Supporting Participants with PTSD

Course Overview

This course provides a specialized, trauma-informed framework for support workers assisting participants living with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It focuses on the customization of daily support to create a sense of psychological and physical safety, ensuring that interventions are predictable, respectful, and aligned with NDIS psychosocial support standards.

Participants will learn to move beyond recognizing symptoms to mastering the practical “grounding” and de-escalation techniques necessary to support an individual through flashbacks, hypervigilance, and emotional dysregulation.

What You’ll Learn

• Define PTSD and understand how traumatic events impact the brain’s “alarm system” (the amygdala and hippocampus).

• Identify common causes and risk factors, including single-incident trauma and complex/prolonged exposure.

• Recognize the four clusters of PTSD symptoms: re-experiencing (flashbacks), avoidance, negative changes in mood/cognition, and hyperarousal.

• Implement proactive support strategies that emphasize predictability, choice, and participant agency.

• Master practical coping strategies, such as grounding techniques and sensory modulation, to assist during distress.

• Navigate medication management and execute crisis intervention protocols during acute psychological episodes.

• Apply person-centered language and respectful practices to reduce the stigma often associated with trauma-related behaviors.

• Apply theoretical knowledge to real-life situations through practical scenarios and trauma-responsive case studies.

Course Modules

• Understand PTSD

• Recognise Causes and Risk Factors

• Identify Symptoms of PTSD

• Develop Effective Support Strategies

• Develop Effective Management and Coping Strategies

• Effectively Manage Medications and Crises

• Address Stigma, Language, and Respect

• Apply Knowledge Through Practical Scenarios

Designed For

• Disability support workers and psychosocial recovery coaches.

• NDIS providers and team leaders managing mental health and complex trauma portfolios.

• Residential care workers and staff in crisis accommodation.

• Youth workers and community health assistants.

• Family members and primary carers supporting a loved one with chronic PTSD.