The Trauma Responsive Advocate
Building a trauma-responsive field, one advocate at a time
The Trauma-Responsive Advocate is a five-week training and certification program for victim advocates who support individuals and communities impacted by harm. This program strengthens the advocate’s capacity to recognize the effects of trauma, respond in ways that center dignity and autonomy, and build practices that reduce secondary trauma and sustain long-term engagement in the work. Each week focuses on a different facet of trauma-responsive care, with a blend of live online sessions, readings, and self-guided reflection. Upon completion, participants receive their Trauma-Responsive Advocate Certification.
Participants also have the opportunity to join a learning community of likeminded peers from other parts of the country, building solidarity and support that goes beyond the final session.
save the date
Registration for our next course will open on June 29!
When: Every Wednesday and Thursday from July 29 – August 27, 2026
Time: 3 – 5 pm ET/12 – 2 pm PT
Details: 20 hours of live instruction, 20 hours of asynchronous learning and self-guided work.
Cost: $400 per person. Offices that register five or more people will receive a 20% discount.
Questions: Email Robyn@ProsecutorsAlliance.org.
Upon completion, participants will be able to:
- Recognize how trauma can shape behavior, communication, memory, and decision-making without pathologizing or assuming a universal trauma response.
- Understand intergenerational and historical trauma and how legacies of harm, oppression, and cultural survival shape survivors’ experiences, coping strategies, and access to support.
- Apply trauma-responsive communication skills that center autonomy, dignity, cultural context, and the survivor’s own meaning-making.
- Assess and adapt advocacy practices to reduce harm, increase emotional safety, and support survivor agency throughout legal and non-legal processes.
- Identify signs and sources of secondary trauma and burnout in themselves and within systems, and implement practices that support sustainability and collective care.
- Integrate a justice-oriented lens into victim support, understanding how systems can both compound and repair harm, and how advocates can work toward responses that honor dignity.
- Cultivate a practice of presence rooted in grounding, listening, and relational trust.
RESOURCE LIST
We’ve compiled a list of national organizations that provide information, support, and other services for victims, survivors, and their loved ones.