Do you work with people experiencing financial hardship or crisis in Wiltshire?

FREE trauma-informed training for VCSE organisations via the Wiltshire Council Crisis & Resilience Fund

Do you work with people in Wiltshire experiencing financial hardship or crisis and the challenges that come with it, such as poor mental health, housing insecurity and social isolation?

Join us for this practical online Introduction to Trauma-Informed Approaches training, where we'll explore what trauma is and the impact of trauma on the people we support, our colleagues, and ourselves.

This training is FREE for eligible teams, volunteers and organisations based in Wiltshire through the Wiltshire Council Crisis and Resilience Fund(opens in new tab).

Learn the essentials of trauma-informed practice, gain practical tools that your team can use straight away, and build your team's confidence in understanding and responding to trauma.

Check whether you're eligible for this training below.

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About this training

Introduction to Trauma-Informed Approaches

Working in public or voluntary services such as social care or mental health settings means regularly interacting with people who have faced adversity and trauma in their lives. Understanding how trauma can affect people experiencing financial hardship and crisis can help you:

  • Build greater trust with the people you work with
  • Provide support to facilitate resilience, growth and long-term change
  • Create a safer and more supportive workplace for your team's own mental health and wellbeing

This 3-hour online Introduction to Trauma-Informed Approaches training session introduces what trauma and adversity means, why awareness is so important, and the impact experiences of trauma and adversity can have across a lifetime. We consider the risk of retraumatisation, explore pathways towards supporting resilience and growth, and show how a trauma-informed approach can be put into action.

To book this training, please fill in our booking form below.

What you'll learn

  • Recognise why a solid awareness of trauma and adversity is important working in support and community settings.
  • Introduce some definitions of what adversity & trauma is.
  • Explore the longer-term impact of traumatic and adverse events across a person's lifespan.
  • Consider the risk of retraumatisation.
  • Recognise the pathways that can facilitate resilience, growth and sustainable change.
  • Begin to conceptualise how a psychological adversity and trauma-informed approach is put into practice.

Who is this training for?

This free training is for teams and organisations in Wiltshire who support people experiencing financial distress, crisis, housing insecurity, debt, poor mental health, social isolation or other pressures that affect financial resilience.

This may include organisations working in:

  • Debt and money advice
  • Food insecurity and community food provision
  • Housing and homelessness
  • Welfare benefits support
  • Mental health support
  • Family support services
  • Domestic abuse services
  • Community and crisis support services

Please note, we are unable to offer places to individuals or organisations that do not support people experiencing financial hardship or financial resilience challenges.

Check your eligibility

This training is free for organisations in Wiltshire who support people experiencing financial distress, crisis, housing insecurity, debt, poor mental health, social isolation or other pressures that affect financial resilience through the Wiltshire Council Crisis and Resilience Fund(opens in new tab), including local authority teams and VCSE organisations.

If you are a team or organisation in Wiltshire who supports people experiencing financial hardship and crisis, and you are unsure if you are connected to the Wiltshire Council Crisis and Resilience Fund, please contact us at WiltsTItraining@second-step.co.uk.

Why choose us?

Our training is developed and delivered by people with mental health expertise and lived experience to help you build your team's confidence, strengthen your organisation, and create a safer, more engaged and inclusive workforce.

Ellen Grieves bio photo

Ellen Grieves

Meet your trainer

Ellen is a Senior Psychological, Adversity and Trauma-Informed (PAT) Practitioner with a background in community mental health, yoga facilitation and Nature and Health practice. She brings warmth, curiosity and a strong commitment to co-creating spaces where people feel safe, respected and able to learn together.

Drawing on her own lived experience and seven years’ professional practice, Ellen has spent the last three years specialising in trauma-informed approaches, delivering training across the South West and contributing to national conversations on ethical, relational and embodied practice.

At Second Step, Ellen coproduces and co-delivers trauma-informed training with people who have lived experience of mental health services. She also works with teams across the organisation to support staff wellbeing and embed a culture of psychological safety and collective care. She holds space with sensitivity and depth, making room for complexity and connection in all her work.

In her own time, Ellen is deepening her relationship with the natural world and pursuing studies in Ecopsychology.

Rob Wright bio photo

Rob Wright

Meet your trainer

Rob brings a strong background in education and a deep commitment to mental health advocacy to his role as Learning and Development Trainer at Second Step.

Since joining the organisation in 2016, Rob has held key positions including Team Manager at Bristol Wellbeing College, before stepping into his current role in 2019. Prior to Second Step, he spent many years in further education, teaching psychology and managing Access and A-level programmes at a Bristol college.

With a passion for learning and personal development, Rob designs and delivers training that is engaging, reflective, and rooted in both professional expertise and lived experience. He believes in the power of education to transform lives and is a firm believer that “every day is a school day”.

Rob lives in the South Wales Valleys with his Cocker Spaniel, Milo. Outside of work, he enjoys music, film, TV, and cooking.

Nick Booth bio photo

Nick Booth

Meet your trainer

Nick has dedicated his career to promoting social justice and addressing inequality and disadvantage through roles in both the voluntary and public sectors.

With over 25 years of experience in homelessness, substance use, and mental health and 18 years in teaching and training, Nick brings a wealth of knowledge and compassion to every session. His engaging facilitation style and deep expertise help create a safe, supportive space where participants can explore complex and sensitive topics with confidence.

Nick has developed and delivered mental health training at Second Step for five years, training hundreds of professionals in both frontline and strategic roles. His courses are grounded in real-world experience and designed to be practical, interactive, and immediately applicable.

Nick leads the learning and development team at Second Step and, in collaboration with Dr Joanna Davies, Nick co-designs courses and the development of the psychological, adversity and trauma (PAT) training for Second Step.

Book now

To book onto our Introduction to Trauma-Informed Approaches training, just fill in the booking form below. We'll be in touch shortly. Once your booking is complete, we'll send a booking confirmation to the email address of the person making this booking.

Funding eligibility

This training is funded by Wiltshire Council's Crisis and Resilience Fund and is intended for Wiltshire organisations supporting people experiencing financial hardship, debt, poverty, housing insecurity or related financial resilience challenges.

Please note, we cannot accept bookings from individuals or organisations outside this scope.

PAT Wiltshire Training Booking Form
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Does your organisation support people experiencing financial hardship, debt, poverty, cost-of-living pressures, housing insecurity, or related financial resilience challenges?

Unfortunately this funded training is only available for organisations supporting people experiencing financial hardship or financial resilience challenges.

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