TRAUMA 101 PROVIDES COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATION ABOUT HOW TRAUMA IMPACTS THE MIND, BODY, AND RELATIONSHIPS WITH OURSELVES AND OTHERS.

Trauma can be broadly defined as “anything that overwhelms one’s capacity to cope”. When an individual experiences an intense or prolonged sense of panic, powerlessness, despair, or shame, and resolution to this distress feels out of reach, the mind and body activate survival instincts. These instincts aim to help us maintain basic daily functioning while simultaneously disconnecting us from the ability to enjoy life with a sense of ease, trust, playfulness, and connection. Trauma leaves us in a state of surviving, struggling to thrive.

This group provides a safe place to explore skills and resources for helping to restore a sense of safety and agency in the body. As trauma work can often feel intimidating and overwhelming, this group is designed to be a precursor or supplement to trauma processing and emphasizes preparation for the body and mind to feel equipped to handle further trauma work.

Objectives of Trauma 101 Group include:

• Define trauma.
• Understand how trauma impacts the body, the mind, and relationships to ourselves and others.
• Develop a vocabulary for understanding the autonomic nervous system.
• Develop a comprehensive understanding of emotions.
• Develop skills and resources to improve emotional and somatic regulation.
• Decrease feelings of shame, panic, rage, or numbness.
• Experience/practice relational safety and connection with other group members.

**Please note that Trauma 101 Group is NOT for facilitating trauma processing or sharing of detailed narratives of individual trauma during group. The interactive components among members of this group focus on exploration of present-moment experiences relating to educational content presented by the group therapist.

** Trauma 202 is a secondary step to Trauma 101, Trauma 101 must be completed prior.