Clinical psychologist, Author
Dr Karen Treisman is a Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist who has worked in the National Health System and children’s services for several years. Karen has also worked cross-culturally in both Africa and Asia with groups ranging from former child soldiers to survivors of the Rwandan Genocide. She also is the author of 8 books, including the bestselling book, “The therapeutic treasure box”, and of 3 sets of therapeutic card decks.
Karen has extensive experience in the areas of trauma, parenting, adversity (ACE’s) and attachment, and works clinically using a range of therapeutic approaches with families, systems, and children in or on the edge of care, unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people, and adopted children. Karen also specialises in supporting organisations and systems to move towards becoming, and to sustain adversity, culturally and, trauma-informed, infused, and responsive practice. This work focuses on creating meaningful and multi-layered cultural and paradigm shift across whole systems. This was the focus of Dr Treisman’s Winston Churchill Fellowship Karen was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship Travel Award which involved visited several places in the USA to further study whole system and organisational approaches to trauma-informed and trauma-responsive care and this topic is the focus of Dr Treisman’s next book due to be published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
In addition to holding a doctorate in Clinical psychology, Karen has undergone a range of specialist training courses including in EMDR, Narrative Therapy, Trauma-focused CBT, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, Systemic Psychotherapy, Video Interaction Guidance, Sensory Approaches, and Theraplay.
Karen has previously worked in both Milton Keynes’s and Kensington and Chelsea’s Looked after Children (LAC) and fostering services, and within the National Implementation Service for evidence-based interventions for Looked after children, children on the edge of care, and children in custody at the Michael Rutter Centre in the Maudsley Hospital; and as Clinical Lead for a court assessment and intensive intervention team for children on the edge of care and in proceedings in Islington.
Karen is an external consultant, trainer, speaker, and assessor to a variety of local authorities and organisations including Barnardos, PAC-UK, AdoptionPlus, BAAT, Pause, Action Trauma, Grandparents Plus, Three Steps Ireland, MedicaCPD, and the Fostering Network. Karen is also an expert witness and regularly undergoes a variety of assessments for court. Additionally, Karen is also a reviewer for the Journal of Adoption and Fostering.
Karen was also awarded the 2018 Psychology Professional of the Year Award for Excellence in Attachment and Trauma; and Youth Psychology Professional of the Year 2020.
Karen regularly attends and presents at local, national, and international trauma, parenting, and attachment conferences (See the events tab on this website). Karen is also a TEDx speaker on the power of relationships and viewing behaviour as communication.
Karen is the author of “Working with children and adolescents who have experienced relational and developmental trauma” (Routledge, 2016); and the best-selling book- “A Therapeutic Treasure Box for Working with Children and Adolescents with Developmental Trauma: Creative techniques and activities”. Karen is also the designer of “A Therapeutic Treasure Deck: Sentence-completion and Feelings Cards”; and “A Therapeutic Treasure Deck: Grounding, Regulating, Coping, and Soothing Cards”; and the Parenting Patchwork Treasure Deck. Karen is also the designer of Neon the Ninja toy and workbook- ; Gilly the Giraffe (Self-esteem & confidence), Cleo the Croc (Children who have been hurt and learned to be afraid to let people close, Presley the Pug (Emotional regulation, relaxation, calm, mindfulness, and finding an emotional safe place), and Binnie the Baboon (Anxiety, fear, stress, and worry).
Clinical professor of psychiatry and author
Dr. Siegel is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. He is also the Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute which focuses on the development of mindsight, teaches insight, empathy, and integration in individuals, families and communities.
Dr. Siegel has published extensively for both the professional and lay audiences. His five New York Times bestsellers are: Aware: The Science and Practice of Presence, Mind: A Journey to the Heart of Being Human, Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain, and two books with Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D: The Whole-Brain Child, and No-Drama Discipline. His other books include: The Developing Mind, The Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology, Mindsight, The Mindful Brain, and The Mindful Therapist. He has also written The Yes Brain and The Power of Showing Up with Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D. Dr. Siegel also serves as the Founding Editor for the Norton Professional Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology which currently contains over seventy textbooks.
Connected for Life
Connected for Life was established in 2016 by Marie Blaney and Deirdre McLaughlin, psychology graduates, qualified social workers, and systemic practitioners with decades of experience in a range of settings, including Youth Justice, in both practice and management roles. Marie is a practice assessor and part-time systemic practitioner in ASCERT, supporting children and families impacted by substance misuse. Deirdre has completed a research master’s, is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, and a part-time lecturer in social work at Belfast Metropolitan College
Connected for Life aims to raise awareness of the far-reaching impact of trauma and adversity on individuals, families, organisations, and communities and to support those impacted, by delivering presentations, organisational training, and consultation and developing and delivering a range of interventions. They are currently supporting Early Intervention Lisburn’s Connected Minds project, which aims to support children’s mental health and develop a trauma-informed community in the Lisburn area by providing support for organisations, parents, and young people.
Commissioner - NICCY
Koulla Yiasouma took up appointment as NI Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) in March 2015.
She trained as a social worker and previously worked in probation, NI Women’s Aid, and prior to her appointment was the Director of Include Youth for almost 17 years. She has also been involved in the boards of a number of voluntary and community-based organisations as well as non-departmental public bodies. She is a passionate advocate for the rights of all children, especially those with the most challenging behaviors, and she represented these issues on these bodies.
As a Human Rights institution, the NI Commissioner for Children and Young People is appointed by the First and Deputy First Ministers and tasked to promote and safeguard the rights and best interests of children and young people across Northern Ireland. This includes advising public authorities and holding them to account in a variety of ways on their delivery of children’s rights. Koulla set key strategic priorities for her term in office. These include addressing educational inequalities, tackling child poverty, improving emotional and mental well-being, and addressing the ongoing legacy of the conflict on children and young people.
Koulla is of Greek Cypriot origin and is married with two daughters. She was born in London and is, therefore, an avid Arsenal supporter.
Author of the Polyvagal Theory, Distinguished University Scientist, Professor of Psychiatry
Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D. is a Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. He is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, and Professor Emeritus at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. He served as president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences and is a former recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development Award. He has published more than 300 peer‐reviewed scientific papers across several disciplines that have been cited in more than 30,000 peer-reviewed papers. He holds several patents involved in monitoring and regulating autonomic state. He is the originator of the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral, mental, and health problems related to traumatic experiences. He is the author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation (Norton, 2011), The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe, (Norton, 2017) and co-editor of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies (Norton, 2018). He is the creator of a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol ™ , which currently is used by more than 1500 therapists to improve spontaneous social engagement, to reduce hearing sensitivities, and to improve language processing, state regulation, and spontaneous social engagement.
Founder & Managing Director of Hydro-ease
Vivian is the Founder and Managing Director of Hydro-ease, Northern Irelands only dedicated floatation Centre. She is also the founder of Wellness Consultant and the regional coordinator for SMART Recovery UK. Vivian is committed to reducing the impacts of trauma and related symptoms using the latest approaches in neuroscience in unison with floatation therapy, developing Reconnection and Floatation Therapy (RAFT) her own unique approach to healing.
An inspirational and creative therapeutic practitioner, an authentic and engaging trainer and international Public Speaker Vivian firmly believes RAFT is the perfect antidote to our modern frenetic world
Having almost 3 decades of lived experience of adverse childhood experiences, trauma and addiction she was introduced to floatation for the first time in 2004. After having a very profound and enlightening experience she was keen to understand what had taken place. When the owner/operator of the float centre could not provide the answers she sought she decided to find out for herself, this seen her returning to education and training alongside some of the most fascinating minds in the world of the modalities she has studied, working with everyone from leaders to vulnerable and disengaged young people throughout the Charity and Voluntary, Public and Private sectors across Scotland and Northern Ireland.
VP, YMCA Ireland and Programme Manager, The Fostering Network
Jade Irwin currently works for The Fostering Network and is the Vice President of the YMCA National Executive Committee. Jade has relayed that she drinks copious amounts of coffee, and thoroughly enjoys a long walk listening to a good podcast. She is passionate about nurturing environments both inside and outside work, the processes of rupture and repair in professional and personal relationships, and in the regulation of self and co-regulation with others.
Director of Different Tracks Global Ltd
Michael Gibbs is currently a Director of Different Tracks Global Ltd, a consulting and training company, based in Northern Ireland, that specializes in leadership development, conflict management, equality and diversity training and executive coaching. Although Michael was born in Trinidad, West Indies., he has lived and worked on five different continents during the course of his professional career giving him unique insights into the subtleties of race, religion and culture.
For more than 30 years Michael has worked directly and indirectly with civil society and the public sector. After graduating from Harvard University in 1989, Michael initially worked for a multinational consulting firm, Andersen Consulting and has a strong background in financial management. He went on to share his expertise in Australia, working with the Aboriginal community on land rights issues before travelling to Zanzibar where he worked for the Ministry of Health, as a Director of Policy for three years working extensively with the Global Fund, a World Health Organisation, the World Bank and the Aga Khan Foundation.
In addition, Michael serves as a mediator in international and domestic matters including civil and employment disputes with a speciality in issues related to equality and diversity. He works with individuals and groups to design, improve and repair attitudes, relationships and faulty structures.
Interim Clinical Nurse Manager, Healthcare in Prison
Interim Clinical Nurse Manager, Healthcare in Prison, South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Ireland
Fiona leads a diverse multi-disciplinary team that is committed to delivering exceptional compassionate, person-centred care to those who live in prison. The Healthcare in Prison team believes that through positive relationships, with one another and with those who live and work in prison, fundamental change can occur.
Fiona’s clinical background is as a Registered Nurse with a specialist practice in District Nursing and experience in Acute wards, Intensive Care and Primary Care. Fiona has worked for the past three years leading the Healthcare team within Hydebank Wood College and in collaboration with Northern Ireland Prison Service and other external agencies significantly improved outcomes for those in their care.
Tea, coffee and welcome refreshments.
Action Trauma
Welcome to Young Hearts & Minds by one of the Action Trauma team.
Belfast Philharmonic Youth Choir
Hear the Belfast Philharmonic Youth Choir perform 'Hope', Composed by Laura Shiels in collaboration with the Youth Choir
Koulla Yiasouma
Opening remarks from Northern Ireland's Commissioner for Children and Young People.
Step Inside the Circle is a call to action: to spread the word about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). It is a call to recognize the physical, emotional and social impact ACEs have wrought upon society and to stress the importance of care (not punishment) going forward in the prison system.
Fiona Linehan
Fiona will be presenting on the services provided by her multi-disciplinary team offering a wide range of services to all people who live in prison in Northern Ireland. This service will help maximise health outcomes for those residing in prison. During this presentation, Fiona will share the importance of collaboration across multiple agencies to deliver effective compassionate person-centred care.
Vivian McKinnon
"I truly believe that deep beneath the protective layers of ego, experience and human programming each of us has a true authentic self made up of wisdom, courage, creativity and infinite possibilities. For many of us, including myself, life’s hard knocks can really get in the way of stepping into your unlimited power of living out your purpose and from having the courage to be totally and one hundred percent your real self."
Vivian will share a ‘not too pretty’ account of how she transformed a traumatic child and adulthood into a thriving home life and business with the sole aim of helping others do the same.
With tea, coffee and refreshments
Karen Treisman
This keynote briefly explores how behaviour is communication and how it tells us a story and gives us clues about the child's inner world. We will bring to life using some poetry, some "case studies", some anecdotes, and some powerful images exploring how behaviour is communication, and how we need to learn to see the person behind the behaviour. Some suggested questions for exploring behaviour further, as well as some top tips for responding will be shared and explored. This will also give attendees a way to make sense of behaviour and of ways to communicate how behaviour is communication to others.
Karen Treisman
Stephen Porges
Following trauma, the body’s warning system often gets stuck on high alert. Listen to Dr Stephen Porges as he shares some effective ways for “speaking” directly to an individual's nervous system. Dr Porges will present how things like tone of voice, certain gestures and music can help safety after a traumatic experience, particularly for young people.
Dr Porges will also address the question, "Do adverse events retune our nervous system and contribute to diminished wellbeing?" Dr Porges will address how to reframe the question and ask, not about the event, but focus on the individual reaction or response. Much of our society defines trauma by the event when the real critical issue is the individual’s reaction. By not accepting that, we end up saying; “If I can survive this and do well, why can’t you?” So we start blaming the survivors again. The point that we have to understand is that when a person has a reaction or response to trauma, the body interprets the traumatic event as a life threat. There’s a massive retuning of how the nervous system works, how it regulates underlying physiological systems that impact social behaviour, psychological experiences, and also on physical outcomes.
Stephen Porges
Jade Irwin
Vivian McKinnon
Marie Blaney and Deirdre McLaughlin
The panel will look at and discuss the impact the pandemic has had on children and young people. They will discuss methods to address the long term impact of this and what changes can be put in place across all areas to offer support and pave a road to recovery.
With tea, coffee and refreshments
Michael Gibbs
Charlie McEwen
During this presentation Michael will facilitiate meaningful conversations with three young people from Northern Ireland. During this time Michael will talk about "everyday traumas" that these young people face and the long term impact that this has on young people and their future. How can we bring about long lasting change for future generations?
Dan Siegel
Dr. Siegel’s mindsight approach applies the emerging principles of interpersonal neurobiology to promote compassion, kindness, resilience, and well-being in our personal lives, our relationships, and our communities. At the heart of both interpersonal neurobiology and the mindsight approach is the concept of “integration". Integration is seen as the essential mechanism of health as it promotes a flexible and adaptive way of being that is filled with vitality and creativity. The ultimate outcome of integration is harmony. The absence of integration leads to chaos and rigidity a finding that enables us to re-envision our understanding of mental disorders and how we can work together in the fields of mental health, education, and other disciplines, to create a healthier, more integrated world.
Action Trauma
Closing remarks by member of Action Trauma team and closing creative item.
Develop professionally through CPD accreditation
Learn from world-renowned trauma experts
Network and make connections with other professionals.
Informative discussions on some of the topics presented
The above currency converter is intended as a guide only and does not account for any foreign transaction fees or currency conversion fees applied by your bank. All tickets will be charged in GBP
Live Delegates
Your QR code can be found in your ticket confirmation email. You will need to present this QR code at the registration desk when you arrive.
See below images for an example of the QR code. You can print this out and bring it, or show us the email on your smart phone. Please have this ready to show when you arrive as it will help us keep the registration process flowing smoothly.
Livestream Delegates
We use a platform called Whova to host our virtual conferences. Whova will have all the information you need, including the schedule and all sessions.
Yes, you will receive a CPD certificate of attendance upon completion of the event. Young Hearts & Minds awards 6 CPD points.
Livestream delegate: Upon completion of a virtual event with Action Trauma, you will receive a certificate of attendance within 14 days. This certificate will detail the number of CPD hours that the conference covers. Based on the content you have watched – you can then proceed to make a personal record of the hours you watched. We encourage you to be honest with yourself in recording the hours you watched. This may be flagged with a membership organisation, so you must track points appropriately. The certificate will also have a ‘CPD learning tool’ on the second page. This learning tool will contain a few questions which will allow you to reflect and capture your learning outcomes from that particular event. Please note that many professional membership bodies and governing institutes require this as part of a formal CPD record and will not accept points recorded/certificates, that do not include this information.
Live/in-person delegate: You will receive a certificate within 14 days of the event via email with the relevant CPD points attached. The certificate will also have a ‘CPD learning tool’ on the second page. This learning tool will contain a few questions which will allow you to reflect and capture your learning outcomes from that particular event. Please note that many professional membership bodies and governing institutes require this as part of a formal CPD record and will not accept points recorded/certificates, that do not include this information.
Yes, you can get an invoice for the conference and a receipt of purchase. Please email bridget@actiontrauma.com .
Whova will still be able to function through any firewall/security system that an organisation has set up. If you are working through council/healthcare portals, you may face additional problems. If this is the case, please contact your technical team for assistance in getting restrictions lifted with the firewall.
Yes. Livestream ticket holders will have access to all content for 14 days after the event.
Conferences are expensive to run. Speakers and their costs must be paid. There is also planning and promotion to pay for. Action Trauma is committed to increasing the awareness of psychological trauma, its many causes, widespread effects, and the many ways of treating and healing it. We are a not-for-profit company and the delegate fees are struck at a rate that tries to cover operational costs.
No, we do not offer any concessionary rates. This is because we are a not-for-profit company and the delegate fees are struck at a rate that tries to cover operational costs.
Yes – La Mon Hotel offer free on-site car parking.
Yes, you can view full details about our privacy policy here.
We are offering an opportunity to advertise in our main conference guide. The conference guide will be A4, and there are full-page, half-page, and quarter-page sizing areas in which to populate. This is a great opportunity to reach out to a target audience, promote your work, upcoming events, and current research being done. If you are interested in advertising, you are welcome to get in touch with bridget@actiontrauma.com or see the options available here.
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