Trauma Aid UK

15/02/2026

Trustees and volunteers of Trauma Aid UK came together for our strategy day in January. We covered the many milestones reached, and our next steps, working towards our vision of a world where communities affected by trauma have access to effective psychological treatments.

Throughout the day, it was fantastic to see such an experienced and passionate team meeting in person and sharing ideas.

Key highlights included:
- Celebrating how far TAUK has come since launching the 3-year strategy in 2024
- Welcoming new trustee and treasurer Idika Amogu to the team
- Setting out a plan across work streams to deliver further impact for traumatised communities in the upcoming year

03/02/2026

Take a look at this recently published article by Megan Burkinshaw and Trauma Aid UK trustee Matthew Wilcockson.

The review investigates whether peer-to-peer psychological interventions improve trauma-related outcomes, common mental health problems, and functioning and wellbeing for refugees in resettled countries.

Purpose. Barriers to accessing healthcare exist for refugees, suggesting the need for culturally appropriate interventions such as peer-delivered treatment. There is limited research regarding the effectiveness of peer-led interventions, thus this systematic review aims to investigate whether peer-t...

22/01/2026

"In 2026, we will bring hope to others, as a charity and EMDR community. We will help people affected by trauma to see through the darkness of now, that life is a gift and one worth living.

I look forward to the coming year, working and learning alongside colleagues from the UK, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tunisia, Syria, Sudan, USA and Canada.

The Trauma Aid UK supported network of professionals is growing and I'm confident of how much more we will achieve in future. Thank you for a wonderful 2025."

A message from Shiraz Farrand, President of Trauma Aid UK, for the New Year

02/12/2025

Congratulations to Dr Hamodi Kayal for achieving EMDR Europe Trainer status! Dr Kayal is a passionate humanitarian who has volunteered for Trauma Aid UK since 2012, playing a key role in our Arab Countries project.

As a trainer, he has been instrumental in training trauma specialists in areas impacted by conflict and natural disaster, ensuring effective training can be provided in their own language.

A quote from a supervisee, trained by Hamodi: “Having EMDR training in our own language means therapists can truly connect with the material, and in turn, with their clients. It makes healing more accessible, more immediate, and more deeply rooted in our communities.”

10/11/2025

There's still time to sign up to Mark Brayne's Attachment-Informed EMDR workshops with live Arabic translation.

"From the EMDR attachment training I have learnt so much. It has absolutely transformed my practice."

Register now: https://emdrfocus.com/workshops/unleash-your-emdr-%d8%a3%d8%b7%d9%84%d9%82-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d9%86%d8%a7%d9%86-%d9%84%d8%b9%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%ac%d9%83-%d8%a8%d9%80-emdr-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d9%85%d9%84-%d9%85%d8%b9-%d8%a7/ -form

02/11/2025

Check out this podcast episode released by the Sonoma Psychotherapy Training Institute on the science behind EMDR therapy. The episode delves into eight different research studies and their compelling results.

Listen here:

Regular posts on EMDR articles, books and videos

05/10/2025

Sign up to Mark Brayne's Attachment-Informed EMDR workshops, offering over 6 hours of recorded learning, live sessions and 18 EMDRIA credits.

Open to our colleagues in the Arab world, this engaging course has been designed for those working with clients in the Arabic language and offers live Arabic translation.

Find out more: https://emdrfocus.com/workshops/unleash-your-emdr-%d8%a3%d8%b7%d9%84%d9%82-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d9%86%d8%a7%d9%86-%d9%84%d8%b9%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%ac%d9%83-%d8%a8%d9%80-emdr-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d9%85%d9%84-%d9%85%d8%b9-%d8%a7/ -form

09/08/2025

A fantastic milestone has been reached in the regional community in Jordan. University professor and clinical psychologist, Dr. Ahmad Abudoush, has become an approved Group Traumatic Episode Protocol (GTEP) Trainer. His final assessed training session was attended by colleagues around the world, from the UK, Egypt, Hong Kong and Ireland.

30/07/2025

A massive THANK YOU to David Archer, Thomas Zimmerman and Claire Pooley for raising funds for Trauma Aid UK. All three of their meaningful and unique fundraising efforts raised a combined total of £2,068 to support trauma healing around the world.

19/07/2025