Commence Training - A Trauma Informed Lens

Project Arya Trauma-Informed Internship


I decided to intern with I Am Wellbeing as a part of Project Arya because I was looking for a chance to understand the field of child psychology better. I felt that I Am Wellbeing provided a unique opportunity that made mental health accessible to underprivileged communities through a trauma focused perspective - something I had not come across before. This was a programme whose philosophy of working I believed in and respected, so I wasted no time in signing up.

Our training programs had a clear flow to them, from theory to application, leaving room for discussions and exchanging perspectives. With the focus on trauma, we were taught about its impacts and cycles, delving into learned behaviours, emotional and cognitive development and most importantly, the factors that could help break the cycle of trauma. By the end of the first day of training, I was even more convinced of the importance of bringing psychology to sensitive areas of society. 

Our next two training sessions would be specifically about the academic sessions and socioemotional learning sessions we would be taking with the kids. The academic session covered teaching techniques for online platforms. We discussed what it takes to be a good facilitator, how to encourage the children to learn using methods that would keep them engaged. We were told to incorporate games and activities to make the content more fun and understandable at the same time. 

Our social and emotional learning sessions were centred around applying different concepts within psychotherapies to activities that would help create a safe space for the children. We revisited the different aspects of trauma and its impact. Taking note of the several social, emotional and psychological aspects of trauma, we spoke about the way modules are designed and applied as well as the expected outcome of the session, which was essentially creating a safe space. 

I felt that the training sessions were a healthy balance of theory and discussion - something that gave us a chance to think critically about social structures, their effects on wellbeing and the resources required to deal with these issues. Throughout, our questions were answered patiently by the mentors and as our discussions went further, new information kept cropping up.

Our next step of action after the training was to observe how these sessions were conducted and to note down our observations. We were to look out for behaviours, responses that stood out to us and try to understand their implications. Actually seeing the interactions that happened with the children added clarity to what the focus of the project was and brought all our training into context. We were able to understand the differences in going about academic and SEL sessions. Honestly, the experience of watching these sessions was a little overwhelming, along with an increasing feeling of excitement, of course. As I observed, I had a steadily growing list of things I need to look out for, to keep in mind and to plan. 

Following these observation sessions, we had a supervision session at the end of the week where we shared our experiences and observations with our mentors. We discussed the possible meanings of our observations and were given input by our mentors based on their own experiences. They gave us further insight into what we were supposed to look out for. With each step of the internship, I felt we were getting a better and better idea of how exactly trauma-focused interventions work without feeling overwhelmed by the sheer vastness of the topic. 

Trauma Counselling is something new I had come across in India and was ecstatic to see that there was an internship associated with it. Using therapy models, I Am Wellbeing constructed a way to bring psychological interventions to those who do not have access to mental health services, which I believe is important for the growth of psychological wellbeing in India.

I learnt the importance of building a safe space, something that was stressed on most during our sessions. It would be our responsibility to make sure the children had an hour’s time of fun, where they could feel safe with their emotions and feelings.

I think the first week of the internship set a strong foundation for what is to come next. It was well-structured and centred around the holistic learning of the interns. Our mentors are patient, kind and insightful and are always ready to add to our observations. I look forward to further weeks in the internship. 

By Devshri Joshi Intern I Am Wellbeing: Trauma Healing & Prevention


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