TRAUMA - INFORMED WORKSHOPS

The Dream together Tiered Organisational Programme is a trauma-informed, relational framework supporting cultural and systems change across organisations working with children, families and communities. 

It helps leaders and teams create environments where people feel heard, valued and supported, and can remain steady under pressure.

 Grounded in attachment aware, systems focused, and creative relational practice, the programme centres the importance of safe, trusting relationships as the foundation for wellbeing, and the capacity to navigate challenge and engage in effective work.

Delivered through a structured, tiered model, it supports sustainable change through reflection, psychological safety and leadership readiness:

• Pre-programme:      Leadership Readiness
      Building alignment, readiness and the conditions for safe implementation 

• Tier 1: Foundations
      Developing shared language and trauma-informed, relational understanding 

• Tier 2: Practice Development
      Embedding reflective, creative and relational approaches in everyday practice 

• Tier  3: Leadership & Systems Integration
      Supporting whole-system alignment and sustainable cultural change. 

Programmes are co-created and tailored to context, with an emphasis on reflective spaces and experiential learning that support meaningful, lasting change.

This approach strengthens connection, communication and relational stability, supporting safer, more effective practice across organisations.

This is a consultation process designed to support leadership teams to explore readiness for trauma-informed practice and organisational change.

It creates structured thinking spaces with leaders to reflect on current culture, relational dynamics and existing capacity for reflection, containment and decision making.

 The focus is on how complexity, stress and emotional demand are currently held within the system, and what may need strengthening to support sustainable trauma-informed development.

A key part of this work is drawing on learning from the 

evaluation of previous trauma-informed programmes, identifying what supports meaningful change in practice settings, what helps embed approaches into everyday organisational life, and what conditions are needed

 to strengthen leadership readiness before further development.

The consultation may include leadership discussions, facilitated thinking spaces and a reflective assessment of organisational readiness. It supports leaders to think carefully about timing, capacity and foundations before wider programmes or training are introduced.

The aim is to strengthen internal leadership capacity so that trauma-informed practice is not only delivered, but embedded and sustained in everyday organisational culture.

This work helps organisations move forward with clarity, care and intention, ensuring change is built on strong relational and reflective foundations.

This reflective workshop supports leaders in exploring what underlies stress, reactivity, and disconnection in leadership, and how personal experience shapes teams and organisational culture.

Grounded in trauma-informed practice, it develops understanding of how stress and trauma influence leadership systems, communication and decision-making, with a focus on relational and embodied leadership.

Leaders explore regulation, psychological safety, co-regulation, and repair in relationships, including how presence, tone and boundaries shape team culture.

This is a reflective space rather than traditional leadership training, supporting more intentional, connected and emotionally aware practice. 

Leaders leave with practical tools to strengthen trust, reflection and psychological safety in their teams.

This workshop supports practitioners, leaders, and teams in exploring what happens when working with children, families, or organisations feels stuck.   

It offers space to pause, reflect and develop new ways of seeing and responding in team meetings, supervision, organisational contexts and conflict situations.

Rooted in trauma-informed and evidence-informed practice, it uses creative approaches to support reflection and understanding in complex situations. 

This includes Communicube, developed by Dr John Casson, and sand tray work, supporting expression and insight when words are not enough.

The focus is on noticing patterns, exploring relational dynamics and supporting more thoughtful, connected responses across teams and organisations.

It is a facilitated reflective space offering practical creative tools that can be used in supervision, team meetings, case discussions, organisational reflection, and conflict resolution.

Delivered as a half-day or full-day session, with groups limited to 10   to support depth. 

Follow-up sessions are available to support the embedding of learning into practice.

This practical, reflective workshop supports school staff to reconnect with play as a relational way of being.

It begins with adults re-engaging with play to strengthen presence, flexibility and connection, enabling more attuned and curious relationships with children and young people.

Grounded in trauma-informed and relational approaches, including PACE and DDP principles, the workshop emphasises co-regulation, attunement, and the adult’s role in creating emotional safety through presence, tone, and responsiveness.

Participants explore creative ways to build connection, trust and attachment through everyday interactions, using play as a bridge to a relationship.

The workshop supports a shift from task-focused responses to relational practice. Participants leave with practical tools to support connection, attunement and emotional safety in school settings.

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In busy, time-pressured systems, letter writing offers a way to slow down and keep the child in mind beyond direct contact. It becomes more than communication, serving as a relational bridge that supports continuity, reassurance, and emotional connection over time.

Grounded in trauma-informed principles, the workshop explores how letters can reflect safety, trust, choice, collaboration, empowerment and cultural humility. 

Participants consider how language can soothe and regulate, while also affirming identity, dignity and lived experience.

Through guided reflection and practical writing, participants develop confidence in creating letters that are attuned, gentle and intentional. This includes exploring tone, language, metaphor and storytelling, as well as how letters can support transitions, endings, life story work and moments of uncertainty.

The workshop also considers therapeutic letter writing as a reflective tool for practitioners, offering space for grounding, self-compassion, and professional reflection.

Participants leave with practical tools, examples and frameworks to support therapeutic letter writing in their roles, alongside a deeper understanding of how writing can become a relational and healing practice within trauma-informed work.

  The Foundations Programme is a group offering from Dream Together designed specifically for adoptive families. It is grounded in relational and attachment-informed approaches to parenting, drawing on Dyadic Developmental Practice (DDP), the PACE model developed by Dan Hughes, and the Nurturing Attachments approach developed by Kim Golding.

The programme supports caregivers to deepen their understanding of children’s emotional and relational needs, particularly in the context of early relational trauma and disrupted attachment experiences. 

It emphasises safety, connection, and co-regulation as the foundation for healing relationships.

The group combines:

• Psychoeducation     informed by attachment theory and developmental trauma 

• Reflective practice spaces to explore relational patterns, triggers, and responses 

• Facilitated group discussion to support shared learning and connection between carers 

The approach is rooted in DDP principles of PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy), alongside the Nurturing Attachments focus on emotional availability, reflective functioning, and building secure relational bridges.

Alongside supporting families, the programme forms part of Dream Together’s commitment to developing accessible, relationally grounded support for adopters. 

It will include a simple pre- and post-programme evaluation to understand what is most helpful, what supports change, and how the offer can be refined and developed over time.

Families will be invited to join the programme through their local authority adoption services.

This is a contribution-based programme with a waiting list. 

This is a gentle recovery and prevention day for professionals working in trauma-impacted systems, offering space to step out of daily demands and focus on regulation, reflection, and restoration.

The day begins with settling in and connection, followed by supportive psychoeducation on the impact of trauma-exposed work on the nervous system, body, and emotional well-being. 

There is time for shared reflection and a sense of grounding and belonging with others who understand this work.

Simple, accessible somatic practices support nervous system regulation, followed by time in nature and restorative environments, which may include: barefoot walking, sauna, and rest.

Nourishing organic food, tea, and desserts are shared throughout the day, supporting care and connection. The pace is slow and unhurried, with space for rest, informal conversation, and integration.

The day closes with reflection, shared learning, intention setting, and a small self-care offering to support continued care beyond the workshop.

This trauma-informed, somatic, and evidence-informed space is designed to support sustainable practice, regulation, and wellbeing for those in emotionally demanding roles.