Taming Fear

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It is important for birth professionals to understand and practice trauma informed care because our work brings us into intimate, deep territory. It is common for topics around birth, family, and sexuality to bring up traumatic material. Our job is to make our sessions as safe and supportive as possible for everyone we work with. As birth professionals, we know that birth is often unexpectedly intense and often asks more of people than they were anticipating. Therefore, part of how we prepare people involves supporting new, sometimes uncomfortable, learning and growth, and inviting them to lean into their discomfort. However, it is also important that we are engaging in consensual, adult learning, and that we understand that it is not our job to push people too far. Some of the work of honing our mentoring skills involves tuning into the inner knowing that guides us as to what “too far”might mean, in addition to checking in and collaborating with whoever you are working with as to their boundaries and limits.

Please review the document “Trauma Informed Care in Birthing from Within” as part of your mentoring preparation. 

You can save the document to your device by going to File > download.

Solution-Focused Dialogue (SFD) is a collaborative way to discuss  problems, difficulties, or challenges. It focuses on bringing solutions from conversations in a forward-looking way. Solution focused thinking can be used in a wide variety of circumstances and situations to move faster to desired results.

The following two documents lead you through important points and concepts for SFD. Read them in parts, taking these concepts in slowly. Try Solution-Focused Dialogue out and come back to these resources as you learn and grow as a mentor. 

You can save the document to your device by going to File > download.