Understanding Trauma and Dealing with Disclosures of Family Violence 2025

The workshop will be held over two nights, and you must attend both to complete the course. The dates are Wednesday, September 17th and 24th, 2025, from 6-8.30 pm at the Motueka Library Meeting Room. This is a total of five hours of professional development. The workshops are specifically designed for 'natural helpers' in roles such as hairdressers, barbers, bartenders, tattoo artists, nail technicians, spa therapists, make-up artists, local businesses, or customer/client-facing roles such as admin or HR. Anyone outside this area is encouraged to contact Mikayla before booking a ticket. This workshop is not designed for clinical roles. Don't hesitate to get in touch with Mikayla for options.

Training Opportunity for Natural Helpers

Roles like hairdressers, barbers, bartenders, tattoo artists, nail technicians, spa therapists, make-up artists, local businesses, admin or HR are often disclosed to. They hear a lot about people’s lives, including traumatic experiences, family violence, and sexual violence. At Women’s Support Motueka, we want to help local businesses continue their work and ensure they have the knowledge and skills to safely support and refer a client if they make a disclosure. These roles already play an important but often unacknowledged role in our community’s support system, and we want to give them the tools to feel supported in return.

We are offering our Understanding Trauma and Dealing with Disclosures of Family Violence workshops, designed specifically to help you when a client, customer, or staff member discloses something. This is a comprehensive guide to receiving disclosures from adults of any gender. The workshops are tailored to support you and provide clear and concise information about family violence, trauma, and disclosures.

We cover:

Family Violence 101: Understanding and recognising family violence, covering 12 different types of abuse, the cycle of abuse, and why someone might stay in an abusive relationship.

Trauma 101: Understanding how trauma affects the brain, recognising trauma responses, and how to help someone when they are distressed or dissociated.

Disclosures 101: Everything you need to know about handling a disclosure, including what to say, creating and respecting boundaries and referring a client for further support.

This course gives you:

· In-depth knowledge and skills to respond to a disclosure

· A printed workbook to keep on hand for the future

· Several written scenarios to practice your new skills

· A personal and professional plan of action to use during a disclosure

· A certificate of completion to add to your professional development record

· Free coffee, tea, and a generous spread of food to nourish your body and mind while you learn.

This year, we are providing this training to local businesses or sole traders who wouldn't otherwise have access to family violence training. Thanks to our funders, we can offer this training at a significantly reduced cost of $25 per person (no booking fee, GST included!). If cost is a significant barrier, please email Mikayla.

Contact the workshop Facilitator: Mikayla Cahill – Community Engagement Coordinator: Women’s Support Motueka community@wsm.org.nz