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The Trauma-Safe section looks at why it's so vital that coaches get training in how to spot and prevent trauma from harming clients - or themselves -
Here are the video resources from this section:
- When Pushing Through Resistance Causes Harm
- The Risks Of Toxic Positivity
- The Dangers Of Sourcing Techniques From The Internet
Working with trauma without adequate specialist training can risk causing harm, and there's often little substance behind the 'trauma-informed' claims of many coaching courses. It goes beyond knowing how to 'catch and pass' in a mental health crisis.
This category looks at how safely your coaching operates when clients are experiencing chronic stress, threat, complex PTSD, anxiety, or nervous system defence, whether or not trauma is named or disclosed. We'll explore whether your current approach helps clients move forward without pushing them past their capacity, retraumatising them, or creating ethical or vicarious trauma risk for you as the coach.
Without trauma-safe foundations, depth can become dangerous. Resistance can be misread. Nervous system defence can be mistaken for lack of commitment. And well-intentioned techniques can cause unintended harm.
Find out why trauma-safety matters so much in coaching, and how to make your coaching trauma-safe, without crossing into therapy.
When Pushing Through Resistance Causes Harm
Many coaching models treat resistance as something to be overcome with resilience, willpower, or better questioning. But when a client is in nervous system defence, pushing on through causes further nervous system harm.
Misreading resistance can shut clients down, increase self-sabotage, retraumatise them, or cause them to disengage entirely.
Watch this video to explore why 'pushing on through' can derail the coaching process, and how to recognise when resistance is actually self-protection.
are you ready to train with clare as a master coach?
The Risks Of Toxic Positivity
Reframing, optimism and 'finding the lesson' can look supportive, but when a client’s nervous system is stuck in hypervigilance, positivity can invalidate and harm.
It can override genuine signals of threat, create shame about normal protective responses, and fracture coaching trust. This is often spiritual bypass in disguise, and it can quietly shut clients down rather than help them move forward.
Watch this video to understand how toxic positivity interferes with safety, trauma, trust and real change.
are you ready to train with clare as a master coach?
The Dangers Of Sourcing Techniques From The Internet
Somatic tools, breathwork and nervous system techniques are widely shared online, often without context, safeguards or contraindications. And if you found them useful yourself, it can be tempting to share them with clients. The same applies to therapeutic techniques, such as CBT tools or those from psychodynamic therapy.
But without formal training, coaches may not know when a technique is unsafe, inappropriate, or likely to trigger trauma responses. Using tools without understanding what must be in place first can cause harm, retraumatisation, or even destabilisation to the point of an emotional or mental health crisis, even with the best intentions.
They can also risk vicarious trauma for the coach, which we'll explore more in the next category.
Watch this video to explore the risks of using deep-acting tools without adequate safety training.
are you ready to train with clare as a master coach?