Build Trauma-Informed Skills Today

Educators and supportive adults play a critical role in helping children and youth thrive. This free training equips educators and supportive adults with the knowledge and skills to support children and youth who have experienced trauma.

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You can be a source of support

For children and youth who have experienced trauma, it is important to have positive relationships with adults they can trust. By building the skills needed to recognize and respond to signs of trauma, adults who work with children and youth can be an important source of support.

How You Can Support Youth Wellbeing

  • For Participants

    Take this free training to recognize the signs of trauma and build skills to respond effectively

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  • For Groups

    Enroll as a group in trauma-informed training

    Learn more

  • For Advocates of Youth Wellbeing

    Collaborate with us to ensure that youth feel safe and supported

    Learn more

What Participants Will Learn

The Supporting Children and Youth Experiencing Trauma training includes four online sequential sessions that you can take at your own pace. Each session focuses on learning and practicing skills that can be used immediately with children and youth. Participants will hear from educators, mental health experts, students, and families, while reflecting on their own goals and intentions to be trauma-informed.

    • Explain what trauma is and how it presents itself in children and youth

    • Describe your role as a trauma-informed educator or supportive adult and how you can use the 4 R's of a trauma-informed approach

    • Recognize your mindset when faced with challenges

    • Reframe your mindset using the Awareness, Pause, Reframe technique

    • Recognize when and how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and other potentially traumatic events affect one’s ability to learn and engage

    • Understand what it means to be a trauma-informed mandated reporter

    • Recognize how implicit biases can affect efforts to build supportive relationships

    • Identify strengths and protective factors in children and youth

    • Practice an effective approach to forging stronger relationships and helping children and youth build resiliency and positive coping strategies

    • Learn how trauma manifests in communities and why communities of color are disproportionately affected

    • Recognize how implicit bias can influence perceptions of trauma and who may need help

    • Apply the 4 R's in the context of traumatic events in the community

    • Tailor specific classroom teaching strategies to the neighborhood and community context to avoid re-traumatization

    • Apply the 4 R's to support children and youth who have experienced trauma

    • Apply the 4 R's to facilitate conversations with families and caregivers

    • Understand how conflict and displacement can affect individuals physically, emotionally, and socially

    • Understand how conflict & displacement impacts youth and the family system

    • Apply the 4 R's of a trauma-informed approach framework to the context of conflict and displacement

  • Session 1: The Trauma-Informed Educators And Supportive Adults We Want to Be

    Session 1: The Trauma-Informed Educators and Supportive Adults We Want to Be

  • Session 1: The Trauma-Informed Educators And Supportive Adults We Want to Be

    Session 1: The Trauma-Informed Educators And Supportive Adults We Want to Be

  • Session 2: Foundations of Trauma and Resilience

    Session 2: Foundations of Trauma and Resilience

  • Session 2: Foundations of Trauma and Resilience

    Session 2: Foundations of Trauma and Resilience

  • Session 4: Addressing Trauma with Children, Families, and Caregivers in One-on-One Settings

    Session 4: Addressing Trauma with Children, Families, and Caregivers in One-on-One Settings

  • Session 4: Addressing Trauma with Children, Families, and Caregivers in One-on-One Settings

    Session 4: Addressing Trauma with Children, Families, and Caregivers in One-on-One Settings

What Participants Have Said About The Course

“I use the skills I learned daily. These skills are essential to supporting not only our students, but also ourselves.”

– A school administrator

“I liked that the course was completely self-paced. That helped me to keep my own stress levels in check since I could complete the course at my leisure.”

– A speech language pathologist

“I appreciated hearing from actual teachers and staff on the front lines. It helped to hear how my peers handled specific situations and approached conversations with their students.”

– An elementary school teacher

“Every teacher in our school should be required to take this training. I think it should be mandatory each year.”

– A school counselor

Our Impact

Source: Participant self-reported data (2020 - present)

  • 93%

    of participants reported that they are likely to recommend the training to a peer

  • 96%

    of participants reported that the training was a good value for time spent

  • 80%

    of participants reported increased confidence in supporting students who are experiencing trauma

  • 5,900+

    people have registered for the training

What Makes This Training Unique

  • Learn by applying skills

    Learn by applying skills

    80% of the training focuses on skills that educators can apply in the moment with students in their classroom.

  • Hear from peers

    Hear from peers

    The training contains the voices and stories of peer educators, families, caregivers, and children sharing their lived experiences.

  • Build personal resilience

    Build personal resilience

    The training applies adaptive leadership theory to help educators build their own resilience and skills to support students.

  • Focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion

    Focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion

    The training highlights the impact that community-level trauma and implicit bias has – especially on students of color.

  • Go at your own pace

    Go at your own pace

    Educators need the flexibility to develop skills on their own schedule. This digital training lets them control the pace and come back to it when they can.

  • Learn the 4 R’s framework

    Learn the 4 R’s framework

    The training is grounded in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) 4 R’s of a trauma-informed approach, an easy-to-remember framework that can be used in many situations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please contact us if you have more questions.

  • This training is based on the “4 R's of a Trauma-Informed Approach,” a tool developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration with input from researchers and trauma survivors.

    The 4 R's:

    • Realize the prevalence and impact of trauma

    • Recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma

    • Respond by integrating trauma-informed principles to create a safe and nurturing school climate

    • Resist re-traumatization

  • This series was primarily designed for K-12 educators and classroom-based staff. However, many of the insights, skills and perspectives shared in the course may be relevant to anyone who works with children or youth. Among those who may also benefit from this training are paraprofessionals, school-based service professionals (e.g., physical, occupational, and speech therapists), coaches, after-school program staff, and librarians.

  • The training is free and can be shared widely.

  • The training series has four sessions, each approximately one hour long. The sessions are self-guided and on a digital platform.

    Educators have found it helpful to do one session per week so that they can practice the skills and techniques in the classroom after each session. The four-session series is not intended to be completed in a single sitting. However, you can set your own pace.

    We do ask that, once started, the training be completed within four to six weeks so that we can open more slots to additional educators.

  • Yes! Participants who progress through the training modules together can share tips and personal experiences. A live discussion guide is available to help facilitate conversations that reinforce learning. Download group discussion guide

    If you are a district or school administrator considering this training as an addition to your professional development (PD), please contact us. We would be glad to provide you with additional information about how to set up your group to take the training together.

    For groups, buildings, or districts interested in advanced technical assistance, the Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children offers additional tiered support services, including but not limited to:

    • Logistical support for multi-cohort registration

    • Detailed reports on individual and cohort progress, including post-course assessment results

    • Expert coaching sessions for identified facilitators to support on-site participants

    • Supplementary technical assistance with trauma-informed care

    Please contact us for additional detail and Mayerson's pricing options.

  • We are glad to support educators in continuing education. The steps to establish continuing education credits vary by state. Participants will receive a certificate of completion documenting four hours of didactic learning. (Submission of the post-course evaluation is required for participants to receive the certificate.)

    Participants, ask your school administrator how to receive credit.

  • Please visit the "Get Started" page for guidance on technical trouble-shooting