Name: Trauma-Informed Mediation Training Series
Start: 2025-01-08T09:30:00+00:00
Location: Mediation House, 83 University Street, BT7 1HP Belfast, United Kingdom

Trauma-Informed Mediation Training Series

3-day in-person course with Sara Cook
Wednesday 8th January 9.30am - 4.30pm
Wednesday 5th February 9.30am - 4.30pm
Wednesday 5th March 9.30am - 4.30pm
Cost: £875pp
Training Overview
This training series is designed to help mediators better understand stress and trauma reactions and how these can be better managed within mediation processes, with the aim to strengthen mediation practices with parties who have experienced significant adversity. The training will be offered over three day-long sessions, with each day focusing on a different component: 1) basic psychoeducation about stress and trauma, 2) biologically-based wellbeing techniques, and 3) trauma-informed mediation.
Day One—Stress and Trauma Awareness
The psychoeducation component of the training provides basic learning about stress and trauma, focusing on the common physical, emotional and mental reactions to stressful experiences. Mediators and negotiators are rarely trained to recognise and understand trauma, despite the fact that we support individuals and communities affected by adversity as a fundamental part of our work. This training day will allow mediators to become familiar with the biology behind stress and trauma reactions, as well as how to recognise these reactions when they emerge during mediation processes. The training will also examine secondary trauma, allowing mediators to better understand the personal impact of working with parties experiencing conflict and how to minimise the likelihood of this secondary trauma or “compassion fatigue.”
Day Two—Wellbeing and Resilience Tools
The resilience and wellbeing component of the training will build on Day One by introducing six biologically-based self-regulation techniques that can be used to better cope with stress or trauma responses. These skills can be used in the moment, working with the nervous system to bring the body back into balance and to help regain a sense of control in the midst of overwhelming experiences. For this reason, Day Two will be particularly helpful for mediators, providing practical tools for supporting parties experiencing stress responses “at the table,” while also allowing mediators to better support their own wellbeing during intense mediation processes.
Day Three—Trauma-Informed Mediation
Day Three will build on the previous two days of training to allow participants to develop a deeper knowledge of trauma-informed mediation practices. This component of the training will be particularly interactive as mediators work together to explore how trauma-informed principles can be applied to their mediation work to strengthen efficacy with parties who come to the table with significant experiences of trauma and adversity.
Sara Cook
Sara Cook is the director of Cook Consultancy and is a conflict response specialist who has extensive experience working with people impacted by conflict in Northern Ireland and internationally. For the past 25 years, Sara has focused on designing and implementing methodologies to address conflict-related trauma in Northern Ireland and provides local and international training and facilitation across dialogue, mediation, trauma-informed practice, resiliency and other themes related to the impact on communities affected by adversity.
Much of Sara’s work focuses on the impact of peacebuilding and humanitarian work on practitioners, providing training and support to recognise the impact of secondary trauma and support greater resiliency amongst practitioners. This work includes the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, and Sara has recently published research into trauma and resiliency factors experienced by women mediators and peacebuilders internationally. She was a lecturer and field director for the Conflict Transformation Certificate Program at St. Mary’s University in Texas and is a member of the steering committee of Women Mediators Across the Commonwealth.
Sara has provided training and support to groups in over 50 countries. In recent years, her practice has focused on supporting humanitarian workers, peacebuilders and mediators in fragile and highly impacted contexts, including Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan and Myanmar. Sara is a strong supporter of localised peacebuilding and humanitarian/development work, so is committed to supporting and strengthening the work of practitioners working in communities globally.