What Every Professional Working with Children and Families Needs to Know
This is the core professional training presentation developed by SSTA AWARE and 5Waves — a 60 to 90-minute evidence-based program grounded in the latest international research and delivered through the lens of lived experience. It is designed for any professional who works with or for children and families, and who needs the knowledge, language, and practical tools to recognize, respond to, and support those affected by sibling sexual trauma and abuse. The training is survivor-centered, trauma-informed, and professional-to-professional in tone — collaborative, not prescriptive, and built on the belief that every professional in the room can help change what happens to these families.
What the training covers
1
The Landscape of SSTA
What is SSTA, how common is it, and why is it so invisible?
2
Behavior Spectrum
How do we distinguish healthy, problematic, and abusive sibling behaviour?
3
Impact on All Children and Families
Who is harmed, and how?
4
Recognizing and Responding
What do professionals need to see and do?
5
Whole-Family Response and Systems
How do we respond well, together, over time?
What the training covers
Mental health clinicians & therapists
Social workers & child welfare professionals
Law enforcement professionals
Attorneys & legal professionals
Medical providers & pediatricians
Child Advocacy Center (CAC) staff
Educators & school counselors
Nurses & hospital social workers
Foster care & adoption workers
College & university faculty
Mandated reporters in any role
Any professional working with families
BOOK THIS TRAINING
Bring this initiative to your team, agency, or institution.
The #OneWord Initiative is designed for the organizations that already exist — the ones doing the work every day to protect children and support families. We are not asking you to do more. We are asking you to include one more word in what you already do.