Mindward Centre for Psychological Wellbeing & Research partnered with SOS Children’s Villages India to design, implement, and evaluate a trauma-informed systems-change programme.
From Awareness to Meaningful Practice
The initiative was designed to move beyond awareness and create practical, sustainable change in caregiving. The approach began by understanding existing needs, designing an experiential curriculum, piloting and refining the programme, and then building internal capacity for national implementation.
Implementation Framework
1. Needs Assessment
Gaps were identified through stakeholder consultations, mapping of existing programmes, and understanding the need for trauma-informed care.
2. Curriculum Design & Pilot Training
Experiential training modules were developed and piloted with frontline workers. Participant feedback was used to continuously refine the content.
3. Training of Trainers & National Rollout
A standardised Training of Trainers (ToT) model was used to build internal capacity and support rollout across 30 states, with fidelity monitoring and booster sessions.
4. Monitoring, Evaluation & Continuous Improvement
Pre- and post-training assessments, impact evaluation, and booster recommendations ensured that the programme remained an evolving process rather than a one-time training event.
Built for Scale, Not Dependency
The programme was implemented across 30 states through a structured Training of Trainers model, strengthening internal capacity rather than creating long-term dependency.
A standardised facilitator manual supported consistency across training sites while preserving the methodology, fidelity, and quality of delivery.
Training used experiential methods including role plays, reflection, and practice, supported by a monitoring framework designed to maintain trainer fidelity across all 30 states.
The model equipped local master trainers to lead, sustain, and expand the programme independently.
Measuring Whether Training Worked
The programme went beyond delivering training—it measured its impact.
Pre- and post-training testing across multiple locations demonstrated a substantial increase in knowledge. Participants also showed improvement across key areas including:
- Emotional safety awareness
- Self-regulation capacity
- Caregiver confidence
- Trauma-informed thinking
- Reduced reactive responses
Caregivers demonstrated an increased ability to:
- Pause before responding
- Remain calm under pressure
- Offer choices to children
- Reflect on personal triggers
- Use grounding techniques
A Fundamental Shift in Perspective
Trauma-informed care encourages a powerful shift in everyday caregiving:
From “What is wrong with the child?” to “What has happened to the child?”
This perspective helps caregivers understand behaviour through a trauma-informed lens and respond with greater awareness, emotional safety, and compassion.
Evidence of Impact
The evaluation showed that structured, trauma-informed training can produce measurable changes in caregiver knowledge, confidence, and practice.
Knowledge increased from 46% to 88% in the reported pre/post assessment, representing a substantial improvement.
Caregivers reported greater confidence and demonstrated stronger abilities to pause, remain calm, offer choices, and use grounding techniques during challenging moments.
Building Sustainable Change
The TI Care Sensitization programme demonstrates how trauma-informed care can move from awareness to execution through a structured, evidence-informed, and scalable approach.
By combining needs assessment, curriculum development, experiential learning, Training of Trainers, national rollout, fidelity monitoring, and evaluation, the programme was designed not simply to train caregivers—but to build the capacity for sustained change.
Mindward Centre for Psychological Wellbeing & Research
Militating Mind, Building Futures
Clear and thoughtful article. I like how you focus on impact and patterns, not just whether something feels uncomfortable. That distinction helps readers reflect without jumping to self-diagnosis.
The calm, grounded tone makes it easier to understand when something is part of normal life—and when it might be worth getting support.