Nicola Trenorden

Lecturer in Behavioural Health

College of Medicine and Public Health

place Health Sciences
GPO Box 2100, ADELAIDE, SA, 5001

Nicola is a Social Worker and registered Clinical Counsellor with a Masters in Social Work and Masters in Counselling from Flinders University & University of South Australia. Nicola is an experienced child and youth practitioner specialising in grief, loss and trauma counselling.

She has provided therapeutic trauma informed counselling with vulnerable children and young people in multicultural primary schools, private practice and human service settings.

Nicola's clinical and management experience includes over 30 years in the non-government sector supporting vulnerable children and youth in therapeutic programs. She has developed trauma informed experiential and expressive art programs for refugee, Aboriginal and marginalised young people, and children, in services such as Survivors of Torture and Trauma Assistance and Rehabilitation Service, to aid trauma recovery.

Nicola’s professional practice is guided by trauma informed care, ethics of justice and compassion. She holds a child rights and ecological perspective, is client centred and enjoys inviting imagination, creativity, and self-expression to support children and young people's agency in discovering their internal resources and ways of knowing and resilience.

Qualifications

Master of Social Work

Master of Counselling

Grad. Cert. Aboriginal Studies

Bachelor Soc Science -  Community Development and Youth Practice

Honours, awards and grants

Chancellors Commendation for outstanding academic achievement and high GPA in the Master of Social Work, Flinders University.

Key responsibilities

Lecturer and Teaching Specialist, Behavioural Health, Counselling.

SWIRLS - Social Work Innovation Research Living Space.

PhD Candidate, Social Work.

Teaching interests

Development and delivery of Graduate Certificate in Trauma Responsive Practice.

Delivery of MSW Trauma and Reslience topic.

Teaching interests.

Child and youth centred practice

Trauma informed and responsive practice in work with vulnerable populations.

Applying and teaching counselling and child/youth theory to practice.

Trauma informed pedagogy.

Previous topics;

Interventions with Children and Youth, Loss and Grief in Social Work practice and Grief, Loss, and Trauma, Human and Animal Interactions.

Other tertiary institutions - teaching in degrees of counselling, youth work and human services.

Topic coordinator
MSHC9031 Clinical Practicum 2
SOAD8009 Trauma and Complexity
SOAD8006 Being Child and Youth Centred
SOAD9059 Trauma and Resilience
SOAD8014 Introduction to Australian Human and Health Services
MHSC8019 Fundamentals of Clinical Practice
MHSC8032 Approaches to Counselling across the Lifespan
MHSC8049 Trauma informed knowledge and practice in Counselling
Topic lecturer
SOAD8006 Being Child and Youth Centred
SOAD9059 Trauma and Resilience
Further information

Interests

Child and Youth Centred Practice

Trauma informed expressive arts therapy.

Child rights and voice and agency in therapeutic practice

Impact of trauma and adverse childhood experiences

Interpersonal Neurobiology and the neurobiology of trauma

Trauma Informed Approach and Trauma Responsive Practice

Research

PhD research focus The use of creativity and imagination to promote children’s voice, visibility, meaning making and resilience.