Training & Consultancy

We offer customisable training and consultancy packages tailored to your organisation’s needs. Whether you're addressing a specific issue or selecting from our standard training menu, we’ll work with you to create solutions that make sense for your context. 

Our consultancy services span strategic planning, organisational culture, and targeted interventions—such as trauma-informed audits with actionable recommendations to embed lasting, meaningful change. 

Custom training and consultancy to embed trauma-informed practice where it matters most.

Custom training and consultancy to embed trauma-informed practice where it matters most.

Trainings

All training sessions are interactive, evidence-based, and adaptable to meet the specific needs of your organisation. To foster an optimal learning environment, we recommend a maximum of 20 participants per session—ensuring space for meaningful discussion, reflection, and engagement. Our workshops blend theory, personal insight, and group-based activities to create an accessible and engaging approach to complex topics. Training can be delivered onsite across Australia or locally including Byron Bay, Kingscliff, Gold Coast and Brisbane.

Half Day Trainings

Half Day Trainings

Defense Styles Workshop

Understanding Unconscious Coping and Its Impact on Mental Health

This engaging session explores the concept of psychological defense mechanisms—unconscious strategies we all use to manage difficult emotions like anxiety, shame, or self-doubt. Drawing on current research and clinical theory, the workshop examines how different defense styles—mature, neurotic, and immature—shape our personality, relationships, and emotional resilience. 

Participants will learn: 

  • How defense mechanisms function to protect the self from emotional overwhelm 

  • The difference between healthy (mature) and less effective (immature) defenses 

  • How over-reliance on immature defenses is linked to poorer mental health outcomes 

  • Gender differences in defensive styles and expression 

  • How defenses play out in individuals, teams, and systems 

We’ll use the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40) to explore a range of common defense mechanisms, from suppression and humour to projection and dissociation. Participants will reflect on their own patterns, with opportunities for discussion and application to trauma-informed practice. 

Ideal for clinicians, supervisors, and team leaders, this session offers practical insights to deepen self-awareness and enhance psychological flexibility—key to sustainable work in trauma-exposed environments. 

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Therapeutic Group Process Training

Duration: 3 hours 

This training blends theory with experiential learning to introduce the core principles of therapeutic group process. Participants will engage in a 90-minute theory component followed by a facilitated 90-minute group experience. 

The session explores the origins, structure, and benefits of group process, as well as common challenges and resistances. It offers a safe, supportive space to reflect on the emotional impact of working with complex trauma—an essential element in preventing vicarious trauma and burnout. 

Designed to gently extend practitioners beyond their comfort zones, this training provides a powerful tool for sustaining wellbeing and connection in trauma-exposed work. 

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Trauma-Informed Leadership

Duration: 4 hours 

This practical, engaging session is designed for leaders navigating the complexities of trauma-informed systems. Grounded in theory but focused on application, the workshop explores how early adversity shapes behaviour, relationships, and mental health—and how these dynamics ripple through teams and organisations. 

You’ll examine: 

  • The core principles of Trauma-Informed Practice 

  • How trauma impacts both individuals and systems 

  • Leadership’s role in holding complexity, modelling safety, and creating reflective cultures 

  • Organizational defences and systemic signs of stress or burnout 

  • Barriers to implementation—and how to move through them 

Blending theory with real-world leadership insights, this workshop offers tools to strengthen your organization's resilience, align practice with purpose, and lead with clarity in trauma-exposed environments.

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Introduction to Trauma-Informed Practice 

Duration: 4 hours 

This foundational workshop offers a clear framework for understanding the impact of complex trauma on development, relationships, and mental health. Drawing on key theories, we explore how early experiences shape behaviour—and how trauma affects not just individuals, but teams and systems. 

Participants will examine the dynamics of trauma work, the risk of organizational traumatization, and the safeguards needed to maintain resilience. Core concepts include the therapeutic relationship, reflective practice, and shared theoretical understanding. 

Combining theory, group activities, and reflective discussion, this engaging session provides practical tools for building more trauma-informed environments.

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Full Day Trainings

Half Day Trainings

Trauma-Informed Responses to Complex Mental Health

Full-Day Workshop 

This interactive training explores how trauma shapes complex mental health presentations—including substance use, eating disorders, self-harm, suicidality, aggression, psychosis, and co-morbidity. 

We'll revisit key trauma-informed theory, then apply it to real-world behaviours through case studies and group discussion. The session also focuses on the practitioner experience—offering tools for containment, de-escalation, and safely “holding risk” in high-pressure environments. 

Designed for professionals across sectors, this workshop blends theory, reflection, and practical strategies to support both client care and worker wellbeing. 

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Trauma-Informed Approaches to Hard Conversations

Full-Day Workshop 

Whether with colleagues, clients, or managers, difficult conversations are part of frontline work—and when done well, they can lead to stronger relationships and better outcomes. 

This workshop builds on trauma-informed principles to help you navigate these moments with confidence, care and clarity. Together, we’ll explore: 

  • What gets in the way of brave conversations 

  • How to bring authenticity, empathy, and trust into tough discussions 

  • Practical tools for communication grounded in self-awareness and psychological safety 

  • Strategies for fostering a culture where courageous conversations are supported—not avoided 

Ideal for professionals across all sectors, this interactive training blends theory, reflection, and real-world skills to turn hard conversations into healing ones. 

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Trauma-Informed Toolkit: Preventing Vicarious Trauma

Full-Day Workshop 

Designed for frontline professionals across all sectors, this interactive workshop offers practical tools to understand and prevent vicarious trauma. We’ll unpack the differences between vicarious trauma, burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary trauma—and explore how they show up in everyday practice. 

Through a trauma-informed lens, we’ll focus on: 

  • Recognising risk factors in frontline work 

  • Building protective strategies for individuals, teams, and organisations 

  • Strengthening self-care, boundaries, and team culture 

  • Creating space for reflection, connection, and sustainable practice 

Blending theory with real-world strategies, this session empowers workers and leaders alike to build resilience and foster healthier workplaces. 

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Trauma-Informed Practice: One-Day Intensive

This dynamic workshop is designed for clinicians and mental health professionals working with complex trauma.  Participants will revisit the core principles of Trauma-Informed Practice and explore a framework for understanding how early experiences shape development, relationships, and mental health. 

The training also addresses the impact of trauma on practitioners and the subtle dynamics that emerge in trauma-exposed systems. Key concepts include the role of the therapeutic relationship, the value of shared frameworks, and the importance of reflective practice. 

We’ll also examine common barriers to implementing trauma-informed care—such as unclear roles, boundary challenges, and organizational defences—and how to respond to them effectively. 

Blending theory, reflection, and group discussion, this workshop offers a practical, engaging, and meaningful approach to deepening trauma-informed practice. 

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Other Trainings Include: 

  • Creating a Trauma-Informed Workplace Culture 

  • Exploring Your Attachment Style 

  • Resilience in Practice: A Trauma-Informed Perspective 

Consultancy

consultancy - better.jpg

We offer consultancy for organisations of all sizes looking to embed trauma-informed practices, strengthen culture, or refine strategic direction. 

Effective change starts with courageous leadership—that’s why we also support organisations in approaching change management through a trauma-informed lens. 

Bend Consulting has offered consultancy to a wide range of systems in Australia and overseas including: