My Traumatised Brain: Science, Story & Strategies
“For the first time, someone understood how to work with my traumatised brain.”
When I was nine years old, school wasn’t a place of learning.
It was a place I endured.
I arrived each day frozen in fear. My body shaking, my mind locked in survival.
Daily abuse at home had taken over my nervous system. Learning wasn’t just difficult, it was inaccessible. My brain was doing its primary job: protecting me from threat.
There was minimal space for focus.
No capacity for engagement.
No ability to connect.
The frustration was real, because I was trying, really hard to learn and retain.
And then, in Grade 4, one teacher changed everything.
He didn’t know my story.
He didn’t have the language of trauma-informed practice.
But what he did instinctively aligns precisely with what neuroscience now tells us about how traumatised brains develop and learn.
Through consistent rhythm, safety, and genuine connection, he reached me before my anxiety shut everything down.
Slowly, my anxiety softened.
My body began to settle.
And for the first time, I could access the parts of my brain needed to learn, relate, and engage.
The shift was unmistakable, the world seemed less foggier, I had more clarity and it happened before any academic strategy ever mattered.
This session unpacks why that worked.
In My Traumatised Brain: Science, Story & Strategies, I weave lived experience with clear, accessible neuroscience to help educators understand:
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why survival always comes before learning
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why working “up high” in the brain fails when safety is missing
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and what actually helps students access their learning brain
This is not a checklist.
It’s a lens shift.
If you’ve ever wondered why your best strategies don’t land,
why some children can’t engage no matter how hard they try,
or how small relational moments can change a child’s trajectory,
This session will change the way you see the child in front of you.
Just like one teacher changed everything for me.
Your Exclusive 55-Minute On-Demand Session
Watch anytime, from anywhere. Lifetime access included.
My Traumatised Brain: Science, Story & Strategies is where science meets lived experience — with practical tools you can use straight away.
In this session, I share how rhythm, connection, and the brain’s natural sequence calm the stress response and create safety — the foundation for all learning.
Drawing on Dr Bruce Perry’s neuroscience and my own lived experience of childhood trauma, I show how simple, nurturing strategies regulate the lower brain, build trust, and open access to the cortex, where focus, problem-solving, and learning not just become possible but accessible.
You’ll learn:
🔹 How trauma impacts the developing brain and keeps students in survival mode
🔹 Why rhythm and connection regulate stress and create safety
🔹 Practical, nurturing strategies to build trust and reach the learning brain
Understand the science. Feel the story. Reach students in a way that matters.
Presented by
Beck Thompson
Founder of Trauma Informed Teachers Australia
Educator | Keynote Speaker | Lived Experience of Childhood Trauma | Author of Chasing Normal
- Purchase the 55 min session alone for $29.95
or
Bundle & Save
Get the full picture. Add Beck’s memoir Chasing Normal(ebook) to your My Traumatised Brain session purchase and receive both the science and strategies and the lived story behind it for $36.95
What educators have said about My Traumatised Brain
Beck’s insights into how trauma shows up in classrooms—and how it hinders learning—were eye-opening. What I love most is that her strategies don’t add to a teacher’s workload; they benefit the whole class. Her clear explanation of the Neurosequential Model, along with practical examples, has transformed my starting routines and how I use “brain breaks.” If you want to make your classroom calmer, safer, and more engaging for every learner, don’t wait for your school to offer it—this webinar is absolutely worth investing in yourself.
I gained a lot more insight to help engage with students.
It was informative, engaging and practical.
The content was relatable with practical insights.
It was personally very helpful to me, as I could dive deep more into this and help educate other teachers I work with.
It was great to hear form someone with lived experience and also provide specific strategies.
A very informative session and a timely topic as well. I was able to learn so much from this.
This session gave me a deeper understanding of the neuroscience of regulation.
Even as a psychologist and non-educator I found the information extremely applicable to individual and group work. Beck sharing her lived experience and knowledge was a wonderful asset.
It was very informative and I got so many key points that can help me in my teaching.
Valuable insight on trauma informed perspectives and tools to equip school staff with knowledge to effectively work with a trauma-informed lens.
Beck is an incredible speaker. So much insight and practical implementation.
Very relevant to my study and field of work. Informative and interesting.