What we do
We help traumatised children by training the adults around them to deliver effective psychological support, and by researching new interventions to aid the children’s recovery.
These services are offered to specialists and non-specialists internationally and in the UK, in person or online.
In recent years our support has reached children worldwide, including in Ukraine, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Nepal, Pakistan and the UK.
The children we help have survived the most devastating experiences – wars, earthquakes, fires and mass casualty events, sexual abuse, loss of their families or communities, flight from their homes, danger and distress of all kinds.
Some are still at risk, others have found a safe place in their own countries or in exile. Some are as young as three years old.
The effects of such traumas are profound, but can be helped with our internationally recognised programme of Trauma Recovery Techniques (TRT). This is what we provide.
Training for trauma recovery
Teaching Recovery Techniques is a suite of interventions for traumatised children which can be used by specialists and also non-specialists – so it can used by teachers, community leaders or aid workers in frontline situations where clinical care is unavailable. It is quick to learn, accessible to all and inexpensive to apply.
Typically, the children attend a short series of group sessions with TRT-trained adults, where they learn techniques for processing and coping with past experiences, reducing their harmful effects, and so lessening their long-term trauma.
The focus is practical – for example, on how to deal with triggers such as sounds that revive difficult memories. The aim is to help them build mental resilience and wellbeing, restart their childhoods and grow into thriving adults.
The sooner a damaged child can receive this help, the better for their future. So our aim is to reach as many children as we can, as quickly as possible, after a catastrophic event.
To do this we use a cascade model of training in TRT. We directly train a cohort of adults who are involved in providing care for the children – and then they go on to train others in how to use TRT. The result is a widening circle of care, multiplying the number of people who can intervene directly with the children.
For example, in Ukraine, we have trained colleagues at an organisation based in Lviv, who have then trained hundreds of professionals and laypeople every month, reaching thousands of children affected by the war. Or In Northern Ireland, we have trained a network of local service providers who are helping children that have been traumatically bereaved.
Researching and improving
In addition to training the carers, we continue to research and develop new applications and adaptations of TRT – most recently for children experiencing traumatic grief, for parents living in conflict settings and for very young children. These have all been piloted and introduced as new tools in our programme.
Meanwhile, we conduct research into the effects of traumatic events on children, and into new ways of helping them to cope. And we continually assess our training to ensure that it remains relevant and effective.
We wish to increase our activity in this area, ideally in partnership with relevant academic and research organisations, and welcome conversations with interested parties.
You can make a difference
Our mission is to help children overcome the trauma of wars and other disasters.
You can support this life-changing work by making a donation or raising funds.
