Training in Understanding and responding to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s)
Often, and throughout our lives, we carry things we can’t make sense of, put a name too or even justify.
An unexplained heaviness in the chest.
A tightening in the throat when we go to speak.
A sense of not quite belonging.
A repeating pattern in our relationships, finances, or wellbeing that feels older than we are.
What if that weight didn’t start within your lifetime?
What if it’s an echo—an inherited ripple—moving through time from unresolved trauma and adverse childhood experience as well as those held by our ancestors?
On Sunday, 7th September, at Hydro-ease, I, Vivian McKinnon, trauma specialist, invite you into a powerful, experiential training titled
“Understanding and Responding to Trauma and Childhood Adversity.”
This isn’t just a professional development opportunity—it’s an invitation to reconnect, remember, and restore. Using curiosity, creativity and compassion
There is a ripple effect that comes with trauma, sometimes it’s like a gentle wave, other times a tsunami running through our family lineage. Trauma doesn’t always begin with you. Science, psychology, and indigenous wisdom all agree – trauma can be passed down through generations. Whether it’s a war your grandfather survived, the silence your mother learned as a child, or the poverty your great-grandparents endured—these experiences can echo within your nervous system, your emotional responses, and your worldview.
This is referred to as our ancestral inheritance.
To heal while focusing on blame or finger pointing will only exacerbate your pain. Healing starts with creating space for understanding. When we bring curiosity, creativity and compassion to our inner world—and the legacies we carry—we begin to break cycles, those old generational ripples that cascade within us. We begin to heal not just for ourselves, but for those who came before us… and those who come after. We live in a time where more people are remembering—returning to the stories, the wounds, and the wisdom of their lineage. When we understand trauma as a transmission, we reclaim the ability to interrupt it through connected breath, stories and awareness.
Your healing is not selfish. It’s sacred.
By choosing to learn, feel, and integrate what once overwhelmed or confused you, you become the turning point in your family line. You become the calm after the storm—someone your ancestors could only dream of being, and someone who your descendants will thank.
I bring lived experience of over 5 decades. And professional experience spanning over 3 decades in trauma-informed practice, rooted in compassion, innovation, and body felt understanding. The training on 7th September will explore:
· What trauma and childhood adversity really mean (beyond the textbook)
· How adverse experiences shape the brain, body, and behaviour—across generations
· The role of ancestral patterns in emotional pain and self-limiting beliefs
· Practical, embodied tools to respond, regulate, and rewire
· Ways to create healing environments
· Breathwork, Music, Cacao
This is a day to explore both professionally and personally. Whether you are a therapist, teacher, healthcare worker, or simply someone on a path of healing and awakening—this workshop meets you where you are.
Come and join me, Vivian McKinnon on Sunday 7th September at Hydro-ease Unit C3 Inspire Business Park, Dundonald Northern Ireland – BT16 1QT.