Trauma-Informed Advocacy
The ICCA Trauma-Informed Advocacy Course
We are proud to launch our new ‘Trauma-informed Advocacy’ online course.
This new course is for barristers working across all justice systems and is free to access.
The course aims to help barristers avoid causing further trauma to those people who have already experienced a traumatic event or series of events, and who then have to navigate their way through what can be a rigid system of justice.
The training is endorsed by the Attorney General and by Lord justice Edis.
Within the material, there are modules dealing with:
* adverse childhood experiences
* the impact of trauma on the brain and the body
* the impact on memory and recall.
There are strategies to help understand and manage secondary and vicarious trauma. Barristers are used to dealing with difficult subject matter, but it is important to recognise that it has a significant impact on their wellbeing. The course provides practical strategies to help manage the impact.
We believe this course is ground breaking in its approach to protecting barristers and those with whom they work in the justice system. We very much hope it will make a real difference to people’s experiences of the courts and to the lives and wellbeing of practising barristers.
Find out more and access the course on our Trauma-Informed Advocacy page.
Development of the Trauma-Informed Advocacy Course
Lynda Gibbs KC (Hon), Dean of the ICCA, felt strongly that a trauma-informed approach to advocacy was the logical next step in the development of materials for barristers who have had to adjust their approach to ‘advocacy for vulnerable people and children’ since 2015. We know that the ICCA coure has had a significant impact and changed things for the better.
More recently the ICCA developed comprehensive resources to improve outcomes for children in the criminal justice system by creating Advocacy for Children in Conflict with the Law.
This new Trauma-informed Advocacy course brings together all that prior learning and embraces research carried out by trauma experts over a quarter of a century.
Lynda worked exclusively with Kama Melly KC, who has prosecuted many grooming trials involving traumatised young women who have found themselves struggling with the demands of a rigid justice system, and with Wendy Showell-Nicholas an experienced psychologist and well-being champion for the Bar.
They brought together their combined knowledge and experience and developed what they hope will be a valuable resource and platform for learning that will promote the overriding objective of the justice system, avoid causing further trauma and help to protect advocates by adopting sel-care strategies, and a strong awareness of the impact of trauma upon advocates and upon those who are involved in the justice systems.
