Trauma-informed approach by Mieke Gielen

Workshop description 'Circus - a safe(r) space for danger'

Content & format

Trauma-informed approach means that you always take into account in your work everyone can have profound experiences, which can cause their stress system to be confused.

This starts with an attitude: from “what’s wrong with you?” to “what happened to you?” So they can feel safe with you if you treat them in a calm, trusting and respectful manner.

The workshop is interesting for everyone working with people (artists, teachers, coordinators, …).

Learning outcomes

• Understanding what trauma means.
• How trauma confuses stress responses.
• How to deal with trauma triggered stress responses in a supportive way.

Presentation

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About the speaker

For someone who is regularly catapulted into the air during acro sessions, Mieke Gielen is wonderfully down-to-earth. She co-leads the pedagogical coordination of Ell Circo D'ell Fuego (ECDF), teaches all ages and levels and is involved in the development of TaRMaK. TaRMaK circus program aims to empower children and teens facing intrafamily violence. Within this project, we came in contact with "trauma-sensitive working" through the child psychologists of the Family Justice Center (Veilig huis) Antwerp. The workshop is further developed by ECDF specifically for the circus sector.