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Trauma Informed Spaces
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Trauma informed spaces are important...
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... because they benefit everyone regardless of whether or not we have personally suffered from significant trauma.
As human beings, we are built to respond to and survive threat. However, when we are in survival mode, we can't grow or learn - if anything, the ways we try to protect ourselves can cause challenges.
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Threat comes in many forms for humans - physical, relational, psychological or emotional. It is threaded through the ongoing social dynamics of power and privilege.
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By understanding this process, we can help make sure we spot not only how individuals but also wider systems respond to threat, so we can create environments, cultures and relationships that foster safety, resilience and adaptability. This knowledge can help us make sure we create empowering, equitable environments that bring the best out of the people within them.
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Training, Consultation & Reflective Practice
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I work with with a wide range of services, such as schools, local authorities, arts organisations, mental health services and businesses to support integration of trauma informed cultures within wider systems. I offer bespoke training events, consultations and reflective practice to meaningfully embed key principles into these settings.
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"When a flower doesn't bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower"
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Alexander Den Heijer
What an invaluable session this was; EVERY school should have this training. Being trauma-informed is essential for anyone working in a school environment and every single member of staff needs to have a deep understanding of this. Knowing the 'why' behind a behaviour and having the understanding of how we respond to a child in crisis is critical to ensuring that we are supporting them in the right way. Dr. Barker delivered an engaging and insightful session which was accessible to the whole staff team, giving them the space and time to think more deeply about our school environment and our own responses to children experiencing threat.
SURREY SQUARE PRIMARY SCHOOL