Being Trauma-Informed means that we are Culturally Attuned. Heal Trauma Global is a sister company to Heal Historical Trauma and was cultivated to fill a wide gap in stress science & trauma training.

The trauma-informed movement is beautiful! It's wonderful that as a society we are moving in a direction that honors an individual's past as part of the driving force behind current behaviors. Yet, time and time again, I have attended trainings that are labeled as Trauma-Informed only to walk away feeling excluded and forgotten. Many of these trainings are created with a Western dominant culture lens. Some of the most well-intended people create trainings without realizing that we all have unique life experiences and see the world from different perspectives. We forget that there are many "right ways" to do things! Each culture brings something wonderful to share and teach, this is the beauty of diversity. I created Heal Trauma Global to provide a space to learn about trauma from a multicultural lens. We provide the following training to individuals, organizations, academic settings & others:

1. Trust-Based Relational Intervention

TBRI

2. Dr. Bruce Perry's Neurosequential Model for Caregivers

https://www.bdperry.com/caregiving

3. Adverse Childhood Experiences Training

4. Trauma Training

5. Historical Trauma Specialist Certification Levels 1 & 2 (taught through Heal Historical Trauma)

Please contact Iya at healhistoricaltrauma@gmail.com for more information.

Iya Affo & Heal Historical Trauma has worked with the Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth, Phoenix Union School District, Mesa Fire Department, New York Presbyterian Family PEACE Trauma Treatment Center, Chandler Unified Schools and many other individuals and organizations.

Iya Affo is a Culturalist and Historical Trauma Specialist. She earned Western Certification as a Trauma Specialist and is a descendant of a long line of traditional healers from Benin Republic, West Africa. Iya is a Certified Trauma & Resilience Life Coach, and a Certified Facilitator of Trust-Based Relational Intervention. She has completed Certification for the Native American based Fatherhood is Sacred/Motherhood is Sacred program and recently completed training to facilitate Dr. Bruce Perry's Neurosequential Model for Caregiving.

Iya has visited more than 25 countries around the world and has resided in Native American, Yoruba, Buddhist, Hindu and Taoist communities in various countries. While on pilgramage to Benin Republic, she lived among Medicine Men and Women to learn the ways of the Shaman and understand the truth about the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. In China, she lived in the Shaolin Temple, the cradle of Zen Buddhism, and immersed herself in Chinese culture. After a spiritual calling to India, Iya sojourned in a Hindu spiritual community and lived a minimal lifestyle while imbuing Hindu customs and ideology. Serving Navajo Nation and the Gila River Indian Community, Iya found a home among the egalitarian, indigenous people of North America.

After living abroad for several years, Iya returned to the United States and in December 2018, Native American elders invited her to Toronto, Canada to participate in forming the first Canadian/American collaboration to heal ACES and Historical Trauma. She debuted her presentation of The Symphony of Traditional Medicine and Western Medicine to Heal ACES and Historical Trauma at the 2018 National ACES Conference in San Francisco, California. In collaboration with Governor Ducey’s Office of Youth, Faith and Family, Iya created and presented the Historical Trauma session at the 5th Annual ACES Summit of Arizona. She has also presented at the Trauma-Informed Resilient Church conference, the Franciscan Renewal Center, the Native American Disability Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, and the Igniting the Warrior Spirit Conference in the Four Corners area. Iya was a storyteller at the 25th Annual Child Abuse Prevention Conference in Phoenix, where she also presented a break-out session on Historical Trauma. Most recently, she presented at the Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention Coalition, appeared at the 31st Annual ATTACh Conference in Phoenix, First Things First's 2021 Summit and for the ACLU's Demand to Learn and Smart Justice's campaigns.

Iya strives to cultivate love and inclusivity. She hopes to facilitate the decolonization and subsequent healing of indigenous people. Iya advocates for the harmonization of Traditional Medicine and Western Medicine to facilitate holistic healing.

Iya is an executive board member on the Arizona ACES Consortium, and serves as the Chair of the Historical Trauma committee. She is an Adjunct Faculty member at the Arizona Trauma Institute\Trauma Institute International and is the founder of Phoenix Rising to Resilience virtual community on the ACES Connection platform. Iya currently works with families in crisis on the Gila River Indian Community and is the founder of Heal Historical Trauma.

Please contact Iya at healhistoricaltrauma@gmail.com for more information.