Trauma-informed practice: A strength-based and social justice approach for supporting diverse communities

Trauma-informed practice: A strength-based and social justice approach for supporting diverse communities

Presented by SickKids CCMH Learning Institute

Date: February 5, 2026
Time: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET
Facilitator: Karine Silverwoman, MSW, RSW

Description: This interactive training will explore trauma, vicarious trauma and trauma-informed practice through a social justice lens and strength-based lens. Participants will consider the fundamentals of trauma (brain, body, nervous system), explore and reflect on trauma-informed approaches and tools to use in their work and in building confidence to interact with diverse persons and communities that have experienced trauma. 

Participants will be encouraged to analyze the ways trauma overlaps with chronic and systemic experiences of oppression and racism and how their own lived experiences might impact their work.  Participants will gain trauma-informed skills to support themselves, their teams and clients.

Learning objectives:

• Gain insight into ways to politicize and de-pathologize trauma
• Gain a deeper understanding of how trauma impacts the body (brain, body, nervous system)
• Develop insight into connections between oppression and trauma
• Gain confidence in applying trauma-informed tools and strategies
• Be able to reflect and gain insight into one’s own individual trauma experiences

 Reserve your spot now to take the next step in supporting diverse communities with confidence.

Registration fee: General - $300 | Student and group rates are available

For full program overview and registration details please visit: https://cvent.me/VGkd1n

Facilitator Bio:
Karine Silverwoman, MSW, RSW, is an experienced social worker, trauma therapist, consultant, and educator. She is a queer mother with a long history of grassroots social justice work. Her work is informed by an understanding of the nervous system and how oppression impacts our bodies and communities.

She was recently the Director of Counselling at the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic and a consultant to several different social work agencies in Toronto. She is faculty with the Ontario Association of Social Work and is an instructor of social work at Toronto Metropolitan University and University of Windsor MSW program. She has worked in a wide variety of settings and roles including street outreach worker, mental health counsellor on an LGBT health team, youth worker, and professor of social work. 

Continuing Education (CE) information: 6 CE hours