WORKPLACE PROGRAM · THE CARE CURRICULUM
Essential learning for demanding, relational work.
Practical, trauma-informed learning for people working across care, health, education, community services and other fields where relationships are central to the work.
The Care Curriculum develops the skills and understanding that help people navigate emotional labour, recognise the effects of demanding work, practise recovery and learn through reflection. It brings together psychological and systems perspectives, embodied practices and practical tools that can be applied in everyday work.
THREE AREAS OF LEARNING
The curriculum is organised into three connected areas.
Organisations can select individual workshops or combine them to meet their learning priorities.
Explore the emotional and relational dimensions of work, including the demands of supporting others, the effects of empathic strain and the factors that influence how people experience their roles.
Understanding emotional labour, compassion and capacity in relational work
Explore the emotional effort involved in remaining present, responsive and thoughtful in complex situations, and consider what supports sustainable engagement.
Secondary traumatic stress, burnout and empathic strain
Develop an understanding of different responses to demanding work, recognise signs of strain and consider the personal, relational and organisational factors that influence wellbeing.
Develop practical ways to recognise stress, understand personal responses and support recovery during and after demanding work.
Nervous system awareness
Explore stress responses, identify signs of activation and depletion, and learn the neurobiology of stress, recovery and regulation. Participants will learn practical tools and techniques for resourcing themselves during challenging times.
Foundational skills for embodied resilience
Learn accessible body-based practices that support awareness of physical and emotional responses, attention and recovery. Participants have opportunities to practise and consider how these approaches may be useful in their own contexts.
Create opportunities to make sense of challenging experiences, learn with others and recognise the practices and conditions that support sustainable work.
Debriefing, reflective practice and rest
Explore approaches to reflection and debriefing, consider how to learn from demanding experiences, and identify ways to integrate learning and recovery into working life.
Noticing, acknowledging and celebrating
Practise noticing positive moments, meaningful connections and experiences of progress in everyday work. Positive reflection is most useful when it sits alongside honest attention to workplace challenges and when participants have sufficient psychological safety to engage openly.
FLEXIBLE DELIVERY
The Care Curriculum can be adapted to the needs, priorities and context of your organisation.
Three-hour sessions focused on a specific topic, suitable for professional development days, team learning or targeted capability development.
An extended learning experience combining related topics, with time for practical exercises, reflection and integration.
A sequence of workshops shaped around your workforce, existing learning priorities and the demands of your service or sector.
We work with organisations to identify appropriate content and delivery options, with attention to how learning can be applied in everyday practice.
See all programs → Reflective Practice Circles →Small groups, experiential exercises and time to absorb new learning.
Practise skills and body-based techniques in the session, not only talk about them.
Work with real situations from participants’ roles and leave with tools to use the next day.
Structured reflection connects new skills to the realities and conditions of each workplace.
Every session is trauma-informed, with choice about how people take part. The curriculum complements existing professional development and organisational wellbeing initiatives.
Jo Buick, drawing on 17 years across mental health, education and social justice.
Meet the team →What to expect
PEDAgogicaL APPRoach
Skills development is one part of a safe and sustainable workplace.
A BEST PRACTICE APPROACH
Under work health and safety laws, employers are required to identify and manage psychosocial hazards, starting with how work is designed and organised. Training on its own does not meet that duty, but it is an important part of a broader approach that also addresses workload, job design, leadership and support.
The Care Curriculum is designed to sit within that approach:
Teams learn to recognise empathic strain, stress responses and early signs of burnout, so concerns can be raised and addressed sooner.
Recovery skills, reflective practice and peer connection support wellbeing in roles with sustained emotional demands.
As appropriate, workshops include time for leadership and management reflections on workload, leadership and resourcing, so learning can inform organisational action as well as individual practice.
Sources: Safe Work Australia (2022), Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work; Occupational Health and Safety Amendment (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 (Vic).
Bring The Care Curriculum to your organisation
Whether you are looking for a standalone workshop, full-day training or a more structured learning program, we can work with you to identify an approach suited to your people and context.
