both the Vermont Professionals of Color Network and the Vermont ReLeaf Collective, serves on the Hunger Mountain Coop JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) Committee and the Center for Crime Victim Services Advisory Council. Originally from Hartford, Connecticut, Sister Sankofa came to Vermont in 2017, bringing with her over 15 years of experience in the banking and insurance industry. Her background in financial services and relating to people from diverse cultures and social-economic backgrounds brings highly transferable skills and perspective to her current endeavors. Sister Sankofa studied communication science at the University of Connecticut and is a courageous experiential learner through her willingness to both advocate for justice and to heal from historical, intergenerational, persistent institutional, and personal trauma. Her combined career expertise and her personal journey of financial and racial healing is the inspiration behind her passion and dedication to healing and social justice as both a practicing manifester and small business consultant. Sister Sankofa loves animals and connecting with people from all walks of life. She enjoys Sun and Moon gazing as well as pet sitting. A community singer and actress, Sister Sankofa loves singing gospel, funk, and jazz. She also performs with the Montpelier Community Gospel Choir and Lost Nation Theater. A natural networker and web weaver, she prioritizes bringing people together through the power of love, song, word, and healing. |
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"Throughout the Growing Resilience class with Abbi and Amanda, I was struck by the thoughtfulness of the class design. These classes offered a journey; each and every one. We were given time to connect with ourselves and our bodies; our fellow students using practices relevant to creating trauma-informed spaces; and as a group in both concrete learning and embodied experiences. Their ability to weave this diversity of learning into a coherent class narrative was remarkable."
~2018 Growing Resilience Graduate "Throughout the Growing Resilience class with Abbi and Amanda, I was struck by the thoughtfulness of the class design. These classes offered a journey; each and every one. We were given time to connect with ourselves and our bodies; our fellow students using practices relevant to creating trauma-informed spaces; and as a group in both concrete learning and embodied experiences. Their ability to weave this diversity of learning into a coherent class narrative was remarkable." |
"I so appreciate the rich density of this class. Trauma is a thick topic, and this class didn't shy away from that complexity. Our adept teachers balanced the complexity of the topic with somatic exercises that allowed us, as students, to come to know our bodies and our experiences more fully. This provided a synergistic balance that, for me personally, allowed me to deepen my learning experientially and practically." ~2018 Growing Resilience Graduate
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