Organisational Trauma & Constellations - an overview and orientation

Overview
Trauma-informed work in organisations represents an emerging field of practice. While much attention has been given to working with traumatised individuals, the question of whether a whole organisational culture can be traumatised – and how to work with such a wounded culture – has been largely ignored. Yet as Vivian and Hormann (2013) point out,

In this 2-day, in-person workshop, hosted and organised by Lynne Burney of LKB Associates, we will explore the topic of Organisational Trauma through inputs on leading edge theory, exploration of case studies, group discussion and enquiry, and – importantly – through the medium of practical, experiential work with Organisational Constellations.

Structure & Ethos
This highly participative programme will be structured around both the exposition of current thinking about Organisational Trauma, and also the exploration of ‘live’ consulting / coaching issues brought by you as participants. This exploration will be both dialogic and through the medium of Organisational Constellations. We will explore case studies from Ty’s own consulting work as well as those brought by you as participants. While the teaching style responds to the needs of the group as they arise, core content will include:

• Defining what we mean by ‘organisational trauma’ and exploring the question of whether and how a culture can be traumatised.
• Diagnosing ‘organisational trauma’ – the typical signs and symptoms of different types of cultural trauma and how it is different from stressed cultures
• Introducing a practice framework for dealing with Organisational Trauma – basic principles for working in ways that are systemic, embodied and emergent
• Where does the practice of Constellations fit? When might Structural or Phenomenological Constellations be more suitable?
• The application of systemic principles (‘The Orders of Love’) to culture-change where trauma is suspected
• Practices for ‘constellating without the constellation’
• The importance of the practitioner’s stance, presence and grounding – what skills and capacities do practitioners working in this field need to cultivate?
• How to 'hold' a 'triggered' client and practices for dealing with traumatised individuals in worshop and individual coaching sessions

Attention will be given to co-creating a safe and confidential working environment where deep personal enquiry can be fruitful, so participants are encouraged to bring their own client cases for exploration and supervision.
 
Please note that the workshop will be conducted in the English language.
 
Who Should Attend?
This workshop is for anyone who wishes to gain an introduction to current thinking about Organisational Trauma and gain practical experience of working systemically through the medium of Constellations. In particular, this workshop might benefit professionals engaged in culture change and transformation, as internal or external practitioners. Experienced coaches, consultants, constellators and facilitators working in commercial, public and community settings will gain value from attending. While no knowledge or experience of Organisational Trauma is required, the workshop is not suitable for those who are completely new to Organisational Constellations. Ideally, participants must have had some basic training in Organisational and Coaching Constellations. If you are unsure if this workshop is for you, please reach out for an exploratory conversation.
 
Benefits
Participants will:

• Have opportunities to explore their own ‘live’ work-based issues in a confidential learning environment
• Understanding current thinking about Organisational Trauma and how it relates to their own professional practice
• Gain insights into the stance and guiding principles of intervening when working systemically with Constellations and where organisational trauma is suspected.
• Receive a White Paper outlining the current state of thinking and practice on Organisational Trauma and including a reading list of key current literature in this field.

Price & Refund Policy

The workshop fee for this non-residential, 2-day programme, is £580  (ex VAT) per person. In order to keep prices affordable, we do not offer refunds on cancelled places. It might be possible to transfer your place to another person you nominate, with sufficient notice. In exceptional circumstances we will consider offering you a place on another meus programme.

Leading the workshop

Ty is an experienced Organisational Development professional with over 35 years of coaching and consulting experience at senior levels in global corporations, and in the Government & Public sectors. His doctoral research as a social psychologist was in the field of breakthrough and transformation. He is a Constellations teacher and systemic practitioner, and has published numerous articles on systemic practice generally, and specifically on new directions in Gestalt coaching and on Constellations Supervision. The founder and a director of meus, Ty's abiding interest is in creative and compassionate approaches to leadership and organisational transformation. Ty was one of the first Organisational Constellators in the UK and pioneered the development of this work in businesses over 25 years ago, with Judith Hemming and through the nowhere group.