21 August 2025 | 9am-3pm AEST | Online workshop | → Register Now!
14 November 2025 | 9am-3pm AEDT | Online workshop | → Register Now!
Are you a frontline worker, interviewer, case manager, lawyer, advocate, or service provider who needs to ask sensitive questions of people who may have experienced trauma, persecution or displacement? Do you ever worry that your interviews may unintentionally cause distress or re-traumatise someone?
The Trauma-Informed Interviewing Workshop is a practical, evidence-based training designed to help you conduct interviews that are emotionally safe, culturally responsive, and effective. You’ll learn how to build rapport, recognise trauma responses, support emotional regulation, and gather accurate information — without doing harm.
WHY THIS WORKSHOP MATTERS
People with lived experience of trauma — including refugees, asylum seekers, survivors of abuse, and people affected by systemic racism — often need to share their stories with people in positions of authority or care. Whether for legal, medical, welfare or advocacy purposes, these interviews are often required — but can also be triggering.
A trauma-informed approach ensures that interviews do not retraumatise participants, and that interviewers are equipped to manage distress, support emotional safety, and maintain professional boundaries.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
🧠 Understand the Impact of Trauma on the Brain and Body
Gain insight into how trauma affects memory, behaviour, emotion, and the nervous system — including dissociation, freeze responses, hypervigilance, and shutdown.
🗣️ Build Rapport and Emotional Safety
Use empathic, culturally safe communication strategies that build trust and promote client agency — even in institutional or high-stakes settings.
🧩 Use Trauma-Informed Interview Techniques
Learn how to structure interviews to maximise clarity and safety, with an emphasis on free recall, open-ended questions, and emotional attunement.
🛑 Manage Triggers and Trauma-Related Distress
Identify signs of distress, dissociation, and emotional flooding — and apply grounding and containment strategies to keep clients safe and engaged.
🧍 Set Boundaries and Maintain Professional Self-Care
Explore the risks of vicarious trauma and burnout in this work, and learn sustainable practices that protect your wellbeing and support your role.
🤝 Work with Vulnerable Populations with Cultural Sensitivity
Understand how neurodiversity, systemic injustice, and cultural difference affect communication and engagement — and how to respond respectfully and effectively.
📘 Avoid Re-traumatisation and Promote Agency
Ensure your process respects the survivor’s sense of control, dignity and emotional safety — and complies with trauma-informed best practice standards.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
This workshop is ideal for:
- Interviewers and case managers
- Legal, advocacy and migration professionals
- Refugee support workers and peer workers
- Health, mental health and social service staff
- Program assessors and intake staff
- Researchers, evaluators and ethics board members
- Anyone conducting interviews with people who may have experienced trauma
Our Trainer – Rafik Tanious
Counsellor/Trainer, STARTTS
Rafik Tanious has worked across the social ecologies of education, mental health and social services with children and young people for the past 30 years both locally and internationally. He has extensive field work experience working with children and adolescents with refugee backgrounds in case work, education and counselling. Rafik has a continuing interest in trauma recovery, anti-racism, and youth identity formation and has developed racial literacy, and racial resilience programs for young people with refugee experiences and produced anti-racism films on Cabramatta for the NSW Premiers department. Rafik has also been employed as a consultant and trainer with universities in supporting the mental health of international students, developing orientation programs and inter-cultural learning frameworks and facilitating cross cultural parenting programs. Read more….
I was impressed at how much Rafik was willing to tailor the training session to our needs – it was unlike any training session I’ve been in!
FORMAT AND INCLUSIONS
Online and in-person delivery
Facilitated by an experienced trauma-informed practitioner
Includes interactive activities, real-life scenarios, and skill practice
Claim 6 CPD points
Receive a certificate of completion
Receive a PDF of the workshop slides
COST
Early Bird – $315 | $288 concession (5 tickets available, ends 2 months before event)
Standard – $350 | $320 concession
Note – there is a 5% late fee for registering after 8.30am the day before the event. Costs are in Australian dollars.
DON’T MISS OUT – LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE
Reserve you place today via secure online payment and empower yourself to provide safe, respectful and effective support to people living with complex trauma who need it most.
- 21 August 2025 | 9am-3pm AEST | Online workshop | → Register Now!
- 14 November 2025 | 9am-3pm AEDT | Online workshop | → Register Now!
BRING THIS WORKSHOP TO YOUR TEAM
Would your team benefit from tailored, trauma-informed training? This workshop is available as an online and in-person in-house session (in-person available in Sydney only), customised to meet the specific needs of your staff, clients, or community. Visit our Request Training page for details on pricing, availability, and how to book.
Plan ahead: Due to high demand, we recommend submitting your request at least 6–8 weeks in advance to secure your preferred date. Empower your team with the confidence, skills, and cultural sensitivity to support people with complex trauma.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Payment of the registration fee is online by credit card and a receipt/confirmation will be automatically emailed to you. An administration fee of $30 applies to all cancellations made more than 14 days the day before the start of the event. Registration once paid cannot be cancelled 14 days or less the day before the start of the event, regardless of personal circumstances. Registration can be transferred to another delegate only if STARTTS is informed of the name change. Registration cannot be transferred to another workshop. The concession price is for full-time students, seniors and the unemployed. A photocopy or pdf of a valid concession card must be forwarded to the STARTTS training team upon registration. Registrations will not be confirmed until full payment is received. The deadlines for the early bird and standard prices cannot be extended. Sometimes STARTTS will need to change the trainer of a particular workshop. The STARTTS Training Team can be contacted at stts-training@health.nsw.gov.au or (02) 9646 6700.
CONTACT US
stts-training@health.nsw.gov.au
(02) 9646 6700 Ask for the Training Administration Officer