Becoming a trauma-informed organisation - Rehab Group

Rehab Group (Ireland) has a subsidiary company called National Learning Network (NLN) which provides a range of flexible training courses for people with a disability, mental health issues, illness or additional support needs. NLN is the largest private provider of personalised education, training and employment services in Ireland. 

In recent years NLN has increasingly recognised the impact that trauma has on the learning experience of students and since the end of 2020 it has started a process to become trauma-informed in order to maximise its support and improve students’ experience in the Network. 

To build staff competencies in this area, in the early stages of the process NLN engaged a leading expert in Ireland and internationally on child and adolescent wellbeing and the impact of trauma on development, including its link with substance dependence and mental health, and consequent considerations for service design and delivery. This external expert facilitated two key steps in the learning process in 2020, a training part with a briefing for management, psychologists and programme development officers and a second training session for rehabilitation officers. Thanks to this process, most staff have done some level of training and are more aware of the fact that the trauma experiences of students can often interfere with their learning achievements and that the learning environment itself can sometimes be a trigger for people with past traumatic experiences. 

NLN aims to support people to widen their window of tolerance by educating them on trauma and its lasting impact, by providing them with a safe trauma-sensitive space and by having trained supporters to engage with students in evidence-based interventions to help them better process and retain information, maintain focus and make sense of their training.