Breakout session: “Trauma-Informed Mentorship”
Co-presented with Jordan Oatman Ratzlaff

In our roles as leaders, practitioners, educators, and social justice advocates, it is likely that many of us currently do or will find ourselves in the position of being a mentor. As we build relationships and connections with diverse individuals who place their trust in us, it is important to consider how our mentorship practices can remain trauma-informed to best serve the health and well-being of our mentees. In this presentation, we will collectively build a definition of trauma, and explore how trauma manifests in the day-to-day life. We will look at some frameworks of trauma-informed approach developed by SAMSHA (2014), including the Four Rs of Trauma and the Six Key Principles. We will explore these assumptions and principles as they were developed, and then situate them within the context of mentorship. In small groups, participants will process together what the framework of trauma-informed mentorship means in their current/future role(s), and share practical ways they can begin infusing a trauma-informed lens in their work and mentor relationships.