A Trauma Lens to Speech-Language Pathology Practice (Level 1)

A Trauma Lens to Speech-Language Pathology Practice (Level 1)

• Do you want to learn how trauma and attachment disruption are related to communication skills and development?

• Do you know what signs and symptoms of trauma look like in the children you see as clients?

• Do you want support on how to talk to families about trauma?

In this training you will learn foundational information about trauma, its impact, and the connection to speech, language, and communication skills and development. You will learn about trauma-informed care and how to apply it to speech-language pathology practice, as well as the application of trauma-responsive strategies. And in the last session, you’ll focus on how to talk to families about trauma, including typical scenarios you likely encounter and things you can say. Please note: the content has been developed within the context of practice within Canada, and there may be differences (e.g., with legislation and practice guidelines) if you practice elsewhere. You may still take the training, but please be aware of this.

Please plan for a small amount of time between sessions to do important work relevant to the course, including reflecting about clients/practice and exploring what mental health services are available for your clients, locally to them. Session recordings will be available for three months post live sessions, however we highly recommend planning to attend all four sessions live, to participate in discussions and practice activities. This training is not available to attend as a recorded-only option.

Location: Virtual on Zoom

Open to: Speech-language pathologists (also Speech and Language Assistants/Communicative Disorders Assistants, knowing there will be some discussion of assessment)

Schedule:

Feb 18, 2026 between 1:00-4:00 pm EST

Feb 25, 2026 between 1:00-4:00 pm EST

March 4, 2026 between 1:00-4:00 pm EST

March 11, 2026 between 1:00-4:00 pm EST

Cost: $395.00 CAD for full training (4 sessions)
Groups of 10+ receive a 15% discount. (Choose “group” ticket in Eventbrite.)

Learning Goals Sessions 1 & 2 – by the end of module 2 SLP Practitioners will be able to:

Learning Goals Session 1 – SLP Practitioners will leave Session 1 of this training:

• Define trauma and recall types of trauma.
• Describe trauma’s impact on brain architecture, child development, long-term health and wellbeing.
• Compare “learning brain” to “survival brain”.
• Describe attachment and its importance to healthy child development.
• Recognize the relevance of attachment concerns to work within early communication development.
• Contrast the different types of stress and recall how resilience is developed.
• State signs of potential trauma exposure and identify potential risk and protective factors in clients' lives.
• Explain the importance of trauma and attachment concerns as risk factors for communication impairment and vice versa.
• Identify key learnings from the literature on trauma and speech, language, and communication needs.
• Reflect on the relevance of a trauma lens to speech-language pathology practice.

Learning Goals Session 3 – by the end of module 3 SLP Practitioners will be able to:

• Outline the principles of trauma-informed care and reflect on applications to individual practice, programs, organizations, and systems.
• Recall the neurobiological underpinnings of trauma-informed care.
• Identify strategies and practices to increase a felt sense of safety for children and their caregivers in SLP practice.
• Discuss the application of P.A.C.E. to cases/practice scenarios.
• Recognize how behaviours that challenge may have once been adaptive responses to traumatic stress, requiring connection before correction.
• Reflect on themselves and their role within therapeutic interactions and relationships with families.

Learning Goals Session 4 – by the end of module 4 SLP Practitioners will be able to:

• Explain the importance and relevance of racism as trauma and cultural humility to SLP practice/work in early communication development.
• Identify key elements of brave and vulnerable conversations with families.
• Describe examples of appropriate responses to sensitive information shared by families.
• Recall recommended strategies for handling child protection concerns.
• Describe how a trauma-informed lens applies to various domains of speech-language pathology practice.
• Explain SLP practitioners’ scope of practice in working with children who have experienced trauma and attachment concerns.

The Institute will be running a Trauma Lens in Speech-Language Pathology Practice Level 2 Training in the future.

The Level 2 training will further support and deepen attendees’ understanding and application of trauma-responsive care in SLP practice, introduce universal trauma screening, further explore collaborative care with mental health professionals, and provide additional opportunities for discussion and clinical support through case-based consultation.

The dates for Level 2 have not yet been set - if you know that you would like to attend this training please add your name to the waitlist (that will help give us an idea of how soon we should schedule it!). Thank you so much for your interest!

Speakers: Fay McGill, and Rebecca Maiese

Fay McGill, MA, CCC-SLP, Reg. CASLPO

Clinical Development Lead Speech-Language Pathologist, George Hull Centre Institute of Childhood Trauma and Attachment

Fay McGill is a speech-language pathologist with extensive experience in children's communication development, having worked with children and their families in a wide variety of clinical settings for over 20 years. In addition to her role as Clinical Development Lead Speech-Language Pathologist at the Institute, Fay is an instructor with the Hanen Centre leading workshops for professionals and is an Assistant Clinical Professor (Part Time) within McMaster University’s speech-language pathology program. Fay is committed to collaborative practice and ongoing learning, and is passionate about coaching and teaching others.

Rebecca Maiese, MSW, RSW

Senior Social Worker, Consultant and Trainer, Institute of Childhood Trauma and Attachment

Rebecca has worked as a clinician in children’s mental health for over 20 years, specializing in working with young children and their families, as well as those impacted by attachment disruption and trauma. In 2023, she received GHC’s Libby Ridgely Award for Clinical Excellence, which recognizes clinical excellence and a commitment to innovation within the agency. She is passionate about collaborative practice and believes that it is integral to clinical best practice.

Training Sessions Recording Consent: All of our Zoom sessions are recorded in the cloud for training purposes. Please be aware that we only record the speaker view and breakout rooms will not be recorded. We require every participant to consent to recording in order to participate. The recording will be available only to registered participants of this course for a period of 3 months post training. **We highly recommend planning to attend all three sessions live to participate in discussions and breakout groups.** Please join the meeting with the same email address you registered with in order to have access to all Zoom features.

Questions and Support:

Please send any questions to Lucy Yazar at institutetraining@georgehull.on.ca and do not reply to the Eventbrite email since we may not receive the email in a timely manner. We will do our best to reply to emails within 2 business days.

Direct Registrations:

If you'd prefer to register without using Eventbrite (e.g., organizations registering staff), please email us at institutetraining@georgehull.on.ca

Refund Policy:

For our refund policy, please visit: https://georgehullcentre.ca/institute/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Institute-of-Childhood-Trauma-and-Attachment-Refund-Policy.pdf