TRAUMA-INFORMED, ATTACHMENT-AWARE TEACHING
In moments of tremendous fear, horror or shock, how do we hold onto ourselves? What role does maintaining a relationship with oneself play in surviving trauma, whether witnessing it across the world or experiencing it in your own body?
We help your teachers explore this vital question and learn interventions that stabilize their system so that they can be regulated for others daily and, more importantly, in times of tremendous stress.
Trauma has a profound and lasting effect on the lives of those we serve. Due to the high rates of trauma occurring within national and international contexts such as the recent school shootings, the pandemic, and the war to name a few, it has become critical for those working on the front lines to understand the biology and psychology of trauma.
Based on the latest neuroscience, State Shift Now is a trauma-informed, attachment-aware, series designed specifically for educators. Teachers are in a unique position to regulate, relate and educate children. Knowing how the brain develops and is effected by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and other traumas should be fundamental in teacher training.
Being trauma-informed, attachment aware is an essential shift in perspective from “WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?” to “WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?”
How can we describe a “healthy mind”? According to Dan Siegel M.D., the brain is a regulatory process with different operating systems. When viewed this way, we can understand what is needed to strengthen the parts and create health by stabilizing and linking them. Integration and flow are only possible when different brain parts are connected.
Developed by trauma therapists, this course is designed to inform teachers how trauma affects the body/brain system and often blocks access to higher learning. Students must feel safe in their body to learn. Teachers have the capacity to rewire the brains of students in their care by helping them develop skills to self-regulate. Once safe in the body we can feel safe in relationship with our teachers. The science of attachment informs us that developing a “gained secure attachment” after trauma builds the resiliency needed to navigate a dangerous world.
Through lectures, videos, and experiential exercises, we explore skills and build a tool-box to shift dysregulated states back to stability.
Change your state, change your life!
You’ll Learn:
What is trauma and how pervasive it is in our society
How to recognize where the brain gets stuck from different types of trauma and blocks learning
The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Study: Trauma’s impact on life expectancy and life choices
Triune Brain Theory: Trauma’s impact on brain development
How our hidden senses detect and adapt to safety and danger
Trauma’s effect on the nervous system and one minute interventions to get back into balance
How regulating your own nervous system is the greatest tool you have in the classroom
Attachment Theory: How to recognize and work with early relational patterns ingrained by early trauma so you can show up as a secure attachment for your students
Understanding how all behavior is a form of communication and how to communicate to calm your students
Emotional regulation and its role in trauma and in the classroom
How to work with vicarious trauma to prevent burnout
Post-traumatic Growth
Testimonials:
"Judy and the State Shift Now Team have proven to be an invaluable resource to my staff. As an administrator, I struggled to address the social-emotional needs of my staff post COVID. The professional development sessions were well-planned, interactive and informative. We are working in a profession where stressors are constantly present, and this training provides teachers with techniques to use in real time to make sure that they are regulated so they can successfully work with students. I highly recommend Judy and her team!" — Andrew Sullivan, Principal, Community Action School, NYC
"Judy's training on trauma-informed care was such an invaluable experience. She has such an incredible ability to create a safe and welcoming environment. Her time with us not only provided us educators with an opportunity to understand the whole child, but she offered so many great strategies to better support the emotional and well-being of our students. Given the state of mental health in our country, Judy’s teachings and work are now more important than ever. I feel so honored to have been part of this training and intend to take what I learned here with me throughout my teaching career." — Cherisse Cruz, 6th Grade Teacher, Community Action School, NYC
"The training provided through State Shift Now has been a tremendous help both personally and professionally. The expertise and insight Judy brings from years as a therapist and researcher is truly invaluable and we are so fortunate to bring this important work to our school community. As we continue to make schools emotionally safe and trusting, this work is changing our thinking and approach to our students and each other."
— Jill Sinnott, Administrator, Community Action School, NYC
"Judy and Matthew’s training was extremely beneficial for me as a classroom teacher. After teaching through the pandemic, the social-emotional well-being of my students is even more fragile. State Shift Now was thoughtful, relevant, and memorable. They offer tangible and realistic strategies to help support students in crisis." — Julia Grimm, 7th Grade Teacher, Community Action School, NYC
Judy Choix's Trauma-Informed, Attachment aware teaching presentation helped us understand what it looks like when a student has had adverse childhood experiences. More importantly, the presentation helped us know what to do when a student is in their survival brain and how to help their body feel safe. The biggest lesson here was realizing how our own body cues can help our students in these moments. Judy reminded us of the basics that we often forget about! — Caroline Ramirez, Guidance Counselor, Community Action School, NYC
