Most of us spend all our lives without ever truly understanding why we are the way we are. It often takes vast amounts of self-reflection to truly get to the bottom of things, but what most of us often fail to realize is the presence of lingering trauma that affects every facet of our lives. The truth of the matter is everyone has dealt with trauma at some point and what’s actually missing is the acknowledgment of this trauma. It all begins with awareness, and that’s where Keep Calm and Connect has made its mark in the lives of many.
Operating on the notion that everyone has experienced trauma, Keep Calm and Connect ultimately transforms the lives of many individuals through its highly effective program dubbed “Keep Calm and Connect: A TraumaAWARE Approach to Connecting with Anyone.” The key aspect here lies in using TraumaAWARE Care, a trauma-informed approach to being with people and working together to foster individual growth and a strong community.
Co-founded by Fawn Preston and Angel Prater, the AWARE Consulting Group has done tremendous amounts of good in the name of social change. Through its flagship TraumaAWARE Care training, “Keep Calm and Connect,” the remarkable founders have primarily trained healthcare professionals, first responders, and behavioral care professionals on how to self-reflect and incorporate the program’s ideas in all areas of life and not only within their professions. In fact, the founders are looking to market the training program into school systems and have trained experts within school districts who are interested in bringing the program into their institutions.
AWARE stands for Advocacy, Wellness, Action, Recovery, and Education. These are the cornerstones that have led to the success of each member who has become a part of the 20-30 people in each breakout session that the AWARE Consulting Group has facilitated. Each session involves a robust group of individuals learning and growing together. ACG utilizes the world-recognized dialog education model, 4 As of education: Anchor, Apply, Add, and Away. This dialogic teaching method fosters a conversational approach to learning, such as an ongoing talk between teacher and students. Furthermore, it addresses all learning styles, including visual, auditory, reading, and kinesthetic.
Trauma Informed Care covers the data and knowledge around the information, while TraumaAWARE Care is an internal process for an external practice. Simply put, they are the “what it is and why it is important” and the “how to be with people,” respectively. Most people are never taught to self-reflect deeply in a way to recognize where their emotions usually come from. Often, these feelings are caused by trauma activation or a difficult time in a person’s life. AWARE Consulting Group strips down these layers and helps individuals pinpoint the root and make significant changes in how they show up for people and the entire world.
Ultimately, AWARE Consulting Group vows to help people dealing with trauma by providing them with a brave space to seek mental wellness strategies. The organization is on a mission to make everybody healthier, including those who work within the systems, by focusing on mental health awareness and the behavioral patterns each individual has developed due to lingering trauma. “I think somewhere we need to acknowledge that people who work in these systems actually don’t often share what’s happening within them due to “risking” losing their license and/or credentials,” Angel insightfully shared. “This is common in our system of care for people with credentials to “think outward” and not reflect inward.”
By offering a dynamic, progressive, authentic, personable, and interactive approach to TraumaAware Care, Fawn and Angel have granted people the incredible opportunity to be their authentic selves by co-existing in a safe space where everyone can feel vulnerable, share their personal stories, and just appreciate everyone in the room along with their differences.
AWARE Consulting Group has made great strides toward busting the stigma around mental health. Through the KCC training, many people have successfully learned to just be themselves unapologetically. Designed for neurodivergent learners, no one will ever feel alienated when it comes to AWARE Consulting Group’s training, seminars, workshops, coaching, retreats, and consulting services. As a testament to this, Fawn and Angel have made sure to cover all the bases, considering all forms of learning styles.
Overall, AWARE Consulting Group has helped change the lives of many through its highly valuable services. Through their esteemed efforts, Fawn Preston and Angel Prater have proven that trauma is real and healable with the proper support and tools at anyone’s disposal.
