On July 14, 2021, in partnership with the District of Columbia Office of Victims Services and Justice Grants, Give an Hour hosted a training for DC-area licensed mental health professionals in our Enhancing the District’s Response to Trauma (EDRT) program. Led by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, renowned trauma expert of Trauma Research Foundation, this training explored how, because of altered biological systems, traumatized people continue to be trapped by their history and react to current experiences in a myriad of ways as a replay of the past. Dr. van der Kolk discussed ways to break the cycles of reenactment and suffering through body awareness techniques. Training participants saw demonstrations of specific affect regulation techniques and learned the benefits of yoga, EMDR, meditation, and neurofeedback to help people overcome trauma.
This training was offered to Give an Hour’s incredible volunteer mental health providers to develop a shared understanding of trauma and trauma treatments. Our EDRT providers will be able to take advantage of more training and educational opportunities like this in the near future! See https://giveanhour.org/edrt/ for more information on EDRT.
