Trauma-Informed Practice
Zebra Collective have been delivering training & facilitating reflective learning spaces around the variables that can shape a person’s life - adversity in childhood, complex & developmental trauma, adverse community environments, adverse cultural environments & the presence (or otherwise) of protective factors - since our inception over 20 years ago. Most Zebras have a background working with people who have experienced inequality, deprivation & social injustice & our trauma informed practice lead has extensive experience working in the criminal justice & child protection arena working with people who have experienced profound & complex trauma.
Trauma-informed practice is a rapidly emerging field & we welcome the evolving discourse. We take pride in thinking critically about prevailing narratives around how we conceptualise ‘mental health’ & emotional distress. Our approach aligns with a non-pathologising, non-medicalising mindset that sees someone’s presentation, behaviour & distress as reflective of things that have happened – or are happening - to them.
A strengths-based approach to working with trauma
Underpinning all of Zebra Collective’s trauma informed programmes is a strengths-based, solution-focused approach which offers a different way of thinking about 'problems' & change and provides a useful set of practical listening & questioning skills focused on co-creating more hopeful, strengths-based understandings of people’s lives built on progress and possibility.
Our reflective approach to learning
Zebra’s approach is experiential & is framed as ‘reflective learning’ rather than ‘training’ which honours the existing knowledge, skills & values that people bring to the workshops.
We know that attending ‘training’ doesn’t automatically bring about the organisational culture change.
We favour delivering half-day, participative workshops over consecutive months. Embedded within this structure are opportunities to notice where trauma informed & solution focused approaches can be applied & / or are proving useful in co-creating more hopeful, strengths-based understandings of people’s lives. Feedback & evaluations consistently highlight that this provides greater opportunity for reflection & for integrating learning into practice.
Community of practice
We also encourage organisations to consider embedding community of practice opportunities within any programme where participants have the opportunity to come back together, practice trauma-informed & solution-focused conversations, hear how others are getting on & to explore any challenges. Zebra Collective see the facilitated provision of these workshops as integral to any programme that strives to bring about genuine organisational-level culture change.
Who we work with
We have worked & continue to work extensively with local councils, statutory organisations & voluntary, community & social enterprise organisations across Devon, Cornwall & Torbay (& nationally). We predominantly work with organisations who are involved in community safety, adult social care, housing & homelessness, drug & alcohol, domestic abuse & ‘mental health’ services.
All our programmes are tailored to the needs of an organisation’s culture, its workers & the people they endeavour to support. We work closely with an organisation to get to know the existing culture, strengths & challenges & to co-create a programme of workshops that best meets need. Many organisations select a complement of trauma informed & solution-focused workshops as a helpful approach to working with people who want change.
Our Trauma Informed Programmes
Understanding Trauma & Zebra Collective’s 4 Core Elements of a trauma informed approach
We take a critical look at definitions of trauma & the evidence base underpinning a trauma informed approach to emphasise the impact of adverse community & cultural environments & the key concept of protective factors.
We introduce Zebra Collective’s 4 core elements of a trauma informed approach as being relational, involving a shift in mindset, being strengths-based & the central importance of bearing witness to people’s struggle as they seek validation & justice.
Beyond Trauma: Stabilisation Skills for working with trauma & emotional distress for trauma informed practitioners
Our trauma stabilisation workshops are immersive & very practical half-day workshops drawing from Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) & Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) using mindfulness & solution-focused techniques. Designed for practitioners working with people who have experienced trauma & are experiencing emotional distress. We look at the science behind each of the strategies & have opportunities to immerse ourselves in the practice.
The Power Threat Meaning Framework
The Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF) is a comprehensive, trauma-informed, strengths-based, narrative framework. In our workshops, we explore how the PTMF offers a non-pathologising alternative to how we think about mental health & emotional distress. We believe it can be helpful for anyone experiencing distress.
"It focuses on the role of power in our lives, on the impact of the resulting threats, how we make sense of our experiences, and on the strategies we use to survive” - PTMF introduction leaflet
In our workshops, we uniquely weave together the wisdom from trauma-informed practice, solution-focused practice & the myriad applications of the Power Threat Meaning Framework when working with inequality, injustice, discrimination, abuse & trauma.
Trauma Informed Reflective Practice
Using a strengths-based approach to reflective practice, we bring the Gibbs Model to life from a trauma informed perspective. We consider such themes as whose narrative holds most power, the purpose & function of all emotions (even the tricky ones) and how all behaviour is communication. We offer individual reflective practice supervision, group reflective practice & have facilitated training for peer-led reflective practice programmes.
For enquiries or further details please email info@zebra.coop or Trauma Informed Practice Lead vicky@zebra.coop