Trauma Informed Support Training
Online NDIS Training for Disability Support Workers
- Disability Support
Course overview
Trauma is more common than many of us realise, and for people with disability the experiences that can lead to it, medical, institutional and systemic, are more common still. Trauma is a lived experience, not a diagnosis, and how it shows up is different for everyone.
etrainu’s Trauma-Informed Support course helps disability support workers understand trauma and respond to it well, within the boundaries of their role. Across three connected modules it moves from recognising what trauma is and how it surfaces in everyday support, through communicating and responding in ways that help a person feel safe, to looking after your own wellbeing when the work affects you.
The course builds awareness rather than clinical skill, it does not qualify anyone to provide counselling or therapy. Using video, real support scenarios, interactive activities and knowledge checks to keep the learning practical and grounded in day-to-day practice.
What you'll learn
By the end of this course, the learner will be able to:
- Understand what trauma is and the different forms it takes
- Recognise why people with disability are more likely to experience trauma
- Spot how trauma shows up in everyday support and read behaviour as communication
- Communicate in a trauma-informed way, using safety, trust, choice, collaboration and empowerment
- Respond to distress without adding to it or re-traumatising someone
- Know the limits of your role and when to escalate and report
- Recognise vicarious trauma in yourself and use self-care, grounding and boundaries to stay well
- Know where to get support and how to check in on a colleague
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Course structure
A three module course helping disability support workers understand trauma and respond to it well, within the boundaries of their role:
- Understanding Trauma
- Responding to Trauma
- Vicarious Trauma Awareness and Self-Care
More information about this course
- What trauma is, and what it isn’t
- Acute, complex and developmental trauma
- Common causes of trauma for people with disability
- Behaviour as communication, and the fight, flight, freeze and fawn responses
- Diagnostic overshadowing
- Trauma-informed communication (safety, trust, choice, collaboration, empowerment)
- Responding to reduce distress and avoid re-traumatisation
- The scope of your role, escalation and reporting
- Vicarious trauma and its early signs
- Risk and protective factors, and compassion satisfaction
- Self-care, grounding, boundaries and supporting colleagues
NDIS Practice Standards
Core Module:
- 1. Rights and Responsibilities for Participants
Quality Indicators:
- 1.1 Person-centred supports
- 1.3 Privacy and dignity
- 1.5 Violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation and discrimination
NDIS Workforce Capability Framework Workforce Objectives:
- 1. Our Relationship
- 2. Your Impact
- 4. Be Present
Core Capabilities:
- 1.1 Uphold my rights
- 1.2 Communicate effectively
- 2.2 Work within your capabilities
- 2.3 Look after yourself
- 4.2 Manage health and safety
- Disability support workers, new and experienced
- Anyone doing support work in the disability sector
- Workers supporting people who may have experienced trauma
- Teams wanting a shared, trauma-informed approach to everyday support
- Format: Online eLearning, self-paced
- Devices: Desktop, tablet, and mobile
- Assessment: Knowledge check
- Certificate: Issued on successful completion
Does this course qualify a worker to provide trauma counselling or therapy? No. It builds awareness, not clinical skill. It helps support workers understand trauma and respond safely within their role, and it is explicit that the role does not include therapy, investigation, or keeping disclosures secret.
What is diagnostic overshadowing? It is when trauma responses such as fight, flight, freeze, or fawn are mistaken for a person's disability. The course teaches workers to read behaviour as communication so they do not miss what a person is actually expressing.
Does the course cover the worker's own wellbeing? Yes. Module 3 covers vicarious trauma, framed as a work health issue rather than a weakness. It helps workers notice early signs, understand risk and protective factors, use self-care, grounding, and boundaries, and know where to get support and how to check in on a colleague.
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