Courses Offered

Why the Body is Essential in Responding to Stress with Resilience and Healing Trauma

If you wish to offer this course through your organization, please contact us.

For More Information or to Request a Course

Why this course?

Among many things, the global pandemic is exposing and amplifying inequality and oppression. The many traumas of racism are manifesting and it’s always been necessary that we create an understanding of how we got here as well as how to respond in ways that actually promote healing in all of our communities. Additionally, we are experiencing the loss of people and things we love, and the constant uncertainty creates high levels of stress. High levels of stress over time can heighten existing trauma and limit our ability to choose how we wish to respond to the people and world around us.

What is Trauma Literacy?

Trauma occurs when the demands made on an individual exceed that individual’s reasonable capacities to fulfill them - when things happen too much, too fast; when one’s protective barrier to overstimulation is ruptured. Trauma is often unconscious, making it more challenging to understand our actions. "Trauma literacy," much like language literacy, enables people to understand one another and themselves -- a necessary foundation to take responsibility for our actions and our responses to our circumstances

Learning Objectives & Driving Questions

How does trauma literacy help us understand where we are, both in our personal lives and what we are experiencing collectively right now?
What is healing and how is it possible - individually and collectively?
How do I respond to the inevitable challenges of life in ways that are “response-able” rather than reactive?
How might we cultivate resilience - individually and collectively?
What is needed to affect real and lasting change when it comes to collective trauma and intergenerational racial oppression?
How do I integrate this frame into my work in the world?
What is mine to do next, given my identity?

Knowledge & Skills

Learning Objectives & Driving Questions

Understand the ways that stress and trauma impact our bodies, thoughts and behaviors.
Apply this understanding to our behavior and learn to have more choice in our responses.
Deepen our capacity to build trust with and listen to our own, our children’s and our loved ones’ needs. Respond to their safety-seeking behaviors in ways that actually make us and them feel safer. Facilitate moving differently in the world.
Learn practices to nurture resilience and cultivate capacity to stay present in tumultuous times.
Consider applications of trauma responsive practice to leading, healing, teaching, and parenting.
Experience skillful ways of facilitating.

past events

Trauma Literacy On-line Course - SF Zen Center

5 Live sessions Nov - Dec 2020

See above for full description

Trauma Literacy On-line Course

5 Live sessions Sept - Dec, 2020

See above for full description

Trauma Literacy On-line Course

5 Live sessions June 20-Aug 17, 2020

See above for full description

Racialized Trauma & Embodied Healing: Practice Group

Weekly practice group engaging in somatic practices and facilitation to process the reading of "My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies," by Resmaa Menakem.

Trauma Literacy

Courses Offered

Why the Body is Essential in Responding to Stress with Resilience and Healing Trauma

Why this course?

What is Trauma Literacy?

Learning Objectives & Driving Questions

Learning Objectives & Driving Questions

Learning Objectives & Driving Questions

Knowledge & Skills

Learning Objectives & Driving Questions

Learning Objectives & Driving Questions

This course is for you if...

past events

Trauma Literacy On-line Course - SF Zen Center

Trauma Literacy On-line Course

Trauma Literacy On-line Course

Racialized Trauma & Embodied Healing: Practice Group