Promotion of transprofessional trauma-informed approach/2026

The project aims to strengthen the competence of social work, social services, and physiotherapy students and teachers in trauma-informed practice. A trauma-informed approach helps professionals understand how traumatic experiences affect people’s well-being, daily functioning, and quality of life, while promoting safety, empowerment, inclusion, resilience, and recovery.

The project brings together Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK), Kauno kolegija in Lithuania, and University College Copenhagen in Denmark. The partners share a common interest in developing emerging competence areas in social and health care education and strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration.

During the project, students will participate in international mobility activities and work in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams. The themes include trauma-informed work with families and communities, nature-based and body-oriented approaches to supporting young people’s well-being, and promoting post-traumatic growth among people with refugee backgrounds.

Students will develop practical solutions in collaboration with community and professional partners while deepening their understanding of trauma, recovery, and well-being promotion. At the same time, they will strengthen international cooperation, interdisciplinary teamwork, and problem-solving skills that are increasingly important in contemporary working life.

The project will produce new learning materials, pedagogical models, and sustainable international cooperation that will support educational development beyond the project period. In the long term, the project aims to contribute to more holistic, inclusive, and effective social and health care services and to strengthen professionals’ capacity to engage safely and respectfully with people from diverse life situations and backgrounds.

The project responds to this need by providing students and staff with opportunities for international learning, knowledge exchange, and practice-based development. It aims to strengthen participants’ capacity to engage with people from diverse life situations in a safe, respectful, and strengths-based manner, while promoting post-traumatic growth, recovery, and well-being.

The project aims to strengthen the competence of social services and physiotherapy students and educators in trauma-informed practice and its application in diverse client and community settings. A key objective is to increase understanding of the impacts of trauma on well-being, functioning, and social participation, while developing the capacity to promote safety, recovery, resilience, empowerment, and post-traumatic growth.

The project fosters interdisciplinary collaboration between social services and physiotherapy and strengthens students’ ability to work in multidisciplinary and multicultural environments. Through international mobility activities and intensive courses, participants will learn to examine well-being from different professional perspectives and develop solutions that respond to the needs of service users in cooperation with community and professional partners.

In addition, the project seeks to enhance higher education by developing new learning materials, pedagogical approaches, and international cooperation practices. It strengthens collaboration between the partner institutions and creates a foundation for future educational, research, and development projects.

In the long term, the project aims to contribute to more effective, inclusive, and trauma-informed social and health care services and to educate professionals who are capable of addressing complex societal and well-being challenges through holistic and collaborative approaches.

The project is expected to strengthen participants’ knowledge of trauma-informed approaches in social work and physiotherapy through international exchange and shared learning. It will support the development of professional competence, increase understanding of different Nordic practices, and encourage future collaboration between partner institutions. The project may also contribute to small-scale improvements in teaching and student learning within the participating programmes.

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