Trauma Informed Practice for Participatory Artists – TRAINING

Although it’s very important to maintain the distinction between art and therapy, participatory artists are often in positions where they need to support their participants’ mental health. This training is specifically for artists and facilitators and takes a person-centred approach to understanding trauma and incorporating this understanding into your creative practice.

This training will:

• Provide an overview of the physiology of trauma and an insight from the perspective of a clinical psychotherapist;
• Unpick popular perceptions and misuse of language around trauma and PTSD;
• Offer practical tips for creating safe spaces for participants and avoiding practices which may retraumatise participants;
• Create a space to explore problem solving using real-life scenarios.

This event is aimed at artists working in communities, theatre-makers and activists interested in using the arts as a tool for positive change.

Online Event: This training will take place online using Zoom. You will receive an email with the link.

**Please note: we do not record the sessions because of the sensitive nature of the topic.

Length: 3 hours

Ticket Cost:

• For attendees supported by their organisations the full price of a ticket is £55.00
• For freelancers and individuals from non-regularly funded organisations attendees the price of a ticket is £35.00
• For those on low or no income the ticket price is £18.00

We also have a small number of bursary places available for those with limited funds, please email info@collective-encounters.org.uk

* *Please Note: Ticket sales will end 24 hours before this event is due to start.

Access: This event will use live transcription. If you require BSL interpretation, or any other access support please get in touch before the event.

Trainers: AIDAN JOLLY is a researcher, performance maker, trainer and musician with more than 25 years’ experience of working with communities in struggle. He works on projects that seek redress for historic and current injustices, and is the Research Lead for Collective Encounters. He is also a PhD candidate at Edge Hill University, looking at radically generative communities of transition. He has worked with survivors of torture, veterans, homeless people, and has personal experience of complex PTSD.

JESS MICHAELSON is a Gestalt Psychotherapist, Supervisor and Trainer with over 20 years’ experience of working with traumatised adults from diverse communities, in particular with refugee survivors of Human Rights abuses. For the last 17 years Jess has been working as a psychotherapist and trainer for Freedom from Torture. Jess also works as a freelance supervisor and trainer offering training on many aspects of therapeutic work which includes working with asylum seekers, working with interpreters and self-care. Jess has a longstanding passion in human rights as well as in the therapist’s journey when developing their work with survivors of human rights abuses.

Jess has written a chapter “Holding hope: the challenge for therapists working with survivors of torture” in Psychological Therapies for Survivors of Torture: A Human Rights approach for people seeking asylum. Boyles, J (ed) 2017.

Feedback from previous attendees:

“It opened my eyes to the volume of individuals we walk past i life who have and are experiencing trauma and how this needs to be recognised in the creative environments we foster”

” This training gave me the access or entry-point into an informed framework for a trauma informed practice. I could really feel the benefit of lots of people’s wisdom and experience!”

“F ull of practical solutions and thinking about approaches for our practice”