
Trauma aware communication
Workshops
Kate creates and facilitates the following workshops.
She is also happy to customize a workshop specifically for your organization or event. She is available for both in-person and virtual formats.
Her workshops are very well received and she is happy to share testimonials from past organizers and participants with you.
Please email her at connect@katetoye.com.

Being aware of how trauma presents in people is a critical skill for professionals, teachers, managers, front-line workers, caregivers, parents, truly any one in relationships. In this workshop, we will learn about ourselves, we will explore how we perceive and filter information and learn communication strategies that are based on understanding trauma.
In the first part of this workshop, we will create the foundation for our time together. We will share our understanding or trauma; our personal views and societal views and we will look at the idea of a “spectrum of trauma.” We will also discuss how unhealed childhood trauma presents in adulthood. We will briefly explore self-compassion and how this approach is a powerful ally and tool for better communication internally and externally.
In the second part of the workshop, we will explore our inner self through a somatic (relating to the body) awareness activity. We will look at emotions, needs, and feelings. We will also spend some time discussing unhelpful thinking patterns (cognitive distortions) such as all of nothing thinking, mental filtering, mind reading, and more. Through self-compassion and non-judgmental experimental activities participants will be able to see how information is filtered and perceived and how this can affect communication.
Past Participants have shared that this workshop has highlighted the importance of personal responsibility in communication. Others have shared that it helped make a positive shift in their workplace as employees/co-workers communicate differently.
Outcomes:
• The role that we play as the professional individual in trauma aware communication
• How to recognize your personal “triggers” and how to separate that from the situation you are currently in
• Learn how to be self-compassionate and curious (rather than judgmental) as you become aware of your cognitive distortions and communication style
• To acquire skills on how to be mindful with information, internal dialogue, and how one communicates information
• To become aware of communication styles and how to be a responsible communicator
• To create a common understanding/language about trauma
Self-Awareness:
The strength within

To own oneself you must know yourself. In this experiential workshop, participants will get to know themselves, their inner critic and have a better understanding of their thoughts, feelings, behaviours, values, needs and how to have them met.
Self-aware individuals know what is within their control and what isn’t, they know their blind spots, where they have opportunity for growth, and how to create healthy boundaries. They understand their triggers, they are curious about themselves and can honestly see how they are doing emotionally, spiritually, physically, and mentally and how and where to give more attention.
They understand how they react to stress, what makes them happy, they are able to listen to their bodies and read their physical cues, they have greater control over their lives.
Dr. Gabor Mate says, “we may not be responsible for the world that created our minds, but we can take responsibility for the mind with which we create our world.”
Using a variety of tools, activities, self-reflective and somatic (tuning into the body) practices, participants will learn to see themselves objectively with self-kindness and compassion and learn to move through life in greater alignment with their core values and beliefs. We will be building inner strength, kindness, many of us are better at being kind to others and when we learn to be kind to ourselves our capacity to be kind to all beings grows).
Understanding oneself allows the deepening of courage, tolerance, caring, balance, and patience in our inner world which is the foundation that allows the strengthening of these values and beliefs to ripple in our external world.
Outcomes:
• Develop Self trust
• More self-compassion
• Uncover blind spots
• Set healthy boundaries
• Reduce stress, anxiety, and anxiousness
• Connecting with one’s passion and purpose
• Identify one’s values
• Understand emotions and feelings and how to stay present with self and be comfortable with emotions and understand the relationship between one’s emotions, thoughts, values and behaviours
• Understand needs and how to have them met
• Participants will start to uncover all of their “parts” and their limiting core beliefs and move beyond shame, blame, and judgement and see where these stories and thoughts originated from with self-love and compassion
• Build self efficacy
• Understand the inner critic

Strengthening Self-Regulation through Self-Compassion
~ how to create more peace, patience, and less overwhelm
What is self-compassion? Why is it so foreign to so many? How can having self-compassion strengthen self-regulation? What are the blocks to self compassion and how does on incorporate self compassion into their day? These may be very familiar questions; we will address these and more in during our time together.
Participants will learn about the 3 pillars of mindfulness self-compassion as well as the 4 keys to self-compassion.
During our 5 hours together, we will look at the benefits of self-compassion as well as resistance to self-compassion. We will explore where these resistances may have originated from family, school,
childhood experiences to society as well as common misconceptions about self-compassion.
Outcomes:
• Explore thoughts, feelings, and internal dialogue around self-compassion
• We will look at the myths around self-compassion. We will explore what self-compassion is and what it is not as well as looking at some research on self-compassion
• Participants will learn what it means to “create space” for themselves, how to get curious about themselves with mindfulness, personal awareness, somatic awareness, and self-compassion.
• Participants will be encouraged to explore their inner world in this experimental workshop.