Healing Spaces for children and young people (CYP) is trauma-informed training for practitioners and anyone working with refugee and asylum-seeking children and young people in the UK. Crisis and conflict have direct and profound effects on a person's physical safety, well-being and ability to cope. The training explores the causes and consequences of trauma and toxic stress, and how to support children and young people, individually and as an organisation, to overcome trauma and rebuild their lives in the UK.
It draws on decades of research and evidence from IRC programmes in over 40 countries and is adapted from the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) trauma-informed care framework and contextualised to the UK. Sessions are practical and interactive, tailored to your organisation and led by a facilitator with lived experience of displacement. This is training in trauma-informed practice, not trauma treatment.
Get in touch to book a session for your team
At a glance
- Who it is for: practitioners and anyone working with refugee and asylum-seeking children and young people
- Built around: the Healing Spaces approach: Prepare a Safe Place to Land, Build a Community and Foster Future Success
- Duration: one full day (5 hours including breaks, with 4 hours of training) or, online, two 2-hour sessions on separate dates
- Format: in person or online, on any day of the week including evenings and weekends
- Price: based on the context of the session and the size of the group. Get in touch to discuss your requirements
- Language: English or Arabic
- Group size: no maximum. In-person sessions need at least 10 participants, and online sessions have no minimum
- Every participant receives: a certificate, the digital handbook (PDF), the session slides, access to the free resource bank and one-to-one follow-up support
Who is it for?
Healing Spaces for children and young people is ideal for community groups, accommodation providers, local authorities, virtual schools and anyone supporting refugee and asylum-seeking children and young people. It suits frontline staff, caseworkers, support workers, managers and volunteers.
What you will learn
The course is built on the four Rs of trauma-informed care (TIC). By the end, participants are equipped to embed them in their work.
- Realise: that trauma affects displaced children and young people through three major causes, in both the past and the present
- Recognise: the ways children and young people may show signs of trauma
- Respond: with trauma-informed approaches
- Resist re-traumatisation: for yourself and others, by reflecting on processes
Course content
Part 1: Trauma and its impact
- Myths and misinformation about refugees and asylum seekers
- Introduction to trauma and toxic stress
- The triple trauma paradigm: the causes of trauma for people who are forcibly displaced
- Child development stages and how trauma can affect them
- The impacts and signs of trauma in children and young people
- The window of tolerance and ways to support regulation
Part 2: Techniques and the Healing Spaces approach
- The trauma-informed care framework: four principles adapted from SAMHSA (safety, choice and voice, culture and community, trust and transparency)
- Psychosocial support
- The Healing Spaces approach, with strategies and resources for each of its three parts
- A case study activity to apply the techniques
The Healing Spaces approach
Prepare a Safe Place to Land. Helps children and young people feel safe, welcome and oriented. Strategies include orientation, buddying, predictable routines and visual schedules, co-creating rules, a clean slate approach and meaningful praise.
Build a Community. Helps children and young people belong and take part. Strategies include an ethos of respect, group activities, inclusion, rapport building and opportunities for agency and leadership.
Foster Future Success. Builds on what children and young people already know and can do. Strategies include building on prior knowledge, talents and existing languages, honest conversations, high expectations and opportunities for self-expression.
How do I book?
Every session is tailored to your organisation. Sessions run in person or online, on any day of the week including evenings and weekends.
1. Get in touch. Contact us with the version you are interested in, your organisation and roughly how many people would attend. If you do not sign off training yourself, we are happy to speak with the person who does.
2. Complete the training requirements form. Once we have been in touch, we send a short form covering your services, region, who will attend and what you want from the session. We use it to tailor the session to your work.
3. Agree the date and format. We ask for one month's notice. Choose a full day, in person or online, or two shorter online sessions.
4. Take part and keep learning. After the session you receive your certificates, the handbook, slides and resource bank access, plus follow-up calls with us as you need them.
Questions about this course
Is prior training needed?
No prior training needed.
What will participants be able to do afterwards?
Participants learn to notice when a child or young person may be struggling, respond in a calm and supportive way, and use simple activities and routines that help them feel safe and part of the group. They leave with strategies they can use straight after the session.
Is there a version for adults?
Yes. Healing Spaces for adults is for people supporting refugee and asylum-seeking adults. Read about Healing Spaces for adults. Read about Healing Spaces for Adults.
