online Learning community

Join a small group (12 maximum!) of people interested in deepening our understanding of trauma and resiliency while connecting to others in joyful and authentic community. This discussion series will take place over the course of six live, online sessions and is open to everyone who is interested!

Book Discussion Group: What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resiliency, and Healing (Dr. Bruce Perry, MD and Oprah Winfrey)

"In essence, [‘trauma-informed’ means] approaching people with the awareness that ‘what happened to you’ is important, that it influences your behavior and your health. And then using that awareness to act accordingly and respond appropriately, whether you’re a parent, teacher, friend, therapist, doctor, police officer, judge."

(Oprah, with Dr. Bruce Perry)

thursday evenings

March 7th - April 18th

4:30 - 5:30 Pacific / 7:30 - 8:30 Eastern

Conversations about trauma are more common today than they have ever been in our culture. Many of these discussions are limited in their understanding of the impact of trauma on our biology and how people can heal from trauma and build resiliency. Using a neuroscience lens and a storytelling approach, Bruce Perry and Oprah provide valuable insights and understanding about the often surprising ways that trauma shows up in our lives and behaviors, and the ways that we can help ourselves and others to build resiliency after difficult events.

Part of being a trauma-informed human, no matter what your professional work in the world, means learning about the ways that our experiences—past and present—influence and shape us and the ways we show up in our lives and relationships.

We will read two chapters each week and come together in community to share our thoughts, insights, and perspectives on the fascinating content of this book. Please make sure that you can attend a minimum of 4 out of the 6 sessions for this discussion group.

Dates: March 7, 14, (skip the 21st), 28, April 4, 11, 18

Why should you do this discussion group when you could just read the book on your own?  

(Did I read your mind?) SO MANY REASONS! Among them:

  • Learning in community deepens the integration of conceptual information into our minds and bodies. When we engage with content in a relational and embodied way, it allows for a “stickier” understanding that becomes much easier and more intuitive to apply in our own lives.

  • Being in joyful and authentic relationship with other human beings is in itself a resiliency-building practice! We are already doing the work just by showing up and participating each week.

  • Hearing others’ insights, perspectives, and understanding of the concepts and the ways they are applying it to their own experience often allows for a more nuanced understanding of the content.

  • We will have space to dig into some of the content in more detail, which means you can bring questions from the reading as well as wonderings or ideas about how to integrate the concepts into your own life and/or work.

  • It’s way more fun (in a super nerdy kind of way), obviously!

Series cost

Option 1: $30 deposit to hold your spot + pay what you can at the end of our time together

Option 2: $120 flat rate, paid in full during registration

Option 3: Four monthly payments of $30

Note: Series cost does NOT include the cost of the book!

This learning group has three payment options, based on a pay-what-you-can pricing structure.

  • You are curious to learn more about trauma, resiliency, and the nervous system, no matter what your profession or past experiences

  • You have the time and capacity to read two chapters per week on your own time (30-60 pages) and to attend at least 4 out of the 6 sessions

  • You are willing and excited to engage in discussion with others about the content: this will be an interactive space!

  • You understand that the content in this book includes stories about and references to traumatic events, which may be emotionally distressing, and you have the tools to regulate yourself

  • You understand that this group is not a replacement for mental health therapy

This group is for you if…

This group is not for you if…

  • You’ve got a LOT going on right now and don’t realisitically have the time or energy to commit to reading two chapters per week

  • You are unable to commit to regularly attending the sessions: this is key to creating our learning community!

  • You have unresolved trauma and are hoping that this group will help you to address it. Though this book and our discussions might help you better understand your experiences, professional mental health support is necessary for healing unresolved trauma.

  • Jo is an educator, facilitator, and writer who has been working with diverse groups for over a decade. She crafts experiences and creates spaces that meet the deep human need for connection and belonging and that help to heal the wounds of disconnection that pervade our world. She holds a Master’s of Science in Education, is a certified mindfulness teacher, and has studied impacts of and responses to developmental trauma through Dr. Bruce Perry’s Neurosequential Model in Education.