Our Courses

What We Do

Trauma Reporting: The Training

I am hugely grateful to those who have chosen to share their stories of trauma and suffering with journalists. and who are now, through my training, sharing with reporters what helped and what harmed them during that experience.

Their voices are powerful, they encourage reporters to do their jobs better and journalists find listening to their insight fascinating. I am also grateful to Louis Theroux and Jeremy Bowen who share their insight on the sessions.

We're Here for You

Do you feel confident reporting on victims, survivors, people who are distressed, grieving or going through a tough emotional time?

How can you work sensitively and respectfully with your interviewees?

Do you feel equipped to handle them and the potential emotional impact on your wellbeing?

Are you a news organisation needing to train your team?

Who is the Course For?

What Will You Learn?

Become more trauma aware

Be empowered with skills you’ll know to be good practice

Learn appropriate techniques for approaching people, building relationships, interviewing them,

Listen to what your interviewees may need from you via audio clips with people who spoke to journalists at tough times in their lives

Share your experience, expertise and observations

Look after yourself when being exposed to difficult emotional stories

CPD Certified

Jo seamlessly combines practical advice with guidance on how to take an empathetic approach towards interviewees who have experienced trauma.

Our content creators used these important skills and techniques with immediate effect.

The duty of care to others and oneself is a strong theme throughout her course and has reinforced our policy for supporting colleagues and the wellbeing of our contributors.

Interviewees You’ll Hear From

On the training, many people who chose to share their painful stories with journalists, offer constructive and generous insight around how sensitivity ‘looked’ to them. Among them…

Play Video

Trauma Reporting Training – Chanell Wallace

Trauma Reporting CPD

What You'll Learn

  • The six key principles of trauma reporting and how to apply them
  • What is trauma / a potentially traumatic event?
  • Getting it right from the start. Establishing professional relationships
  • Awareness around traumatic bereavement
  • Sensitive interviewing, face to face and remotely. What to ask, what not to ask and why
  • Self-care: what to look out for, what to do about it, how to protect yourself, building resilience
  • Hear from Chanell, Mary, Faith, and John among others who chose to share their sensitive stories with reporters.
  • Approaching people at difficult times
  • Re-visiting people’s sensitive stories: anniversaries, court cases, inquests, inquiries, police appeals, memorials, documentaries, phone-ins, follow-ups
  • ‘Live’ sensitive interviewing with Julian Worricker
  • Journalist self-care: vicarious trauma, signs to look out for, risk factors
  • Making mistakes. Plus, Louis Theroux on facing dilemmas
  • Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East Editor on looking after yourself and your contributors
  • And breathe…broadcasters’ breathing techniques
  • Hear from Holly, Clive, Nicky, Rose and others who shared their sensitive stories with reporters
  • Working with survivors of sexual violence and abuse
  • Listening techniques
  • Anonymous filming
  • Establishing healthy professional boundaries
  • Writing and framing sensitive stories including domestic abuse, suicide, child sexual abuse, mental health
  • Working with children
  • Covering traumatic bereavement
  • Filming with people. Key considerations
  • Self-care: managing anxiety and stress, what you can and can’t control
  • Hear from Melody, Chanell, children Rebecca and Finlay plus others who chose to share their sensitive stories with reporters

When you have completed the small group workshops, you will gain:

University Learning

Trauma Reporting Workshop for University Students

A live, interactive lecture with q&a to cover the key principles of Trauma Reporting, sensitive interviewing and interaction, considerations around reporting traumatic bereavement, including Covid. Plus tips on self-care when covering trauma.

A live, interactive workshop with Mary Storrie. Mary’s daughter, Rosie May, was murdered. She was ten years old. Mary has since been interviewed by countless journalists for numerous media outlets. Students gain valuable insight and have the chance to practice their interviewing skills with Mary. Have a read of her story and the work of the Rosie May Foundation.

I am a passionate advocate that Trauma Reporting should be an intrinsic part of student learning. Already our observations show some students feel ‘fear’ and ‘dread’ at the prospect of working with people who are hurting.

They worry about what to do, what to say, how to be, how to avoid making their contributors feel worse. I am delighted to have teamed up with Mary Storrie to create a unique learning workshop for students. Take a look and get in touch.

Talking Trauma Reporting...

Jo is an accomplished and popular speaker at conferences and on panels, early requests advised.

She is also available for consultancy, working with news teams on particular sensitive projects they may be about to cover.