Trauma Essentials (level 1)  

A skills-based retreat for clinicians working with trauma

Trauma Essentials (Level 1)

​Trauma Essentials is a clinically grounded, introductory educational retreat designed for experienced health professionals who encounter trauma in their day-to-day work but have had limited formal training in trauma theory or trauma-informed practice.

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This program provides a clear, structured foundation in understanding trauma—what it is, how it presents, and how to respond safely and ethically within your professional scope. Whether your role involves assessment, psychoeducation, referral, or treatment, Trauma Essentials builds the knowledge and confidence required to work with trauma-exposed individuals without overstepping, oversimplifying, or avoiding the work altogether.

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This is not a retreat about “becoming a trauma therapist.”  It is about learning to recognise trauma, understand its impact, and respond well.

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Why Trauma Essentials?

Trauma is pervasive across healthcare settings. It presents in medical consultations, mental health care, disability services, community practice, and acute environments—often without being named. When trauma is misunderstood or missed, it can lead to misdiagnosis, treatment resistance and failure, clinician frustration, and harm to both patients and practitioners.

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Many clinicians (whether GPs, emergency staff or psychologists) report feeling underprepared: unsure what is within scope, what is helpful, and when to treat, educate, contain, or refer.  Trauma Essentials addresses this gap.  The program is built on the premise that trauma-informed care is a shared responsibility across health professions, and that good trauma care begins with accurate understanding and recognition, ethical boundaries, and clear clinical decision-making.

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What This Retreat Offers

Trauma Essentials combines structured education in mental health and trauma within a reflective, restorative retreat to support learning that is both intellectually rigorous and personally sustainable.  It offers time to step away from learning with your peers to reflect together, integrate and form a lasting professional network to support each other beyond the training.

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Key elements include:

• A clear, accessible introduction to trauma theory and neurobiology

• Understanding common trauma presentations across physical and mental health contexts

• What trauma looks like across the lifespan

• Differentiating trauma responses from other clinical presentations

• Guidance on assessment, psychoeducation, and safe clinical responses

• Clear discussion of scope of practice, boundaries, and referral pathways

• Separate breakout streams to address profession-specific needs

• Opportunities to reflect on how trauma shows up in your own work setting - and how this affects you

• Reflection on your own background, culture and upbringing may come to play with other people's trauma stories

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The emphasis throughout is on clarity, safety, and practical application—not overwhelm or overreach.

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Learning Across Professional Contexts

Trauma Essentials is intentionally designed for a mixed professional group to ensure that participants learn from each other about the scope of each profession when it comes to trauma and how to best work together as a team for patient-centred care. At key points, participants will separate into profession-relevant streams to focus on application within their scope of practice.

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For example:

• Medical and allied health professionals may focus on recognising trauma, responding sensitively, providing psychoeducation, and making appropriate referrals.

• Psychologists and mental health clinicians may focus on foundational formulation, stabilisation principles, and preparing for further trauma training or supervised practice.

This ensures learning is relevant, ethical, and immediately applicable—regardless of role. Whilst you're not learning from Alice, join Joel for a cheese tasting or learn about the region's food. Then re-join your peers to integrate both sets of learning in a treatment plan and case discussion.

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Why Starling Health Collective?

Trauma Essentials is designed and facilitated by a clinical psychologist with expertise in trauma, mental health, and systems-based care. Dr Alice Morgan is a clinical psychologist with a Master of Public Health, who brings over 20 years’ experience working across public hospitals and medical teams, community settings, psychiatric hospitals, refugee services, Doctors without Borders, WHO consultancy and private practice.  She understands the realities clinicians face when trauma does not exist in a silo but rather intersects across medical and clinical teams faced with limited time and resources to respond effectively.  Her honours research focused on secondary traumatic stress in hospital staff and first responders, and she has prioritised staff support as an integral part of her role throughout her career.  Starling Health Collective can provide a unique balance of client-facing knowledge and clinician-focused reflection on their own experiences.

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Unlike many introductory trauma offerings, this program is grounded in:

• Evidence-based trauma frameworks

• Real-world clinical decision-making through MDT workshops and case discussions

• A strong public health and systems lens

• Respect for professional boundaries, regulatory expectations and scope of practice

• A focus on recognising and responding to your own vicarious trauma or compassion-fatigue

• Space within a beautiful, restorative setting to integrate your learning and reset the dial.

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The retreat environment is curated with the same care as the educational content, drawing on expertise in food, wine, and hospitality to support learning, connection, and nervous system regulation. Our serene locations are chosen for their ability to offer experiences in nature and connection to others through exquisite food and cultural experiences.

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Meals and experiences have been put together to ensure that you return home feeling cared for, spoilt and restored.  These meal times feel generous and soothing - they become spaces to connect with peers and have deep conversations whilst your senses are engaged by the surroundings.  You'll get a true feel for the region and why we love it so much, and even potentially gain some food, wine or cheese knowledge!

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Education, Standards and Accreditation

Trauma Essentials is designed to meet professional education and ethical standards, with formal accreditation details to be confirmed.

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Continuing Medical Education (CME)
This retreat is structured to meet CME requirements and will be registered on MyCME. Learning activities will support:

• Educational Activities - at least 16 hours of formal educational content (see key learnings and objectives)

• Reviewing Performance - structured reflective practice examining clinicians’ responses to trauma presentations; facilitated peer discussion of complex clinical scenarios; examination of therapeutic processes that support or hinder trauma recovery; consideration of personal clinical patterns or behavioural patterns when responding to trauma; ethical and professional behaviour in trauma-informed care; cultural safety and trauma.

• Measuring Outcomes:  Identification of practice changes required to improve trauma-informed care; reflection on indicators of effective trauma treatment; development of strategies to monitor client responses to trauma interventions.  Ongoing supervision groups allow for continued monitoring of practice change, reflection on cases and ongoing reflection around own needs.

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Psychology Board of Australia/AHPRA

The Trauma Essentials Retreat is designed to support psychologists to maintain and develop competencies consistent with the professional standards outlined by the Australian Psychological Society, the APS Code of Ethics, and registration requirements of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

• The program strengthens psychologists’ capacity to provide safe and effective psychological services within their scope of practice through enhanced understanding of trauma presentations, formulation, and evidence-informed intervention approaches.

• Content encourages culturally reflective practice by exploring how culture, identity, and social context influence trauma experiences and recovery, and by supporting clinicians to reflect on their own assumptions and positioning within therapeutic relationships.

• The retreat also addresses psychologists’ role within multidisciplinary systems of care, supporting effective collaboration with families, schools, health services, and other professionals involved in client support.

• Participants further develop competencies in the assessment and treatment of trauma-related presentations across the lifespan, with attention to developmental considerations in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

• The program recognises the importance of practitioner wellbeing in maintaining ethical and competent practice, supporting psychologists to recognise and manage the impact of vicarious trauma and to develop sustainable approaches to long-term trauma-informed clinical work.

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We​​ provide up to 20 hours of formal CPD (through workshops and mindfulness) and up to 12 hours of reflective practice and facilitated discussion throughout our additional activities.  

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Sample Program - Full Program available now on the Events page

Indicative elements include:

• Foundational trauma theory and neurobiology

• Recognising trauma presentations in clinical settings

• Trauma across the lifespan

• Assessment, psychoeducation, and referral decision-making

• Profession-specific breakout sessions (e.g. assess and refer vs stabilise and treat)

• Case discussion and applied reflection

• Structured integration sessions

• Time for rest, reflection, and optional wellness activities

• Curated shared meals and informal facilitated connection

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The program balances structured learning with sufficient space for integration and recovery.

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Supervision and Integration Package - Community of Practice

Starling Health Collective offers a 6-month program of clinical and peer group supervision as part of its regular package of care.  Once a month for 60-90min, reconnect online with retreat friends and colleagues to consolidate your learning, discuss relevant practice issues and clinical examples that have challenged your boundaries or ability to regulate, and work through these issues in real time. 

Evidence demonstrates that as little as 7% of workshop content is retained per day without a follow up session.  This supervision and integration package will solidify your investment and allow you to have a true collective of knowledgeable peers to come back to who feel like old friends.   ​​​

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We offer an "Early Starling" Discount for participants who pay for this package at the time of booking your retreat.

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FAQs

Who Is This Retreat Is For?

Trauma Essentials is suited to health professionals - Medical Doctors, Psychologists, Social Workers, Mental Health Clinicians, Dentists, Nurses and other Allied Health Clinicians who:

• Encounter trauma in their work but lack formal training

• Want a clear, ethical, and evidence-based foundation for trauma knowledge and treatment

• Are unsure how trauma fits within their scope of practice

• Wish to improve confidence in assessment, communication, and referral for trauma patients

• Are considering further trauma training in the future and want to build their knowledge in a step-by-step manner, guided by experts and supported by a Community of Practice. 

• Want a high quality, evidence-based course that also allows time to digest complex information through conversation and restorative breaks.

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Do I need Prior Trauma Training?

No prior trauma training is required, however we expect that experienced clinicians will have an understanding of how trauma presents in their work.

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Are these wellness retreats?

No. Starling retreats are structured, evidence-based clinical training programs designed for qualified health professionals. Each retreat includes formal teaching sessions aligned with CPD requirements, followed by curated cultural and restorative experiences.

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Do the retreats count as CPD?

Yes. Our programs are designed to meet CPD requirements for medical and allied health professionals, with structured learning outcomes and documented hours.

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