The Healing Together Facilitator Programme will help to create a legion of trauma aware practitioners who will have the skills and understanding to help children who are impacted by domestic abuse and violence.
This is an ambitious world-wide training programme to upskill staff who work with children in primary or secondary schools, in other community settings, in refuges, hostels or who provide pastoral or counselling support.
Dealing with childhood trauma and domestic violence
We are the course creators and come with different perspectives from different backgrounds and that adds strength to our collaboration.
Dr Asha Patel set up her multi award winning social enterprise in 2016 with the aim of creating mentally healthy environment in schools: 'I come from a forensic mental health background, working with high-profile sex offenders among others. I realised I was working at the wrong end of the spectrum. It was too late for them. I came to understand that I could make more impact if I supported them when they were young.'
Innovating Minds worked alongside ‘We:ARE’ in Birmingham which supports women who have been subjected to domestic violence. As the mothers started to rebuild their lives, they were concerned about the damage done to their children, so Innovating Minds developed a programme in Kings Norton in Birmingham.
Children aged 10-14 attended, one evening a week for six weeks after school After the very first session there was a waiting list for 40 children so right from the beginning it was impossible to keep up with demand.