Get Swept Off Your Feet by Task Shifting

When is the last time you were swept off your feet by an idea? I have been lucky to have experienced that sensation multiple times. Here’s one that stands out from a few years back:

I was sitting in an International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) conference keynote listening to Dr. Vikram Patel talk about task shifting, the premise that we can teach non-professionals to interact with people who need care in a way that is as effective as the care they may get from a professional.

Watch Dr. Patel’s TED Talk on Task Shifting >>

Task Shifting and TIC

As Dr. Patel laid out the empirical argument for his premise, my mind began to churn and swirl — there may have even been some smoke coming out of my ears!

Here was an evidence-based concept that captured what we had been trying to do with our Trauma Informed Care curriculum: translate, distill and simplify key TIC concepts into language and activity that, when taught to foster parents, teachers, direct care staff and so many others, can make a genuine difference.

All those worries that the scope of the problem couldn’t be met with our current solutions melted away; by properly implementing and utilizing task shifting, we could enlist the help of everyone, and do it in a culturally-congruent manner.

Fast forward nearly 10 years later, and I’m still advocating for task shifting — not to replace or diminish the remarkable effect of professional treatment, but to empower the non-professionals to make a difference, affect change and work more effectively in collaboration with their professional brethren.

Task Shifting and Resilience In Sports

Our latest task shifting idea is a partnership with Stryv365, a remarkable group of people dedicated to the world of coaching youth in sports. Over the past year, we have learned about their good work and success in Milwaukee, watched the NM-Sport modules together and shared stories about integrating trauma-informed principles into their world.

Knowing that other coaches and TIC enthusiasts would have an interest in the topic, we developed a new, three-part training series in collaboration with Stryv365 and the Milwaukee Youth Sports Alliance.

Resilience in Sports looks at how coaches can understand the trauma that youth bring with them to the game, and how they can support the child’s resilience.

We’re optimistic there are many more interested people out there who can benefit from this training. Are you one of them? We’d love to have you join us this August as we strive to help the coaching world become the best task shifters they can be