Growing capacity to work well under pressure

Trauma-informed, nervous-system-aware practice for teams and organisations working in complex, high-pressure environments.

For people who work with people.

People are arriving into services more stressed, overwhelmed, and carrying a lot. Trauma-informed practice offers a grounded, practical way of working with greater care, awareness, and steadiness, for the people we work with, the systems we operate within, and within ourselves.

Trauma-informed practice is no longer optional

Trauma is more common than many people think.

Its impacts often show up in our work in subtle, everyday ways.

Whether you’re working in design, research, policy, health, education, justice, or community contexts, trauma can shape how people engage, communicate, and respond to change. Often this happens without being named or understood.

Trauma-informed practice offers a way of working with greater care, awareness, and responsibility, for the people we work with, the systems we operate within, and ourselves.

What we mean by trauma-informed practice

Trauma-informed practice is about both the people organisations serve and the staff who serve them.

It helps organisations understand how exposure to distress, accumulated strain and past experience shape how people think, relate and respond in people-facing work, especially under pressure.

This approach is organisational and practice-focused. It does not require personal disclosure or therapeutic work.

Why this matters

Most of what we call “behaviour” is actually the nervous system trying to feel safe. When we understand this, everything changes.

In many roles, we’re now working with heightened stress, complexity and emotional load as a baseline.

This work offers a practical way for individuals and teams to build shared capacity and embed trauma-informed practice into everyday work.

When we understand what’s happening in the nervous system, everything changes, conversations soften, interactions feel safer, and care becomes more sustainable.

We help organisations build the capacity to design and adapt how teams work and interact under pressure, so people can make clear decisions, relate well to each other and to clients, and deliver services without losing their humanity.

This approach builds on two decades of service design practice, enriched through nervous system and trauma-aware insights.

Who this is for

Trauma-informed practice matters wherever people are working with vulnerability, complexity or change.
This work is particularly relevant for roles that involve sustained responsibility, emotional load and professional judgement

These CPD modules support people and teams working closely with humans in complex, emotionally loaded or unpredictable contexts, including:

If your profession allows self-reported CPD (and most do), these trainings can usually be counted.

For people whose work involves complexity, care, and responsibility, and who want practical ways to work with greater awareness and steadiness.

CPD Training

Satisfy your training requirements with useful and meaningful learning

Cocreate Change offer trauma-informed, nervous-system-informed professional development sessions that support people to show up with more steadiness, compassion and presence in complex environments.

These short trainings are practical, accessible and suitable for a wide range of professions across health, legal, education, community and government sectors.

Most professional groups in Australia and abroad can self-record CPD, and all sessions include certificates of completion and clear learning outcomes.

Our change partners

Testimonials

What people are saying

"Highly recommend Jax to any organisation working in complex social situations."

"A great session. I highly recommend!"

"Thank you, Jax, for driving capability uplift in this crucial space across Australia. It was an honour to have you at Westpac."

The Nervous System literacy workshop is especially valuable for business, HR, and community leaders, as it provides tools to create deeper connection, creativity and more effective collaboration. I highly recommend Jax’s workshop—it’s rich with research, professional expertise, and meaningful lived experience

"For anyone working with lived experience communities, Jax is someone you want in your corner. She brings depth without heaviness, structure without rigidity, and a lot of heart. Our team is better for having learned from her."

"We are so grateful for Jax’s support in working with the Fire to Flourish team."

"Thank you for bringing conversation about Trauma Informed Practice to the table in such an informed and articulate way – it has been needed for a long time. I got so much out of it and highly recommend this workshop to my peers."

"This was such a great training that equipped my team to feel more confident to work with vulnerable communities, thanks for your time and knowledge Jax."

Inclusions

Every Professional Development training module includes

Available live online or as pre-recorded modules for internal CPD libraries.

Sessions are gentle, spacious and accessible, designed to meet people where they are.

Professional development doesn’t need to be superficial or disconnected from real practice.

PD training for professionals

These sessions support people to slow down, tune into their nervous system and respond with more care and clarity.
Sessions introduce foundational concepts in trauma-aware practice, nervous system literacy and trauma-aware design and delivery.

Topics Available

Topics can be tailored to the needs of specific professions, teams or organisational contexts.
A selection of our CPD-ready trauma-informed practice modules includes:

Understanding Trauma in Practice

A clear, accessible introduction to trauma, stress and the nervous system, and how these patterns shape behaviour, communication and engagement in everyday settings.

Recognising Activation in Yourself and Others

Learn to spot the early signs of nervous system activation, in clients and in yourself , to prevent escalation and support steadier interactions.

Trauma-Aware Communication

How tone, pacing and clarity influence safety, trust and connection. Practical approaches to communicate in ways that support regulation for everyone involved.

Working with Distress

Foundational skills for responding to people who are overwhelmed, shut down or reactive. Learn how to stay grounded and offer support without taking on more emotional load.

Creating Trauma-Aware Teams and Cultures

Explore the relational dynamics, rhythms and small cultural shifts that create safer, more supportive environments for both staff and the communities you serve.

Boundaries and Sustainable Care

Explore healthy boundaries, emotional load, vicarious trauma and practices that protect your wellbeing while preserving compassion and presence.

Safer Pathways and Predictable Processes

Small design choices significantly influence someone’s felt sense of safety. Learn how to identify friction points, reduce overwhelm and create clearer, calmer service experiences.

Responding with Presence, Not Reactivity

Understand the shift from reaction to response. Learn how nervous system awareness supports ethical judgment, clearer decision-making and more grounded professional practice.

Designing Trauma-Aware Experiences

Your “special sauce”: simple, accessible service design tools that help teams map and improve client and staff experiences with a trauma-aware, nervous-system lens.

Trauma-Informed Leadership

A session for leaders who want to strengthen presence, communication and relational capacity while cultivating cultures that support safety, wellbeing and sustainable impact.

Build your own CPD series

Organisations can choose a single module or curate a multi-session learning pathway over time.
This supports deeper integration, shared understanding and more sustainable change.

A CPD series can include:

This is ideal for teams who want to embed trauma-aware practice at multiple levels.

Why is Trauma Informed practice important?

What is Trauma?

Download Jax’s book chapter published in the book:

Designed with Care:

Creating trauma-informed content

Taught by Jax Wechsler

Jax has spent years teaching trauma-aware practices and nervous system literacy to designers and change-makers. She has seen how powerful this work can be — for individuals, teams, and whole systems.

Trauma-informed practice isn’t just about protecting others from harm. It’s about building the conditions for connection, trust, and transformative change.