Trauma Informed Advocacy in Practice

Being “trauma-informed” is a term that is heard a lot in this field, but what does it actually look like in your advocacy practice? This session will discuss how to be more trauma-informed within your current advocacy practice and perspective. In this session we will consider how childhood and historical trauma impacts both the physical and mental health of the families we work with, as well as the power of resiliency factors. Participants will also take this information and learn how to apply this knowledge to their advocacy practice from the first meeting through any ongoing advocacy, including community advocacy. The session will end with the acknowledgement that healthy advocates are more effective advocates, and will discuss self-care, secondary trauma, and how to prevent burnout.