Trauma-Informed Coaching with Jaci Rogash
Trauma survivors don't need one person to be everything; they need a web of support, each thread held by someone who knows their role and plays it well. In this episode of A Trauma-Informed Future podcast, host Katie Kurtz is in conversation with certified coach Jaci Rogash, about what it actually means to be a trauma-informed coach: not a substitute for therapy, not a watered-down version of clinical care, but something distinct and genuinely necessary. This episode explores how coaches, therapists, peer supporters, and community practitioners can each hold their piece of the ecosystem without overextending and why staying within your scope isn't a limitation on your care, but an expression of it. If you've ever wondered where the line is, how to refer without it feeling like abandonment, or how to show up fully for someone who's been through hard things without accidentally doing harm, this conversation is for you.
Learn more about Jaci:
Jaci Rogash is a Certified Trauma Transformation Coach, Energy Coach, Breathwork Facilitator and speaker. Jaci works with women who have experienced trauma, have worked through that and created a life that is good but not great. These women are sick of feeling stuck and want to step into their fullest potential and bring their visions to life.
Jaci grew up in country Victoria and is no stranger to trauma, experiencing a number of significant incidents before the age of 24. Jaci embarked on her own deep healing journey after years of suppressing her experiences, which allowed her to break free of her trauma and discover her true calling as a coach.
Jaci supports women to move through their self-doubt, self-sabotage, fears and unsupportive subconscious patterns that show up because of their trauma, so they can find fulfillment, joy and the abundance life has to offer.
Connect with Jaci:
Visionaries:https://www.jacirogash.com/visionaries
Website: https://www.jacirogash.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaci.rogash/
Email: jaci@jacirogash.com
Show Transcript:
Katie Kurtz (she/her): Hi everyone and welcome back to a Trauma-Informed Future podcast.
I'm your host, Katie Kurtz. I am delighted to be joined here today by Jaci Rogash. Welcome Jaci. I'm excited to talk with you today and reconnect with you. I know we've had many conversations in the past.
Jaci Rogash (she/her): Yeah. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited for this conversation.
Katie Kurtz (she/her): Yeah. So Jaci, do you mind just like introducing yourself in your own words to everyone today?
Jaci Rogash (she/her): I feel like this changes every day. But yes, I I would say a transformation coach, energy coach, breath work, facilitator, speaker, writer. But outside of the formalities, a mom, a dog mom, an adventure lover. Someone who is, I feel like I'm in the messy middle of a, the next evolution. Yeah. I think that describes me, I guess, and who I do and who I am and what I do.
Katie Kurtz (she/her): Love that. Thank you. [00:01:00] Jaci, you and I have been in, in conversations, obviously connected through the Beautiful You Coaching Academy and the incredible community of folks around the world, and that's what I love most, being able to connect with people like I'm over here in Cleveland, Ohio, in the us you're over in Australia.
I just love it. And there's such a deep connection with people and so many shared values and beliefs and I know this, that trauma informed care is such a, a parallel practice that we utilize in coaching and that's important to both of us. So I'm curious if you can just start by sharing your own journey with trauma-informed care.
Jaci Rogash (she/her): Yeah, so I think my journey with trauma informed care started long before I knew anything about it or before the world spoke about it or anything like that. I experienced a lot of trauma when I was younger. A number of quite significant, things happened to me and I [00:02:00] suppressed my own trauma, but was always very good at, holding space and listening to other people.
And then life went on and I grew up and I joined the police force, which I was in for eight years. And. You would think that they would have a trauma informed practice, but it's probably not something that's really spoken about or understood properly in that world. But I would say because of my lived experience, my approach and the way that I I guess interacted and dealt with different people throughout my time, that was very different to a lot of people.
And then I left there. And I worked at one of Australia's largest universities, as an investigation and risk assessment specialist where, and I think this is where a lot of my, I guess, official training and qualifications and understanding around trauma informed care really took place.
And then obviously becoming a coach, which I know I'm so grateful for the connections and the [00:03:00] conversations and. The depth of conversations as well. And I think the more that I coach, the more that I deepen into trauma informed practices, but also have conversations and discuss ideas and where we're at and that kind of thing.
So I feel like it's really been a lifelong journey without realizing it. But yeah, especially over the last oh eight, nine years.
Katie Kurtz (she/her): I love that evolution, and I think you've said this before we hit record and you just repeated it now, which I think is such an important and really resonant thing that it's so often when I am training or talking with folks around this approach they're like, oh, I, yeah.
Like I, I do that. Like it's affirming. Maybe beliefs they've had or things they've already been doing. But now they know like why they're doing it and they have this now guide like this, these specific practices to [00:04:00] do. And I think it's so common. Even when I pause and think about my own journey like that, it's.
It, the foreshadowing, right? Yes. Yeah. It's that alignment that this is that path forward. So yeah, that's a beautiful journey.
Jaci Rogash (she/her): Yeah. Yeah. And I think I look back at so much of it and while obviously I'm not stoked that a lot of the things happened, but it's like, of course that happened.
And of course I am where I am and of course I'm supporting women who have experienced trauma. Like it just, yeah, it really just has been, follow the yellow brick road.
Katie Kurtz (she/her): Yeah. So can you talk a little bit about your coaching practice and how you really began to. Take this information and desire and even this mix of your learned experiences and your lived experiences to really work with folks as a transformation coach.
Jaci Rogash (she/her): Yeah, so I think I always knew when I was studying, I always knew that I would be working and supporting. [00:05:00] People who had experienced trauma, because that's where my expertise was in without even looking at my own life, within my professional experience. And I feel like initially I was probably like, as a new coach, it's you don't under, oh, not you don't understand, but it's like I did what I knew.
And at, when I first started, it was very much working with people who were. Still in it a little bit, like still quite traumatized or not even understanding that they had trauma or not knowing what that trauma was. And so supporting them to, I guess, identify it, to acknowledge it, to speak about it, and then move through it.
And as my coaching practices, the longer I coach, we kind of deepen and change and pivot a little bit. And now it's more so moved a little bit away from the people who don't understand it and more to the people who have, I guess, done a lot of the [00:06:00] healing work, but because of their past, things still come up for them and it's supporting them with.
Those parts that come up because it is quite a different journey for, and I don't know whether anyone goes through life without experiencing trauma, but you know what I mean. But it's, if someone doesn't identify as that and doesn't understand where certain things and traits have come from, someone that has experienced trauma is going to navigate different.
Different elements and different thoughts and that kind of thing. So I guess it's really supporting them to acknowledge and understand what's happened and what they want for themselves.
Katie Kurtz (she/her): Yeah. I think that's, this is something that I so appreciate that, and I think you. You really did such a great job of explaining something that I think so many people sometimes have a hard time or get confusion around and it's when we say, a trauma-informed coach it's applying [00:07:00] trauma-informed practice to the existing coaching practice, right?
It doesn't mean that you're addressing. Necessarily addressing people's trauma or anything like that. Right. But when with people like you who have this skillset and also tend to work with people who maybe aren't coming to you exactly for any type of healing or to address their trauma, but it's going to naturally come up because when you talk about.
Anything, especially around self-growth, it's natural for our lived experiences to inform that. And you have this by being a trauma-informed coach, you have this skillset to support them. And hold space for that without needing to go into it. And I think I would love to hear your perspective on that delineation, because I think it's so, I think anyone supporting an individual or a group. Through the skill and art of coaching should be trauma informed, right? Yes. [00:08:00] Because of, because it's such a vulnerable space, even if you are working on your business or career coaching, right? Like it's still vulnerable, right? It's, it is a, it's a very personal self awareness journey. There's so many aspects to it, but especially when it's, you're helping people. If that container's secure enough you're gonna see more vulnerability. And so I'm curious to see if you can talk a little bit about just the essential nature of trauma informed care in coaching and that how you kind of hold and finesse that that role and scope of practice with the trauma-informed approach.
Jaci Rogash (she/her): Yeah, and I think this is something that I've really, so we obviously both know Julie Barker, who I love, but, and I joke about this with her, I get so worried, and especially when I was new, that I was going to do something wrong because I'm so mindful of the harm that can be done in this space. I'm also really mindful [00:09:00] that some people that they kind of work in this space.
Kind of step outside the line, and so for me it's being really clear with my clients that I'm not a psychologist and I'm not a therapist. And there are certain things that aren't, I'm not qualified to do and to hold and to support them with. But it's, and as you said, like when we look at almost everything, has all of our patterns, our thoughts, our.
Blocks our limiting beliefs, like so many things are based on our past experiences or formed from our past experiences, and for me it's giving them the space and holding that space for them to explore what they need to. So a lot of the time it is. They'll notice that something's come up in one of their blocks or limiting beliefs [00:10:00] or, patterns of behavior and that stems from a trauma and so I'm not supporting them.
We are not going into the trauma. We're not looking at, okay, tell me the nitty gritty of that. And like we're not, I'm not helping them process that, but we are looking at that relationship between the experience they've had and what they're looking at now. And it's like that acknowledgement, I guess.
And with that, of course there is, some release work that goes with it because when you have that realization, it's oh, like what? What do I do with this now? But really I think as coaches we have to have capacity to hold people in that. And if you're not trauma informed and someone brings something to you and you don't have that capacity, it's really easy to cause harm, but create friction within that relationship.
'cause if someone brings something and you are either triggered by it or don't know how to react or say the wrong thing or try and fix it, it's then gonna create [00:11:00] like. Yeah, friction potentially a lack of trust, but also can damage that relationship. And I just, it's so important to know what you can and can't hold and what is and isn't in your scope.
Katie Kurtz (she/her): Yeah. I really love the way you described that, and especially that patterned recognition, but from a place of. Attunement rather than kind of diving into and kind of walking alongside, which is such a really powerful way to describe collab the the collaboration that occurs in coaching, right?
That powering with that, walking with people and helping maybe highlight connections without needing to really get too deep into it. And I think that's where, and I always kind of get on, I get fired up about, was like when [00:12:00] people mis construe or misunderstand coaching, I'm like, no, coaching is such a skillset.
It's such an art to be able to do that. It's not just something we slap that name on and across everything and then just assume, it's, there's so much behind it. It's knowing how to do that in the practice and like really the intention. I wanna, you said something that I think is so key that I would love to hear your perspective on is having that self-awareness as a coach to know how and when to do that.
And I think that is something that sometimes we take, I think due to the US being in the same coaching community and going through that training, we take for granted almost, I take for granted it's like we, 'cause there's so much self-development, right? Yeah. Of knowing so that we can be. Attuned to ourselves to better attune to others, which is such an essential part of being a facilitator of any kind.
But as a, in the, when we're [00:13:00] working with people who we know likely have lived experiences of trauma, it's even more important and that's what trauma-informed care, trauma-informed leadership is really being able to start with self right? Start with self. There's a very. Common social work mentality or phenomenon called self as instrument.
Like how do we tune ourselves? So looking at self-awareness, self-growth, self-regulation, all these things. Yeah. So that we can be tuned to tune into others. And that obviously evolves too, right? 'Cause we're people too. We're evolving and moving through and having our own. Journeys, but I'm curious if you can talk a little bit about that and maybe share just not just the importance of the self piece as a coach, but how you maintain that trauma-informed self-care, that trauma-informed practice of personal attunement.
Jaci Rogash (she/her): Yeah. I love this question [00:14:00] and I feel like pre-kids it was very easy. I have two, yeah, two little boys. My, so I would say that my self-care and attunement routine was, pretty epic. Before I had kids every morning it was, breath work into a journal into. Breath work into a meditation, into journal, into a cardboard.
It was, could be five minutes or it could be an hour, but it was a daily thing that I would do. And then kids kind of throw, throws a big spanner in the works. And also, I'm continually learning that kids are like our biggest teachers. And I can find myself being quite reactive at times. And I'm not I'm not a reactive person and there's times where I'm just.
I kind of just get to the boiling point, and I know that if I'm there, then there's something that I need to do, and it's is it just taking time out for myself or is it looking at what that trigger was like, why did I respond so badly to me to, or not to me, to my kids, [00:15:00] but for me, I also know within myself.
I am so self-aware sometimes annoyingly self-aware. When I say that the problem with being self-aware is being self-aware.
Katie Kurtz (she/her): Yes.
Jaci Rogash (she/her): It's some days it's oh, like I wish I just, could move through life in ignorance.
Katie Kurtz (she/her): Yes, I feel that deeply,
Jaci Rogash (she/her): but I think there's moments when I know that if I'm getting, if I'm a little bit agitated or even just unsettled, if I.
I'm feeling anxious and I had a period of my life. Right. Just before I started, studied to be a coach where I was, had severe anxiety. And I know that if I ever feel any of those, that something's misaligned within me. And so then I go to my practice and also, which is still, breath work, is one of my go-tos because it just supports me.
But journaling, journaling kind of saved my life. So I feel like it's always going to be a [00:16:00] part of. A part of my world, and again, sometimes my practice might be an hour or sometimes it might be five minutes, but it's taking those moments to really be present and check in and tune in to see what's going on with me.
And also part of that is doing it with my clients as well, like understanding what's going on and if there's any sort of friction or tension, or, that's not the right word, but if I feel something coming up, like just. Figuring out what that is. And there are certainly times where I have to say no to clients 'cause it's just not the right fit, or it's not what I do, or they're not, I don't feel like they're ready yet.
But yeah, for me it's really, it's practicing presence. I would say practicing presence and tuning in with what I need. And then also my, I would never have called myself spiritual, but I am deeply spiritual. So having that practice and connecting with [00:17:00] spirit or the universe or whatever people choose to call it, and seeking that guidance for myself as well.
So I think it, it's a whole combination of things, and again, it depends on the season of life and how busy we are and all of that. But it is, it's a constant evolution. I don't think I'll ever, well, I couldn't, I. I feel like I would if I was to ever stop my personal practices or that personal connection, I dread to think what my life would look like.
So I think it's just a given, but also as a, release for me, when we hold such deep space, we need to have that breath. Like we need to have that. Softening that space as it is with like supervision calls and stuff like that. So there's that element as well, calling in mentors and working through that because, we are not, coaches aren't immune to challenges and I think [00:18:00] sometimes that people might think that it's no, we have the same stuff going on as well.
It just looks a little bit different.
Katie Kurtz (she/her): Yeah. I love the the connection between all those different practices, right? It's not so often we think of okay, make your list of things right, but they're also interconnected and they all serve a purpose. And the modeling and mirroring of that four clients enriches the coaching client experience that relationship.
But, I think that's something I speak so often to is how do we resource ourselves, right? So one of the trauma-informed strategies I teach is resourcing. And it's okay, how do we apply this approach to ourselves? And then how are we resourcing ourselves so we can really lead this approach out loud?
And that means the same thing we would offer like a resource for a person, a client we're doing for ourselves. And that's. You touched upon too, is like we have to [00:19:00] continuously revise and stay aware of that because our, we change, right? What worked for me in supporting my nervous system. Now in January is different now, right?
And even maybe a few months ago. So and I expect it to maybe change. There's always some tried and true things like you mentioned, like your journaling and breath work. But it may, the time or the length or whatever may differ. And so we. We see. That's why it's so important to see this as an evolution on an arrival.
And finding those things that we're resourcing ourself with so that we can maintain that presence, that 'cause we're present, we're able to be able to build trust points with our people, the anyone in front of us. Were able to actively listen and better communicate all these really important trauma-informed practices.
Yeah. I would love for you, 'cause you mentioned something too that I constantly talk [00:20:00] about and I'm such a big believer in which is part of that resourcing is finding peer support, supervision. Mentorship, community, mutual aid people who can also be just mirrors for you to debrief, to learn from, to, act as a check-in, accountability, support. And I know that's something you and I both really value, and I'm curious if you can speak a little to that and how that has also evolved for you and and also maybe deepen your practice.
Jaci Rogash (she/her): Yeah, for sure. Something I did leave out is for me, like in terms of resourcing is fun.
And joy, I know whenever I'm feel a bit stuck or just a bit flat and I always look at it and it's like I'm missing fun. And I think especially in the world that you and I work in, it's like if, when like we have to have fun like it, it can very easily get very serious. And I think that's something that.[00:21:00]
Like that continuous connection to joy again, whatever that looks like. And in whatever season, like I know we are in winter now, so yeah. My, again, my resourcing looks very different to what it is in summer. I'm not going to the beach at the moment. But in terms of supervision, oh, I just, that's just the best, isn't it?
It's like I, yeah, so I think initially I probably, so I should say that when I worked at the university, we used to get supervision as well. 'cause at the university we were the first point of contact for sexual assault, family violence, mental health any stalking, like basically any. What's any trauma, any incident that happened?
We were the first responders and or the first person that we go to, and we were really in it with them. And so we had supervision then with one of Australia's most renowned forensic psychiatrists who does a lot of the an like, [00:22:00] reports and assessments of some of the major criminals, which is kind of cool to talk about based on my background.
So we started having supervision with him and I think at that stage I was kind of only just, I'd moved through a lot of my stuff, but I wouldn't say that I was as open that as I am now. And so we would talk and if I had any jobs or jobs that I was managing or people that I was found challenging, I would talk about that.
Then as I've continued with that, and obviously when I left the university and went full time in my business, the supervision and mentorship from different people that hold that space has become less about specifics. Sometimes there are specific things that are challenges that it's I just don't actually know what to do about this.
I had one recently, I know you're on the call. And I was like, I just, I don't know what to do, but also what's the best way to do this? This is what I'm thinking, but I'm mindful of this and this. So having that [00:23:00] community and that other opinion to hold that space for me to explore, but also for guidance because I don't know everything.
I definitely don't, but having, and then, sometimes there's specifics as I said, but other times it's just like a space to, yeah, like to deload to. Release or just unwind a little bit to kind of just chat, and I feel like I developed quite a dark sense of humor in the police force.
I think you, you needed to. So that part of me is still there and sometimes it's not appropriate. What I think, and I don't say it, but you know, like even having a space where I can just, say that without worrying about it and just have someone hold that space for me to just, just like brain dump, really.
And I just feel it's so calming on the nervous system. And I can go and have a session, a supervision session or talk to, a mentor or something like that. And we might talk about something that's quite [00:24:00] emotional, but it just feels so calming at the end of it because I'm not holding it all.
Does that answer your question? Yeah,
Katie Kurtz (she/her): yeah. No, yeah, that beautifully. I think again. That is something I try to impart on people so frequently with this practice because we're so many people come into trauma-informed care as another kind of professional development training or certificate or something, and it's to, to add another layer to learning or practice and.
I try to help people understand, at least in the way that I teach and lead this approach, is that when you come into learning about this approach with me, you're not just going to learn it, you're going to feel it. There's this, this bidirectionality to it, and. We're going to, you're not just gonna learn, you're gonna start practicing it.
And I think when, [00:25:00] we get to learning the skills and go and kind of ending with that resource strategy, like I mentioned, such a big component is, okay, you should know right now that this isn't an isolated individual practice. Right. That it's, trauma informed care is so countercultural because we're so used to the, at least in like western culture, like individualism, right?
Like you gotta go out, do your thing like. Go. And trauma-informed care because of its roots and origins in so many other movements. And advocacy is re helping us rethink that and reframe it of, yes it's an individual, responsibility to choose this approach, but we are collectively inter intersected and that how do we really center.
Collaboration and mutuality and reciprocity, and one of those big ways is through. Supervision, whether it's personal or group. And I know supervision sometimes is, I'm just gonna clarify. Sometimes it's people think [00:26:00] supervision and they think like supervisor management and maybe like a corporate setting.
And the way that Jaci and I are speaking to it is more really leans on a practice, typically done traditionally in social work. Therapy practices and now often seen in coaching too, where it's more of mentorship guidance, but with act active layered support and the utilization of peer support well as well.
And peer support being such a foundational part of trauma-informed care. So I loved how you highlighted that and also just shared your own experience with it because I think so often we. We talk yeah, what do you do? I do this, and this. But it's like, how, what? Okay, good. What does that what does that look like?
What does it sound like? What does it feel like?
Jaci Rogash (she/her): And I also think society glorifies doing it all yourself.
Exactly.
And we, I feel like maybe we're slow. Well, I feel like the communities you and I are in like aren't that way, but. Still, I look back at the old version of me and sometimes I shudder a little bit and it's that hustle, hustle.
I'm taking this, [00:27:00] I'm doing this. Like I'll just do it all. And especially in the police force, it was like, expressing anything like that was seen as a weakness. You can't feel anything, you can't do this, you can't do that. And it's, we just can't hold it all. We can't hold it all ourselves, and that's why people get burnt out or get overwhelmed or, unfortunately develop PTSD and so many, there's so many what's the word?
Things that could happen if we could try and do it all ourself. Negative things that can happen that can try that when we try and do it all ourselves and to me, yeah. Supervision or mentorship or whatever is just that way of we don't have to do it all ourselves. And sometimes, as you said, like having that peer support and having someone that knows something about that or even someone that's experienced something like that can just be so validating and so, okay.
And I think for me it's, I'm [00:28:00] still. Acutely aware that I don't, I never want to do anything wrong or harmful, but also I'm human so I'm probably going to, but it's, like to me it's giving us that space to kind of workshop that without feeling yeah, I have to do it all. But it's removes that stigma that you have to do it all yourself.
Katie Kurtz (she/her): Yeah and to your point too, like it's an added. Deepening of learning unlearning often and that integration. Right. And then, and it's, it almost is that utilization and what we see so often in coaching is we're not there to tell you what to do. Right? There's a lot of people out there who think, assume coaching is just glorified advice giving, but we're holding space. We're able to really listen to, to hear and hear what's being said and not said, right? And then really being able to extrapolate, being able to reflect back, and that's such a it can seem so, simple, [00:29:00] but it's so powerful to be able just to get out of your head sometimes and have that reflection.
And that's essential nature of peer support is being able to see oh, okay. A validation that other people see and hear me, and also maybe have gone through the same thing. That reflection back of maybe I need to hear what I just said from somebody else. And the learning, or in many cases, unlearning of.
What I know and then it's such a, I have found that yes, like I, I give a lot of gratitude to like the countless years and hours of. Of formal education and trainings and professional development, but some of the biggest moments of transformation learning and deepening has been in spaces of supervision and peer support because of that connection.
Because of that, those tools of reflection and modeling are have been so instrumental.
Jaci Rogash (she/her): Yeah, [00:30:00] I would a hundred percent agree with that and I. Always really valued, lived experience. Not that I don't value, educ like qualifications and educations both are important. But yeah, that lived experience and having that reflection back is just, it is invaluable because sometimes you can, you might say something or think something.
And when it's actually spoken the way that my perception is completely different to someone else's, and it's oh, okay. Yeah. It's just,
Katie Kurtz (she/her): it's refreshing. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. Jaci, this is so wonderful. I so enjoyed this conversation with you. I'm curious, before we go into our gentle spreads how can people connect with you, learn more about your, you and your work?
Jaci Rogash (she/her): Yeah, the best way at the moment is probably through Instagram. So my handle is just Jaci do Roache. I do have a website, which is Jaci roache.com. It's in desperate need of an upgrade. Desperate need of an [00:31:00] upgrade life with kids.
But yeah, they're probably the two main ways.
Katie Kurtz (she/her): Awesome. Yeah, and everything will be in the show notes. Please connect with Jaci. Yeah. Thank you so much for this conversation. Are you ready for our gentle spritz of questions?
I am.
Okay. So I do use like one word, but if you have more than one, that's okay.
So if you could describe trauma-informed care in one word, what would it be?
Jaci Rogash (she/her): The word that keeps coming to me even though I'm like, oh, I don't know if that's right, is non-judgmental.
Katie Kurtz (she/her): Love that. What is your current go-to for nervous system care?
Jaci Rogash (she/her): I would say it's two, but breath work and journaling.
Three and being outside at some stage during the day. Yeah.
Katie Kurtz (she/her): And what does a trauma informed future look like for you?
Jaci Rogash (she/her): I feel like this is a dream probably of yours as well, but I, a trauma informed future to me. Looks like people being welcomed [00:32:00] to express themselves. Welcome to talk about their ex experience, welcomed to and invited to get really honest with themselves without the judgment or criticism or anything like that.
It's. I guess it's a collaboration of conversation and openness.
Katie Kurtz (she/her): I love that so much. I hold that vision too. Thank you so much, Jaci, for joining us and sharing your journey and also just these examples of how to lead this approach out loud. I think so many people listen to this podcast and one of driving reasons. I wanted to create it and hold this space is to give people real life examples and talk to people who are in this work, right? And show that, it's doable. It's not complicated, but it is a choice. And it's so possible to integrate it in so many different ways.
So thank you so much for being here.
Jaci Rogash (she/her): Oh, you're so welcome. I've loved this conversation and thank you [00:33:00] for the work that you do because it's so needed.
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