Childhood Trauma and Building Resilience through Nonviolent Communication
For Schools
Our Teacher and School Training Program instructs educators on how to incorporate Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) competencies into their classrooms. It provides a detailed curriculum, including instructions and exercises, that prepare them to teach Healthy Relationships 101 to their students. A key aspect of the program, the life skill Nonviolent Communication (NVC), focuses on learning how to express one’s needs and feelings without blame or judgment and to listen empathically.
Through our training sessions, educators learn communication skills and practices that foster the students’ ability to engage in healthy and respectful relationships. It also provides teachers with insight into their students’ needs and feelings with particular emphasis on how modern culture affects their ability to communicate in a productive and positive manner. Our program includes printed materials, handouts, and resources that promote respectful communication and life skills. These skills enhance relationships between students, parents, administrators, and fellow teachers.
Healthy Relationships 101 Curriculum for Teachers
$125 for printed copy
$95 for digital copy
Discounts available for higher quantities
Healthy Relationships 101 Curriculum for Teachers
$125 for printed copy
$95 for digital copy
Discounts available for higher quantities
Our Teacher Curriculum introduces a communication skill set called ‘Nonviolent Communication (NVC),’ developed by clinical psychologist Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D. This work is a key component of the life skills introduced in our curriculum. The curriculum builds a safety net for students who live in environments that could potentially compromise their mental, emotional, and physical health.
The curriculum is intended for teachers to use while leading class discussions and activities. There are pages that can be reproduced for student use during class and for homework. A digital zip file of the reproducible handouts is emailed to the teacher after the order is placed.
There are 12 sessions in this curriculum, which include lectures, videos, exercises, and other resources that teachers can use in the classrooms and individually with students. The curriculum also includes journal assignments which encourage students to explore and reflect on the world of relationships. In doing so, they will find and develop their own unique outlook. This exercise gives students an opportunity to cultivate their critical thinking. Because the journals are submitted for teacher review, they provide insights into their students’ perspectives on relationships and enhance greater student-teacher connection.
The assignments, projects, and exercises in each of the sessions teach communication skills, critical thinking, self-awareness, and empathy. Students will learn and practice how to respectfully communicate their needs and feelings without blame or judgment, and they learn to listen empathically. Students can use these skills to develop thriving and fulfilling relationships at school, at home, and in their everyday lives. These skills are essential, especially for students who struggle to communicate the needs they value, and their associated feelings. This work helps to counteract behavior issues, bullying, abuse, and low self-esteem.
The curriculum includes, but is not limited to:
- The NVC Communication skill set Empathic listening practices
- Understanding and preventing bullying
- Examining self-awareness and self-care
- Identifying and avoiding unhealthy relationships
- Defining healthy boundaries
- The impact of communication technology on relationships
The Healthy Relationships 101 curriculum addresses the five core competencies of Social and Emotional Learning as defined by CASEL (Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning). These competencies include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
Professional Development
We recommend combining live or remote workshops along with our curriculum in order to implement the principles into the classroom. However, the professional development trainings alone can make an impact on educators’ approach to classroom management.
Parent Workshops
Our Parent Workshops explore relationship dynamics. Our instructors support parents in defining their relationships goals with a focus on the principles of Nonviolent Communication. Most importantly, the workshop provides parents with the tools to strengthen relationships with their children and to foster their child’s growth and development. The workshop includes a discussion on the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study and the impact of trauma on childhood mental health development. Through inquiry and practice of our communication skill set, parents can share what they have learned with their children to help fortify the parent/child bond and to foster their child’s resiliency.