Nicholas Cao
Clinical lead
Event has ended
Overview
Join us for the second in a series of workshops from Te Pou, Le Va, and Whāraurau. These workshops are aimed at kaimahi, leaders, and educators across the mental health and addiction sector.
Workshop 2 explores Pacific perspectives and lived experience across two sessions:
Session one: Honouring story, restoring spirit | Understanding Pacific approaches to trauma-informed practice
Presenters: Nicholas Cao (Le Va) and Siosinita Alofi (Whāraurau).
This session introduces a pan-Pacific and culturally grounded perspective on trauma-informed, healing-centred care for the mental health and addiction workforce.
Session two: Understanding trauma through lived experience | How systems can shape experience
Presenters: Tai Bennett (Whāraurau), Amanada Bradley (Te Pou), and Caro Swanson (Te Pou).
This session brings a lived experience approach to the discussion of trauma-informed care, inviting participants to reflect on the way systems can both support and harm young people.
Following the presentation, the speakers will be joined by Romy Lee (Asian Family Services) and Kerri Butler (Take Notice & Te Pou) for a panel discussion.
Note: Registrations for this event are managed by Whāraurau. By selecting ‘Register Now’, you will be redirected to the Whāraurau website where you will be able to register for the workshop.
Learning outcomes
- Enhance understanding of Indigenous Pacific conceptualisations of trauma.
- Increase knowledge of protective factors for Pacific peoples that buffer against the impact of trauma.
- Build confidence in applying healing-centred principles when working with Pacific peoples.
- Understand how young people with trauma experience systems, and how inconsistency and service boundaries can unintentionally increase distress.
- Recognise the subtle ways language, labels and everyday interactions affect safety, dignity and agency.
- Learn to interrupt harm by fostering consistency, transparency and relational trust across services.
Speakers
