The Law Society Northern Territory is proud to present Trauma informed responses for a better practice and workplace presented by Karen Spitz.

Date:       Thursday, 26 March 2026

Where:    Maurice Blackburn Office, Ground Floor, 60 Smith Street Darwin City
Time:       10:00am to 12:00pm

This free CPD is offered in-person and online however seating is limited and bookings are essential.  To register your attendance for this event click here.

This 2 hour training will cover:

• Working with escalated clients
• Brief trauma science – brain and window of tolerance, ways to create repair and communicate effectively.
• Managing suicidality and suicide ideation
• Identifying suicide risk, basic skills to ascertain if someone is at risk, getting help and managing risk in short and long term.
• Recognising the impact of legal practice with complex/trauma affected clients – Vicarious trauma, burn out, compassion fatigue and moral injury.
• Definition and review of symptoms, risk factors and trajectories if unaddressed.
• Tools and reflective practice to support lawyers in recognising impact and managing it.
• Outlining reflective practices that can be used to ascertain if/how our behaviours have changed, ways to create support networks/safety plans and ‘communication under pressure approaches’ to minimise adverse impacts on individual colleagues and workplace culture.

CPD core competency: CD

CPD points: 2

About Karen Spitz:

Karen is a registered counsellor and admitted solicitor with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in law and a Masters of Counselling and has been working with survivors of trauma, focused on sexual violence, for ten years. Having lived in Darwin since 2018 and Karen now feels very lucky to call Darwin home. Currently, Karen works at Danila Dilba as a counsellor in their SEWB team. Prior to this Karen spent five years at Shine Lawyers in the role of lead counsellor in their institutional abuse team. Karen is passionate about trauma informed training and education and this was part of her role at Shine lawyers. In alternating years Karen teaches at CDU a curriculum she developed called ‘Survivors of Trauma in the Legal System’, this unit is designed to enhance graduate’s abilities to work effectively with trauma impacted clients.