Trauma Informed Listening Skills for Perinatal Professionals
1 Day Course
Live via Zoom
Next available date 11th February 2025
What are trauma informed listening skills?
The way we listen to difficult or traumatic birth or perinatal stories is important because we could inadvertently do more harm than good.
However when we know how to avoid re-traumatising a person, how to redirect attention away from past painful memories and be solution focused in our approach, a birth listening or reflection service can be an opportunity to begin healing.
Trauma informed listening skills go beyond 'active listening' and appreciate the common pitfalls of engaging with empathy, asking questions about what happened, and lack of boundaries around time.
Imagine.....
✔️ being able to offer a safe, gentle and healing listening service to the traumatised parents in your community.
✔️ Imagine feeling confident and supported as you learn a trauma informed approach to listening to traumatised parents.
✔️ Imagine being part of an inspiring community of over 500 birth professionals and pre & post natal specialists all committed to making trauma support and treatment accessible.
More parents are seeking to make sense of their birthing experience.
Here are some of the things that parents want from their listening, debriefing or reflections session:
- reassurance that it can be different next time.
- understanding around why what happened happened.
- reassurance that they were not at fault, to blame, or wrong.
- support or help in complaining.
- an opportunity to safely unpack difficult feelings that remain about their birth.
- acknowledgement and validation that what they are feeling or experiencing is natural given what they have endured.
- signposting to other services such a women's physio or therapy.
Is this course for you?
Your questions answered:
Who is this course for: HCP, pre & postnatal specialists and birth professionals who support parents after a difficult or traumatic experience.
Aims & Objectives: To learn about the common problems associated with listening to traumatic stories. To consider what parents may want from a dedicated listening service. To learn a safe and gentle framework for listening that is compassionate, boundaried and orientated towards an individual's own goals. To learn what birth trauma symptoms are and when to refer on for trauma specific treatment.
How long is the live Zoom course? 1 day from 9.30am - 4.30pm.
When are the live days scheduled for?
- 11th February 2025
- 17th June 2025
What's covered? it is a very practical day. With two different exercises practiced in pairs, in breakout rooms on Zoom; using a solution focused approach to create a visualisation of future goals and also a discussion of what parents want from a listening service.
Cost? £120 including a pdf of the slides from the day and an attendance certificate.
How the course is structured:
💫 Understanding what parents really want from a birth listening, debriefing or reflection service
💫 Understanding the common problems that occur with listening to difficult or traumatic birth stories
💫 Understanding the phenomena of re-traumatising, re-triggering and gas lighting after perinatal trauma
💫 What constitutes good, active listening?
💫 The difference between listening with empathy and listening with compassion
💫 What special considerations are there from listening to difficult or traumatic stories?
💫 How do we make birth listening a satisfying, useful and healing experience for parents?
💫 Working with a framework that is safe, gentle and effective.
💫 Being solution focused to ascertain parents own goals for change
💫 Using relaxation and visualisation to activate change
Next date for 2024: Friday 11th February 2025
'Debrief: people always want to talk about their birth experience and rightly so, but it always bothered me that I may not provide the relief they need during this discussion.
This course has taught me to thoroughly listen, without thinking about what to say next. Most people just want to feel heard and validated, they don't need solutions and I have now supported many people using Alex's trusted technique with great success.
We all think we are good listeners, but I certainly question whether I was truly hearing people before taking this course.'
Hannah Gerkan
Midwife and Owner of Reframing Birth
Key benefits from attending this course
✔️ confidence in providing an accessible, safe and gentle therapeutic listening service to parents who need it most
✔️ are able to offer a trauma informed listening service that is aligned with their other services
✔️ ability to support parents towards their own unique goals for recovery
✔️ are able to refer parents on for specialist trauma therapy or other specialist support when appropriate
What will I be able to do after taking this course?
How is this course delivered?
What is your refund policy?
"I feel lighter, my mood has lifted. The heaviness from my chest has gone. I feel like I have got a lot off my mind"
Gemma, after one listening session.
