This trauma and recovery course aims to provide education about the impact of trauma for anyone with personal experience or an interest in this area. This course is not intended to replace trauma informed care, trauma therapy or trauma informed peer support, but it can be used to support these approaches.


The intention of this course is to make information about trauma available in an online learning format so that everyone can benefit from a greater understanding of the impact of trauma, with the hope that this understanding will form part of their recovery, or help with someone else’s.

This course is divided into the following sections:

  1. Dealing with the Personal Impact of a Major IncidentThis section is aimed at anyone who has been affected by a major incident or knows someone who has, either personally or professionally. It considers the personal impact of a major incident and explores what can help.
  2. Supporting Children after a Major IncidentThis section is aimed at adults supporting children in either a personal or professional capacity. For example, this could be family, carers, school or health service staff. It considers how a major incident can affect children and what you can do to support them. It also explores understanding why it is sometimes necessary to seek more help and when to do so.
  3. Children: Dealing with the Impact of a Major Incident: This section has age appropriate information which a child could read through by themselves or ideally with an adult. The section uses a story format to explore some of the issues that children exposed to a major incident experience. This is in addition to the main content that provides more factual information and includes some activities aimed at helping children express their thoughts and feelings.
  4. Young People: Dealing with the Impact of a Major Incident: This section has information specific to this age group about the personal impact of a major incident, what can help, and why it may be necessary to seek more help sometimes.
  5. Incident PreparednessThis section is aimed at professionals and organisations, identifying key aspects about how to plan and prepare prior to a major incident. It also aims to promote the resilience of survivors and responders directly or indirectly exposed to such incidents.
  6. Community or Service Level Responses to TraumaThis section provides a model identifying the priority tasks that need to be addressed following a major incident and also considers the impact and effectiveness for staff and survivors of various management styles.
  7. Interviews with People who have Experienced a Major IncidentThis section has a collection of personal accounts with people who have experienced a major incident. Reading other people’s reflections while sometimes difficult, can deepen an individuals understanding of their own thoughts, feelings and behaviours and in this way may aid recovery.

This course provides an overview of trauma and how the care that is offered should be shaped by this. It is aimed at those living with mental health problems and those who live with or look after them, members of the public and staff.