Trauma, Neuro, and Shame Awareness: Best Practice for Professionals, Organisations, and Communities (FutureLearn)

Offered by Deakin University,
Trauma, Neuro, and Shame Awareness: Best Practice for Professionals, Organisations, and Communities (FutureLearn)

Learn how trauma and shame influence behaviour, and how we can use this knowledge to reduce conflict and improve relationships. Understand the causes and impacts of trauma with Deakin University. Trauma and shame are complex, with a deep and widespread impact. This four-week Deakin University course aims to elevate your understanding of how these factors influence human behaviour.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see FutureLearn's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

From types of trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences to the impacts of these on individuals and relationships, you’ll cover key issues around trauma and shame and also how trauma and shame-informed approaches can reduce problems such as addiction, violence and crime. By the end of this course, you’ll have a deeper understanding of trauma and shame and the tools to make a positive impact in people’s lives and communities.

Examine types of trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences
You’ll start the course with an overview of different types of trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences, examining the scientific concepts and human experiences that lie behind common terms like ‘trauma’ and ‘shame’.

Understand trauma responses and intergenerational trauma
You’ll look at how trauma affects our mind and bodies, and the different ways people cope with trauma. You’ll learn how trauma can be passed down through generations, impacting communities worldwide, including First Nations peoples and refugees.

Explore the impact of trauma on individuals and relationships
You’ll explore the impact that trauma and shame have on individuals and their relationships. You’ll also learn how to strengthen your own relationship skills and interpersonal connections in the context of trauma.

Apply your course-acquired understanding of trauma and shame
Finally, you’ll learn from experts who have implemented trauma-informed and shame-sensitive practices, applying your knowledge to understand why these practices are critical to creating inclusive and supportive environments for people with trauma histories.

Syllabus

Week 1: Types of trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences
Week 2: Trauma responses, regulation, and the intergenerational transfer of trauma
Week 3: Trauma effects on relationships
Week 4: Trauma, neuro and shame-sensitive practice

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • describe the definitions and types of trauma
  • explain how trauma affects the brain
  • refelect on how trauma impacts people in stressful situations
  • investigate the intergenerational transfer of trauma
  • develop practical skills in creating environments that are shame sensitive and trauma-informed
  • identify the range of negative outcomes associated with Adverse Childhood Experiences
  • explore how early attachment informs relationship patterns and regulation strategies.

Who is the course for?
This course is suitable for everyone, but is designed specifically for professionals working in justice, education, and health and social care, as well as business and management.
It will also be valuable for anyone interested in learning more about trauma and its impacts, including individuals dealing with trauma themselves, and their partners, children, families, or wider communities.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Principios de Psicología (Coursera) Coursera
Tecnológico de Monterrey

Principios de Psicología (Coursera)

En este primer curso se proporcionará una visión integral del estudio científico del pensamiento y del comportamiento humano, donde se van a explorar temas como la sensopercepción, cognición, el aprendizaje y la memoria, así como la personalidad y la socialización. Además, podremos conocer con mayor detalle los fundamentos teóricos y los principales hallazgos en la Psicología.

Jul 27th 2026
4 Weeks
Supporting young people’s mental wellbeing post-COVID (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Glasgow

Supporting young people’s mental wellbeing post-COVID (FutureLearn)

Reflect on how the COVID pandemic may have impacted young people’s mental wellbeing and explore ways to support them. Learn how the trauma of COVID can impact emotional development in children. In a post-COVID world, understanding how adversity affects a child’s brain development is more important than ever. On this two-week course, you’ll discover how the collective trauma of the pandemic has affected young people’s emotional wellbeing and how we can support them emotionally and socially.

Self Paced
2 Weeks
Forensic Psychology: Witness Investigation (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
The Open University

Forensic Psychology: Witness Investigation (FutureLearn)

How important are eyewitness testimonies in police investigations? Discover how forensic psychology prevents criminal injustice. Become a forensic psychologist and help solve crimes using eyewitness evidence. Have you ever questioned how reliable your own mind is? In this 8-week forensic psychology course, you’ll learn how the mind plays tricks on us and how this can impact criminal investigations. You’ll discover how cautious the police have to be during eyewitness investigation, and you’ll step into the shoes of a forensic psychologist.

Self Paced
5-12 Weeks
Intro to Psychology (Udacity) Udacity
Udacity,San Jose State University

Intro to Psychology (Udacity)

The Science of Thought and Behavior. Introduction to Psychology is a journey through all of the major psychological concepts and principles. The knowledge gained from this course will allow students to critically evaluate psychological research and have a more in-depth understanding of human thought and behavior.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Heal Your Life from Childhood Abuse and Trauma (Skillshare) Skillshare
Skillshare

Heal Your Life from Childhood Abuse and Trauma (Skillshare)

According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 4 adults worldwide were physically abused as children. In the US alone, around 6 million kids are abused annually which results in a report of child abuse every 10 seconds. Whether physical, sexual, emotional or verbal, the experiences have long term effects that we painfully go through as adults. It is often times the root source of many of our daily struggles and can affect us unknowingly in how we conduct ourselves in our relationships, with our family members, people at work and with friends.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Creativity Toolkit I: Changing Perspectives (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Creativity Toolkit I: Changing Perspectives (Coursera)

Thinking and doing the same things faster and better is not enough; we need creativity. Fortunately, creativity is a skill you can learn. This course will examine when, why, and how we can be creative. It examines the cues that trigger us to consider being creative. It provides a road map of the creative process – the process of changing our perspectives – and the kinds of outcomes that result from creativity.

Aug 12th 2026
4 Weeks
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the Global Context (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Glasgow

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the Global Context (FutureLearn)

Learn how to identify, assess the risk for, prevent and treat PTSD in a range of contexts. Learn about PTSD - its symptoms, prevalence, causes and treatment. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the mental disorder most commonly associated with exposure to trauma. PTSD results from exposure to traumas which pose a threat of serious harm or death to an individual or people close to that individual. This includes conflict-related traumas, interpersonal traumas such as sexual assault, and exposure to serious accidents, such as a car accident or a house fire.

Self Paced
4 Weeks
Understanding Human Behaviour: Introduction to Game Theory and Shared Resources (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Groningen,University of Warsaw,Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society,ACTiSS

Understanding Human Behaviour: Introduction to Game Theory and Shared Resources (FutureLearn)

Explore the issues humans face when sharing and cooperating, and use game theory, models, and simulations to identify solutions. Expand your understanding of social sciences. This four-week course will help you explore why sharing goods or tasks is difficult. You’ll enrich your understanding of the problems people have when they share and cooperate, and examine essential models that can support you in your future career in social sciences and beyond.

Self Paced
4 Weeks