How to Respond to Trauma: Building Capacity to Strengthen Support Systems

Building capacity at the local level is crucial to promote sustainable change and empower communities. SEED regularly works with local NGOs and government institutions to build the skills of frontline service providers and enhance the support systems in place for survivors of trauma.

In October, SEED was invited by the non-profit organization Preemptive Love to help increase the capacity of their staff to understand the main elements of trauma and utilize a trauma focused approach within their work. Preemptive Love is an organization that serves vulnerable people in diverse settings and adverse circumstances all around the world, including in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. 

SEED’s MHPSS Technical Advisor, Turin Mustafa, delivered a 2-hour virtual workshop to Preemptive Love during their annual summit, engaging 100 of the organization’s program managers, coordinators, program directors, project leads, program officers, and coaches from across the globe. The workshop was designed to raise awareness on trauma and trauma-informed approaches, provide practical tools for responding to traumatic events with Psychological First Aid, and teach stabilization techniques through the Traumatic Stress Relief (TSR) protocol to alleviate symptoms of distress and/or traumatic stress in survivors of trauma.

Reflecting on this workshop, Preemptive Love’s Program Director, Anna Woźniak, remarked that “SEED Foundation’s applied toolkit and training has enabled our team to be better equipped to work with survivors of trauma and infuse trauma sensitive methodologies throughout our service delivery.”

Mainstreaming awareness on trauma is central in order to ensure that survivors receive appropriate trauma-informed care and services, to minimize the risk of secondary traumatization, and to enhance the healing process. SEED is committed to raising awareness on trauma and supporting partner organizations to build their capacity in this area.