Arabella Perez's Sessions

Feature Session - Why Trauma Matters
10:30 am 

Trauma is pervasive among youth and families, especially those involved in public systems. Professionals who are trying to “help” are often unaware of the traumas that youth and families have experienced often because society does not look at behaviors through a trauma lens. It is this lack of awareness that can result in poor outcomes and the likelihood of re-traumatizing families. Arabella will discuss the shift to become a trauma-informed system of care which focuses on cross system collaboration, training, education, and meaningful family and youth involvement.

Breakout Session - Creating a Trauma Informed System: Practice and System Level Strategies
1:15 pm, repeats at 2:30 pm

The Thrive Initiative has created a Trauma Informed System of Care in Maine in response to findings that childhood trauma strongly impacts the lives of youth and their families, especially those with mental health, behavioral and emotional challenges. You will learn how to apply trauma theory to your service system creating trauma informed practice and system level strategies, how to create an initial work plan for implementing the principles in your organization/practice and more. You will leave the session with steps to consider for agency or individual trauma informed changes, and a basic understanding of how to engage your community in a meaningful assessment of progress towards trauma-informed systems change.