Trauma Informed Conversations

Hosted by the team behind Trauma Informed Consultancy Services , led by Jessica Parker, Director at TICS. This podcast explores how trauma-informed principles can transform the way we live, work, lead, and support others. Each episode dives into real-world conversations with experts, educators, and practitioners who are driving positive change through compassion, understanding, and awareness. Whether you’re a leader, educator, clinician, or simply someone who wants to build safer and more supportive environments, Trauma Informed Conversations offers practical insights, reflective dialogue, and inspiring stories to help you embed trauma-informed approaches in every aspect of life and work. Join us as we create space for empathy, learning, and meaningful connection — one conversation at a time.

Trauma Informed Conversations is a health podcast hosted by Jessica Parker, with 23 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Jessica Parker hosts Trauma Informed Conversations, a health show with 23 episodes published.

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  Episode #24

  The Power of Wonder: Moving Beyond Curiosity to Rethink Connection, Belonging, and Trauma-Informed Practice with Elle Snookes

  Sep 30, 202650 minS1

  In this episode of Trauma Informed Conversations , host Jessica Parker is joined by Elle Snookes to explore the transformative power of wonder - a gentler, deeper, and more spacious approach to working with children, young people, and each other. Together, they unpack how slowing down to "wonder" serves as a crucial protective factor against quick assumptions, institutional burnout, and reputational fatigue. Drawing on lived experience, relational practice, and personal vulnerability, Elle shares how asking different questions can break down barriers and fundamentally alter a young person's trajectory. Key Highlights & Takeaways: The Difference Between Curiosity and Wonder: Why standard curiosity can sometimes feel like an assessment or interrogation, whereas wonder gifts us time, presence, and non-judgmental space to understand what sits behind observable behaviour. Trauma-Informed as an Identity, Not a Lanyard: Moving away from tick-box compliance and two-hour online courses to embrace a whole-person philosophy that applies equal care to colleagues, clients, and ourselves. "Be More Pirate" & Challenging Deficit Narratives: Refusing to be a passive bystander when young people are labelled as "vile" or "disengaged," and using warm, constructive challenge to disrupt institutional preconceptions. Finding the "Seam of Gold": How community initiatives, unhurried presence, and psychological safety give young people - often disconnected, dissociated, or isolated - a space to build genuine self-worth and pride. Attendance, Dissociation & The Isolation Pandemic: Examining the root causes of school avoidance and community disconnection, from digital safety nets to unresolved intergenerational trauma. Protecting the Capacity to Wonder: Practical insights for leaders and frontline practitioners to manage their own energy, regulate their nervous systems on difficult days, and foster learning environments over punitive ones. About the Guest: Elle Snookes is a dedicated advocate for trauma-informed practice, bringing over 30 years of experience working alongside vulnerable children, young people, and families across youth justice, children's services, education, and community settings. She is the Director of Yellow Brick Road Projects , a Hampshire-based charity committed to helping young people find their "seam of gold" through relational support and community connection. Elle is also a postgraduate researcher currently undertaking a Master's degree focused on "Be More Pirate" - using constructive disruption and good trouble to drive positive systemic change. As an independent consultant and trainer, she works across sectors (including youth engagement officers in the Royal Navy and Marines) to embed trauma-informed principles into everyday practice, drawing deeply on her own neurodivergence, childhood lived experience, and passion for human connection. Join us for a rich, hopeful, and deeply human discussion on refusing to let today define a child's tomorrow. Send us Fan Mail Subscribe to Trauma Informed Conversations for more honest discussions about trauma, recovery, and building systems rooted in care and humanity.

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  Episode #23

  Attendance Beyond the Stats: Rethinking Inclusion, Connection, and Belonging with Beth Gibson MBE

  Sep 15, 20261h 8mS1

  In this episode, host Jessica Parker is joined by Beth Gibson MBE , Head of Attendance and Inclusive Pathways at Birmingham City Council and former mainstream secondary leader. Together, they dive into why school attendance must be understood as a form of communication - reflecting safety, relationships, and belonging - rather than just a percentage or compliance metric to be managed. Jessica and Beth explore: Data as a Signal, Not the Story: How rich attendance data can automate workload and serve as a curiosity hook, helping educators ask the right questions at the right time rather than obscuring the human child behind the numbers. Redefining Inclusive Pathways: Unpicking complex attendance challenges like EBSNA (Emotional Based School Avoidance/Non-Attendance) layer by layer, and recognising that inclusion applies to every learner - from children navigating friendship shifts to those communicating distress through behaviour. Combating Isolation & Restoring Joy: The cumulative impact of shrinking social spaces, reduced extracurricular access, and child loneliness, alongside practical ways schools can introduce play, options, and felt safety during unstructured social times. Building Authentic Home-School Partnerships: How schools can lower parental anxiety, remove shame and blame from attendance communications, and foster open, honest collaboration focused on the shared goal of a thriving child. Accountability, Leadership & Culture: Balancing trauma-informed compassion with a child's right to education, and embedding attendance as a shared, whole-school responsibility across every tier of senior leadership and staff. About Beth Gibson MBE Beth Gibson MBE has spent nearly 20 years working in mainstream secondary education, spending over a decade leading pastorally on attendance, inclusion, and belonging. Her background includes working with the Department for Education (DfE) on attendance data systems and supporting school teams across the country. Currently, Beth heads up Attendance and Inclusive Pathways for Birmingham City Council - the largest local authority in Europe - where she works on a macro scale to develop inclusive practice, strengthen multi-agency approaches, and champion trauma-informed, child-centred education. Send us Fan Mail Subscribe to Trauma Informed Conversations for more honest discussions about trauma, recovery, and building systems rooted in care and humanity.

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  Episode #20

  Nature, Belonging, and Regulation with Cat Jolleys

  Aug 5, 202657 minS1

  In this episode of Trauma Informed Conversations , host Jessica Parker is joined by TICS Associate Cat Jolleys . Drawing on her 24-year background as a primary school deputy head and SENCo, as well as her current work as a forest school leader and nature practitioner, Cat explores the deep connection between the natural environment and nervous system regulation. Starting with John Muir’s famous quote "We are now in the mountains and they are in us" - Jess and Cat discuss how stepping outside shifts us from "what is wrong with you" to an environment of low demand, safety, and sensory restoration. From neuroplasticity and tree climbing to mindfulness around a campfire, this conversation highlights how nature serves as a powerful co-regulator for care-experienced young people, neurodivergent children, and exhausted adults alike. Key Takeaways The Neurobiology of Outdoors: How natural environments reduce sensory and cognitive overload, allowing children - especially those with additional needs - to regulate faster and stay regulated for longer. Safety in the Woods: Understanding how ancestral instincts influence our need for safety, such as leaning against a tree to guard our backs or creating "dens" to feel cocooned. Attention Restoration Theory: Why just 15 to 20 minutes of scanning nature, feeling sunlight, or hearing bird song can clear cognitive capacity and restore an overwhelmed nervous system. Healing for Parents and Carers: The role of "Nature Well" sessions in offering trauma-informed space for parents of SEND children - giving them permission to rest, be restored, and leave home pressures behind. Practical Inclusivity: How urban schools, social workers, and office workers without direct access to forests can bring nature into daily practice through houseplants, sunlight, and small noticing walks. Guest Cat Jolleys is a TICS Associate, qualified Forest School Leader, and Nature Health and Wellbeing Practitioner based in Greater Manchester. Following a nearly 24-year career in primary education as a Deputy Headteacher and SENCo, Cat pivoted her work toward nature-based wellbeing. She specialises in facilitating child-led outdoor learning, supporting care-experienced and neurodivergent young people, and delivering nature wellbeing sessions that foster relaxation, restoration, and revitalisation. Send us Fan Mail Subscribe to Trauma Informed Conversations for more honest discussions about trauma, recovery, and building systems rooted in care and humanity.

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  Episode #19

  Public Health, Prevention, and VR: Shifting Violence from Bad Behaviour to Trauma Responses with Misty Carey

  Jul 21, 202652 minS1

  In this episode, host Jessica is joined by Misty Carey from Tide Education all the way over in Perth, Australia. Misty is a nurse of 30 years who is currently studying a social work masters, bringing a unique lens to the social determinants of health and trauma-informed care. Together, they explore a fascinating question: What if we approached our first childhood experiences in the same way we approach infectious diseases? Misty unpacks the science behind adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and explains how we can shift our perspective from seeing aggression or dysregulation as "bad behaviour" to understanding it as a survival response from a stressed nervous system. Join us as we discuss: The Power of Early Prevention: Viewing childhood adversity through a public health lens to prevent downstream violence and health issues. Creating "Off-Ramps": Practical tools and baseline strategies to support individuals who are escalating in high-stress environments like hospitals or youth detention. Systemic and Community Support: Moving away from a culture of blame to wrap our arms around vulnerable families and children. Innovation through VR: How Tide Education is using cutting-edge virtual reality and AI to safely train professionals in empathetic de-escalation and co-regulation. About the Guest Misty Carey is a dedicated healthcare professional with 30 years of nursing experience, currently expanding her expertise by pursuing a Master’s in Social Work. Based in Perth, Australia, she is the founder of Tide Education , where she merges her extensive clinical background with a deep interest in the social determinants of health and human behaviour. Driven by both professional insight and personal lived experience, Misty is a passionate advocate for trauma-informed care and public health approaches to childhood adversity. Through Tide Education, she pioneers innovative training methods - including the use of cutting-edge virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence - to help professionals across healthcare, justice, and community sectors recognise nervous system dysregulation, provide safety, and master the art of empathetic de-escalation. Send us Fan Mail Subscribe to Trauma Informed Conversations for more honest discussions about trauma, recovery, and building systems rooted in care and humanity.

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  Episode #18

  Validation, Expression, and Storytelling: Shifting Emotional Literacy from Control to Connection with Sharon Paterson

  Jul 7, 202652 minS1

  How can parents, educators, and professionals support children in navigating their complex internal worlds and developing true emotional literacy? Far too often, emotional literacy gets confused with emotional control—praising children simply for being calm rather than teaching them how to safely feel, process, and express their big emotions. In this episode of Trauma Informed Conversations , we sit down with author, illustrator, and children's services veteran Sharon Paterson. Drawing from her 15 years of experience working across secure welfare units, residential homes, and area referral offices, Sharon shares how noticing patterns of unaddressed trauma, neurodiversity, and grief led her to write gentle, non-clinical resources to help children feel safe, held, and validated. Together, we explore: The Somatic Connection: Helping children look beyond just naming emotions to understand the physical and somatic cues—like a tight tummy or a pounding heart—that their bodies are giving them. High-Status Modeling: Why it is a strength, not a weakness, for adults to model vulnerability, own their mistakes, and offer authentic apologies to children. The Digital Disconnection: How today’s selectively curated and constantly connected social media landscape amplifies youth anxiety, distorts reality, and deepens feelings of isolation. The Power of Bibliotherapy: Using her Bunny and B book series—including Astrin (for bereavement), Tufty (for bullying), and Pitt (for ADHD)—as beautiful co-regulation tools that validate a child's uniqueness. By shifting our lens from judging a child's behavior to being curious about their experiences, we can offer the holistic approach they truly need. Tune in to discover practical insights on building strong emotional foundations and reminding the children in your life that they are always enough. About the Guest: Sharon Paterson is an author, illustrator, and dedicated advocate for children's emotional wellbeing. Sharon brings an exceptional depth of knowledge to our conversation, backed by nearly 15 years of hands-on experience working within Children’s Services. Her career has spanned critical sectors of youth care, including working in secure welfare units, residential children’s homes, and managing referrals for secure placements. Throughout her career, Sharon noticed a stark, repeating pattern: a devastatingly high number of young people entering secure care had suffered the unaddressed loss of a primary caregiver or sibling. Driven by these professional insights, her own lived experience as a neurodiverse individual, and her journey supporting her neurodiverse grandson through emotional meltdowns, she realized that children's feelings simply weren't being validated enough. This sparked the creation of Bunny and B - a gorgeous catalog of non-clinical bibliotherapy books designed to give children the vocabulary to understand and own their feelings. Links & Resources Pip and her Heart Pebble Asterin and the Memory Stone Tufty gets her Guardian Wings Send us Fan Mail Subscribe to Trauma Informed Conversations for more honest discussions about trauma, recovery, and building systems rooted in care and humanity.

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