Mindfulness for Trauma

Building Resilience in Our Work With Youth

Welcome!

Welcome to Mindfulness for Trauma: Building Resilience in Our Work with Youth. In this 5-minute introductory video, Maggie orients you to the course format and outcomes and makes some suggestions for how to best engage with the course. 

In this virtual training you’ll learn:

  • How trauma affects our minds and bodies

  • How trauma shows up in our students’ behavior

  • The science behind mindfulness and resilience 

  • Practical tools to nourish a mindfulness practice that supports your wellbeing

  • How to bring trauma-sensitivity into your work with youth

Receiving Course Credit as a PPS Employee

Once you have completed all modules, return to this Pepper course and complete the "Course Completion" section. This course is listed under the “My Current Courses” section of your Pepper dashboard (upper right).

After completing the “Course Completion” section, you will receive a certificate and credit on your transcript.

1. Introduction to Mindfulness

In this 28-minute lesson, Caverly Morgan, Founder and Head of Practice at Peace in Schools, will introduce the practice of mindfulness and how we can look to the breath and the body as a refuge. You’ll be guided through a grounding meditation and have an opportunity to reflect on any insights that arise as you practice.

2. Directing the Attention

In this 17-minute lesson, you’ll explore what it means to direct the attention with love, not force. You’ll observe the mind as it generates thoughts and practice escorting the attention back to the object of your focus.

3. Trauma and the Impact it Can Have

In this 55-minute lesson, you’ll learn about trauma, how it impacts the brain, manifests in the body, and what it can look like in youth behavior. You’ll also explore what’s possible when we use a trauma-informed lens and what types of trauma-informed practices might support you and the youth you work with.

4. Exploring Sensations Through Meditation

In this 17-minute lesson, you’ll explore directing the attention to sensations in the body as a grounding practice. You’ll be guided to place your full, loving attention on the sensation you notice rather than on the story or thoughts about the sensation, and be invited to do so with non-judgement and compassion.

5. The Science and Power of Resilience

In this 31-minute lesson, you’ll learn why healing-centered engagement and strength-based approaches are critical when supporting the youth we work with. You’ll also discover ways in which mindfulness can contribute to growing resilience in those who have experienced trauma and how practicing welcoming our experience is a key part to healing.

6. Experiencing Our Inherent Wholeness

In this 28-minute lesson, you’ll be guided through a meditation that explores what it means to not be identified with your pain but to witness it with deep care and compassion. You’ll explore the inherent experience of wholeness, get in touch with that which has never been broken, and discover how you are adequate to your own experience regardless of the thoughts or emotions that are present.

7. Takeaways and Next Steps

In this 12-minute lesson, Maggie reviews what you've learned and offers next steps for learning and practice. Thank you for joining us for this training. Continuing to nourish your mindfulness practice will not only support you but will directly contribute to the wellbeing of your students, their families and the world at large. Thank you for showing up and for the time you invested in your education and your wellbeing. We hope to share practice with you again in the future!