This May, the Women’s Health Research Institute (WHRI) formalized our commitment to Trauma and Resiliency-informed Practices (TRiP) with a new offering: TRiP Training for Researchers and Evaluators. Facilitated by long-time WHRI partner BC Pomeroy and WHRI Qualitative Research Analyst Julia Santana Parrilla, the training was undertaken in two sessions, on May 12th and May 26th 2026. The first session focused on turning inwards and establishing practices for self-compassion. The second focused on turning outwards and drawing on self-compassion to form caring connections. As Julia said in-session: “an investment in ourselves is an investment in each other.”
BC Pomeroy is a queer researcher and engagement specialist as well as the Medical Assistance in Dying Lead at the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA). BC has been facilitating TRiP Training since 2017-2018 when they adapted the Fraser Health Authority’s TRiP training for those in patient-oriented research. BC was part of the train-the-trainer offering since the training’s inception with originator Marika Sandrelli (MHSU).
Julia Santana Parrilla is a qualitative research specialist and storytelling facilitator who was invited to tailor TRiP Training for WHRI members and become an ongoing support for integrating these practices into research at the institute.
Both BC and Julia were instrumental in developing Beyond the Binary in British Columbia, the first iteration of the now national guide; BC as the community engagement lead, and Julia as the project coordinator. The two worked together closely on community steering committee engagements and on integrating justice-oriented principles throughout project activities, including the development of the Guide.
Together, BC and Julia are adept at helping people explore and articulate their lived experiences and utilize that knowledge in establishing a deeper understanding of our shared collective priorities.
The TRiP Training is designed such that TRiP practices are integrated within the structure and modeled by the facilitators. Prior to gathering, registrants receive the slide deck and a care page with resources, along with some expectation-setting. The latter is expanded upon in the session to reify acknowledgements of accessibility and comfort during long online learning (e.g. an attendee knitted while in-session). The pace of the workshops is progressive, starting slowly and building momentum throughout, with invitations to engage and contribute throughout in ways that feel comfortable and comforting to attendees (e.g. chat, verbal, video on/off).
Part 1 focuses on self-compassionate practices, acknowledging and addressing how researchers and evaluators internalize the systems and structures we work within, including critical appraisal of studies into critical inner voices. The training promotes self-compassion as foundational to activate the resilience necessary to learn how to establish and sustain caring connections.
Part 2 focuses on compassion for others, acknowledging and addressing how health care and research systems work with people who experience traumas, stigmas and biases within them. The training encourages trauma awareness and relational approaches as integral to good science.
Both Julia and BC bring strengths-based perspectives into accounting for ongoing harms in how research and evaluation are conducted, and into responding to ongoing inequities. Their commitments are aligned with WHRI’s dedication to promoting a culture of good science, as good science requires good care, and good care is responsive. As our first offering of TRiP Training for Researchers and Evaluators, we consider engagement within our community a success. The training was promoted through WHRI communications, including social media, e-blasts, and monthly newsletters. Of the 22 registrants, 8 people attended parts 1 and 2 and were issued certificates of completion. Attendees included research staff, trainees, faculty, and clinician researchers.
BC and Julia received messages of appreciation during the sessions, with some attendees sharing their reflections following Part 2:
I'm very grateful to have joined the two sessions you both beautifully organized. As a learner, your format and responsiveness to participants effectively motivated me to maximize my own learning. My knowledge of how to apply TRiP to evaluation and research increased as a result of the two sessions. I am eager to see how my TRiP skills would improve as a result of participating. Increased motivation to apply what I learned is definitely attributable to the sessions and I am excited to track how applying TRiP would make my evaluation and research work better (i.e. participants will have better experience (less re-traumatizations, etc.), less data "noise", higher fidelity findings).
I learned so much from the TRiP course, and am grateful to have access to such training. It is so needed! I believe the facilitators created a supportive environment that encouraged participation, mutual understanding and open-minded discussion, and appreciated the practical strategies and real-world examples that helped bring the concepts to life. The training increased my confidence in applying trauma- and resilience-informed skills to my research in human health, and deepened my awareness of the important role researchers play in participants' post-traumatic growth and healing. Overall, it was a valuable experience, and I would highly recommend it to others who want to help keep the heart in healthcare.
This is one way that the WHRI is sustaining commitments to anti-oppressive principles. You can find more resources and activities on our Engagement and Collaboration Principles and Practices page.