At Talking Therapies UK, we are passionate about equipping professionals with the knowledge, confidence, and compassion to support mental health across diverse settings. With decades of combined experience in clinical practice, public health leadership, and service transformation, our training programmes are rooted in evidence-based approaches and real-world application.
We specialise in delivering high-impact, trauma-informed mental health training tailored to the needs of health, education, social care, and voluntary sector teams. From safeguarding and suicide prevention to emotional resilience and therapeutic communication, our courses are designed to empower practitioners at every level—whether you’re frontline staff, a strategic commissioner, or part of a multi-agency partnership.
Our facilitators bring many years clinical expertise , and a deep understanding of the social determinants of mental health. We prioritise co-production, reflective practice, and inclusive learning environments that foster curiosity, empathy, and professional growth.
Whether you’re looking to upskill your workforce, embed mental health into your organisational culture, or meet statutory training requirements, we offer flexible delivery formats including in-person workshops, webinars, and bespoke consultancy.
Together, we can build psychologically safe, responsive systems that promote wellbeing, reduce inequalities, and improve outcomes for individuals, families, and communities. Let’s shape the future of mental health—one conversation, one training, one transformation at a time..
Integrating evidence‑based approaches to support survivors in therapeutic work
Trauma‑Informed Practice for Therapists – intermediate is a six‑hour CPD course designed to equip clinicians with the knowledge and skills required to work safely and effectively with survivors of traumatic experience. Drawing on the NICE guideline NG116, ISTSS recommendations and contemporary research in trauma‑focused CBT, EMDR and attachment‑based therapy, the programme blends neurobiological insight with practical application.
Foundations of Trauma invites participants to explore the multifaceted nature of trauma, its prevalence, and the profound impact on the brain and body. Through case vignettes and evidence‑based models of the stress response, learners gain a nuanced understanding of how trauma alters cognition, emotion and behaviour, laying the groundwork for informed intervention.
Core Principles of Trauma‑Informed Care examines the six guiding principles – safety, trustworthiness, peer support, collaboration, empowerment and cultural, historical and gender sensitivity. Participants learn to embed these principles into the therapeutic alliance, recognising how each principle reshapes assessment, rapport building and treatment planning in a trauma‑sensitive context.
Evidence‑Based Interventions compares the main trauma‑focused therapeutic models, including trauma‑focused CBT, EMDR and attachment‑based approaches. The module offers structured overviews, key techniques, contraindications and integration strategies, enabling clinicians to select and adapt interventions that best match client presentations and therapeutic goals.
Putting It All Together in Practice translates theory into day‑to‑day work. Learners practise applying safety protocols, collaborative goal setting and self‑care routines, using role‑play and reflective exercises. The session emphasises maintaining therapeutic boundaries, managing vicarious trauma and sustaining resilience in clinical practice.
On completion, participants will be able to assess trauma exposure, embed trauma‑informed principles into every session, select and deliver evidence‑based interventions, and monitor both client and clinician wellbeing. The course promises a richer therapeutic relationship, improved treatment outcomes and a sustainable, self‑aware practice, delivered within a CBT framework and accredited for 6 CPD hours, suitable for therapists, counsellors and psychotherapists seeking to deepen their expertise in trauma‑informed care.
▶ See inside the digital classroom1 minute 36 seconds · how a course is laid out, how each lesson is taught, and how the tutor helps
Before you start
This is a Practitioner course, a stand-alone short course. It assumes that you already hold the Foundation knowledge of this approach, whether from the Foundation course or from your training and practice. What it adds is formulation and treatment decisions with real caseloads: the disorder-specific or situation-specific methods, sequencing, and what to do when the standard approach does not work; it revisits the foundations only as far as it needs to before building on them, so it does not repeat the course below.
If you have not met this approach before, start with a Foundation course; if you already hold its foundations from your training or practice, this is the right level to begin at.
10 study hours10 CPD hours certified12 months of accessAI tutor in every lessonCertificate on completion (pass mark 70%)
What you will be able to do
✓Identify the neurobiological and psychological impacts of trauma on clients.
✓Apply the six key principles of trauma‑informed care to assessment and treatment planning.
✓Select and adapt evidence‑based interventions such as TF‑CBT and EMDR for diverse client needs.
✓Demonstrate strategies for maintaining therapist safety and managing vicarious trauma.
✓Integrate trauma‑informed documentation and referral pathways within a multidisciplinary setting.
What you will study
Module 1: Foundations of Trauma
Explore what trauma is, how it affects the brain and body, and the prevalence of trauma exposure.
Defining Trauma and Its TypesTrauma is defined by the subjective sense of threat and loss of control, not by the objective severity of an event.
Neurobiology of Stress and MemoryTrauma activates the HPA axis and locus coeruleus, releasing cortisol and norepinephrine which heighten amygdala activity and impair hippocampal contextualisation.
Epidemiology and Impact1. More than 70% of adults across 24 countries report at least one traumatic event; in England about one adult in three reports a major trauma and 5.7% screen positive for PTSD, and complex PTSD is at least as common as PTSD in population studies.
Module 2: Core Principles of Trauma‑Informed Care
Learn the six guiding principles and how they reshape therapeutic relationships.
Safety and TrustworthinessSafety is both physical and emotional, and it must be operationalised in day-to-day therapeutic behaviour.
Choice, Collaboration and EmpowermentTrauma-informed care actively counteracts the helplessness of trauma by prioritising client agency and autonomy.
Cultural, Historical, and Gender IssuesTrauma-informed care must integrate cultural, historical, and gender factors into safety, assessment, pacing, and consent—without treating them as blanket explanations.
Module 3: Evidence‑Based Interventions
Introduce and compare the main trauma‑focused therapeutic models.
Trauma‑Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF‑CBT)The trauma‑focused CBT sequence described here has six phases (psychoeducation, relaxation, cognitive coping, trauma narrative, exposure and consolidation); the children’s TF‑CBT model sets out its components as PRACTICE.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)EMDR treatment is organised into an eight-phase protocol: history/treatment planning, preparation, assessment, desensitisation, installation, body scan, closure, and re-evaluation.
Attachment‑Based and Somatic ApproachesAttachment theory and somatic practice are two foundational strands that, when woven together within an integrative trauma-informed framework, can profoundly de…
Cognitive Processing Therapy: A Structured CBT Approach to TraumaCognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a structured, time‑limited CBT protocol that targets maladaptive trauma‑related beliefs through systematic cognitive restructuring.
Module 4: Putting It All Together in Practice
Translate theory into day‑to‑day therapeutic work and self‑care for clinicians.
Assessment and Formulating a Trauma‑Informed CaseIntegrate standardized screening tools with narrative inquiry to capture both symptom severity and the client's unique trauma history.
Session Management and Managing Triggers- Pacing involves dynamic adjustment of session tempo based on the client’s safety rating.
Therapist Well‑Being and Vicarious TraumaVicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress and burnout arise from repeated exposure to client trauma and can impair therapeutic effectiveness
Ending Well: Trauma-Informed Approaches to Termination and TransitionTermination is a clinically significant phase in its own right, not a neutral endpoint, and for trauma survivors it can activate attachment systems and trauma-related appraisals that require direct therapeutic attention.
What's included
4 modules and 14 lessons
A 10-question final assessment, with a 70% pass mark
A certificate for 10 CPD hours when you pass it
An extended clinical case study with discussion questions
A glossary of key terms
Private notes, a reflection for each module, and a CPD log you can print or save as a PDF
📖 Written lessons with key points and practice tasks◆ Visual teaching diagrams🎥 Video where it helps🎧 Listen-to-this-lesson narration👩⚕️ A full clinical case study🧠 AI tutor in every lesson📄 Full course workbook (PDF) on completion📕 The course book (PDF) while you study, with your name in it
Speak the language: by the end you will use Automatic thought · Core belief · Conditional rule · Cognitive distortion · Safety behaviour · Behavioural experiment · Guided discovery · Socratic questioning · Collaborative empiricism · Formulation and more, precisely.
