About the Adelaide Trauma Collective
We have a vision for a trauma-informed community
Championing compassionate approaches to therapy
We incorporate relational and body inclusive approaches to cultivate a pioneering and exploratory spirit within our community.
Creating opportunities for therapists to connect in genuine and warm ways
We foster a collaborative space for therapists to share unique experiences and challenging questions to allow everybody an opportunity to grow.
Contributing to increasing understanding of the impact of childhood trauma in South Australia
We aim to build a network of passionate and engaged professionals across sectors to improve systemic and individual responses to people living with complex trauma.
Our Purpose
We strive to promote and encourage a wider understanding of, and improved access to, body-inclusive, relational, and integrated approaches to trauma in the general community.
This includes promoting, supporting and encouraging the use of body-inclusive, relational, and integrated approaches to trauma therapy by the members of the association in their clinical work.
We also promote and encourage a wider understanding of body-inclusive, relational, and integrated approaches to trauma in the medical and allied health community through education, training, and supervision.
We are committed to developing a broader and applied understanding of trauma-informed care in other sectors of the community.
Please see our FAQs page here for more information about our approaches.
Our History
As research in trauma recovery began to highlight the importance of understanding the body's response to trauma, psychologist Sue Hetzel and social worker Ela Samoraj became inspired to take action. In the mid-2000s they pioneered body-oriented trauma therapy training in Adelaide by offering introductory workshops to the community. By 2010, their training offerings were in full swing with them running three workshops: The Body & Trauma Work, The Body & Trauma Work plus, and Vicarious Traumatization.
Inspired by the vision of a trauma centre offering these therapies, Sue invited other Adelaide therapists with significant experience in somatic trauma work, to join a working group. This group explored the possibilities for providing body-inclusive and best practice therapies like EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy in Adelaide. After 18 months of collaboration, they incorporated in 2012 and launched the Adelaide Trauma Centre website.
Their dedication soon resulted in the first trainings offered by the Adelaide Trauma Centre. They brought in a senior trainer from the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute in Colorado to deliver the first training in this method in Adelaide.
After clarifying the aims and purposes of the association in recent years we have evolved into two entities. The Adelaide Trauma Collective reflects the not for profit elements of our contribution to Trauma Informed Care in the community.
While the Adelaide Trauma Centre will continue to exist as a virtual centre and lists practitioners who provide body-inclusive, relational and integrated therapies. You can find the website for the centre here.
Where are we today?
Since 2012, the Adelaide Trauma Collective has consistently offered a range of trainings in body-inclusive and relational approaches to therapy.
These have included: Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Body-Mind Centering, Attachment-based therapy, Gestalt Therapy and Internal Family Systems. Additionally, we have facilitated regular community of practice events for therapists to share knowledge, network, and support each other.
Over time, the Adelaide Trauma Collective has become recognised as the leading provider of body-inclusive trauma therapy training in Adelaide.
Our recent name change reflects our evolving purpose: to be a supportive space for both survivors of complex trauma and the therapists who care for them.
The Adelaide Trauma Collective envisions building a community equipped with the skills and awareness to support healing from complex trauma.
You can join us in our mission by becoming a professional associate member of the association.
Join our free Community of Practice events
For practitioners, we hold regular training and free Community of Practice events. We support the running of practice groups focused on individual trauma therapies.
We are also available to provide training to organisations seeking to apply a trauma-informed approach. We provide training targeted at enhancing the capacity of staff to work in an integrated, body-inclusive and relationship-centred capacity with clients.
“Trauma is perhaps the most avoided, ignored, belittled, denied, misunderstood, and untreated cause of human suffering.”
— Peter Levine