Weight lifting programs and education to heal trauma

TIWL trains fitness professionals and mental health clinicians to apply trauma-informed principles to weight lifting — creating environments where healing, strength, and safety happen in the same room.

Apply for the Fall Certificate

Strength training and trauma recovery should be in the same conversation.

TIWL IS A PROGRAM OF THE CENTER FOR TRAUMA AND EMBODIMENT

RESEARCHED BACKED.
COMMUNITY DRIVEN.

We cite our sources.
Ask anyone else to do the same.

TIWL's curriculum draws from original studies and published, peer-reviewed research in trauma physiology, neurobiology, and exercise psychology. This isn't a course-and-forget model.

TWO TRACKS. TEN WEEKS. ONE COHORT.

The Certificate Training

TIWL’s 10-week Certificate Program blends shared and specialized learning: Weeks 3–6 are split into two dedicated tracks—one for mental health professionals and one for movement & strength practitioners— to deepen relevance while still fostering interdisciplinary insight.

TWO TRACKS. TEN WEEKS. ONE COHORT.

The Certificate Training

For mental health professionals

Mental Health & Clinician Track

Built for practitioners who want the framework without leaving their clinical role behind. You don't have to choose between the therapy room and the weight room.

Who this is for

Therapists, psychologists, counselors, social workers, allied health professionals exploring embodied healing

1.9 NASM CEUs · 6 ACE CEUs

Learn More →

For fitness professionals

Movement & Strength Track

Built for people who already lead physical spaces and want to lead them better. You went to school for this, you did the supervised hours — the practitioners you learn from should have done the same kind of work.

Who this is for

Personal trainers, strength coaches, yoga & Pilates instructors, bodyworkers, somatic coaches, movement educators

1.9 NASM CEUs · 6 ACE CEUs

Learn More →

70%

of trauma survivors report feeling more comfortable in fitness environments where trainers use trauma-informed practices. (Justice, 2018)

"You don't have to choose between the therapy room and the weight room."

TIWL is accredited for NASM and ACE continuing education credits.

45%+

of TIWL's certified community received scholarship support.

"Strength training brings parts of my body into focus that sometimes seem completely detached or without unity to the rest of my body. You have to focus your mind and a unified way with your muscles when you are lifting heavy things, you literally cant drop out of focus and its the best way I have found to get my mind and body together."

"Joining the TIWL training has given me a clearer understanding of how this presents and manifests in a space where you are asking them to become uncomfortable by changing their physical state. You need to be patient, kind and empathic - something that is often missing from fitness spaces. This training helps you step back and take in the whole person, and step by step, week on week you can build trust and communication in order to really help clients manage their health and wellbeing in a sustainable and meaningful way."

"TIWL will change the way you see the populations you serve, it will give you a more expansive view of what exercise can do for people, it will challenge your ideologies around fitness and the exercise industry, It is educational and helps with understanding the complexities that clients may be dealing with. It is eye opening, and I think fosters more empathy and connection in the coach/client relationship."

The TIWL Tiers

Where are you now?
Where could you go?

Some practitioners implement TIWL principles in their existing work, solo. Some collaborate across disciplines — a certified coach and a certified therapist, co-facilitating. Some build fully integrated care environments where trauma-informed practice is the standard. Others specialize. Every tier is real. Every tier is valued. The cert is where it starts.

Tiers of TIWL Coaches

Trained

Understands the framework and integrates select trauma-informed strategies into client work.

Implementing

Actively centering trauma-informed principles in their practice and identifying as a trauma-informed professional.

Collaborating

Partnering with therapists to design or deliver trauma-informed programs for individuals or groups.

Focused

Working in direct collaboration with therapists to exclusively support trauma-impacted individuals engaged in treatment.

Tiers of MH Providers

Trained

Understands the TIWL framework and can speak to strength training as an adjunctive intervention in clinical work.

Implementing

Actively incorporating TIWL principles into clinical practice and recommending or referring clients to strength-based interventions.

Collaborating

Co-facilitating with a certified TIWL coach to deliver integrated trauma-informed programming across both disciplines.

Integration

Building or operating within a fully integrated care environment where trauma-informed weight lifting is embedded as standard practice.

The TIWL Tiers

Where are you now?
Where could you go?

Tiers of TIWL Coaches

Trained

Understands the framework and integrates select trauma-informed strategies into client work.

Implementing

Actively centering trauma-informed principles in practice and identifying as a trauma-informed professional.

Collaborating

Partnering with therapists to design or deliver trauma-informed programs for individuals or groups.

Focused

Working in direct collaboration with therapists to exclusively support trauma-impacted individuals in treatment.

Tiers of MH Providers

Trained

Understands the TIWL framework and can speak to strength training as an adjunctive intervention in clinical work.

Implementing

Actively incorporating TIWL principles into clinical practice and recommending strength-based interventions.

Collaborating

Co-facilitating with a certified TIWL coach to deliver integrated trauma-informed programming across both disciplines.

Integration

Building or operating within a fully integrated care environment where trauma-informed weight lifting is standard practice.

Start Anywhere. Go Further.

How to move
through TIWL

There's no single right entry point. Some people start with the certificate. Some want to explore first. Some already have the cert and are deepening the work. Here's what's available at every stage.

Curious

The Basics Bundle

Three introductory trainings. About 3 hours total. A real look at who TIWL is, what the research says, and how this work applies. $99.

Includes →

Intro to TIWL · Strength Training as Trauma Care · TIWL as an Adjunctive Intervention for PTSD in Youth

Ready to Go Deeper

Foundations

A self-paced, 100% online foundational course. About 15 hours of content. 1.5 NASM CEUs. Available year-round — no cohort schedule required.

Good for →

Practitioners who want the full framework on their own timeline, or a standalone credential before committing to the live cohort

The Flagship

The Certificate Program

10 weeks, fully online, cohort-based. Two tracks: Movement & Strength or Mental Health & Clinician. 1.9 NASM CEUs / 6 ACE CEUs. Spring and Fall annually.

Note →

Foundations and Intro are not prerequisites. You can start here.

Already Certified

The Weight Room

Ongoing community space for certified practitioners. Peer-led practice labs, Weight Room Sessions, the Certified Practitioner Portal, and The Bulletin Board.

Access →

Granted to certificate graduates. Requires annual recertification to stay active.

Start Anywhere.

Go Further.

How to move
through TIWL

There's no single right entry point. Some people start with the certificate. Some want to explore first. Some already have the cert and are deepening the work. Here's what's available at every stage.

Curious

The Basics Bundle

Three introductory trainings, about 3 hours total. A real look at the framework, the research, and how this work applies. $99.

Includes →

Intro to TIWL · Strength Training as Trauma Care · TIWL as an Adjunctive Intervention for PTSD in Youth

Ready to Go Deeper

Foundations

Self-paced, 100% online. About 15 hours of content. 1.5 NASM CEUs. Available year-round — no cohort schedule required.

Good for →

Practitioners who want the full framework on their own timeline, or a standalone credential before the live cohort

The Flagship

The Certificate Program

10 weeks, fully online, cohort-based. Two tracks: Movement & Strength or Mental Health & Clinician. 1.9 NASM / 6 ACE CEUs. Spring and Fall annually.

Note →

Foundations and Intro are not prerequisites. You can start here.

Already Certified

The Weight Room

Ongoing community for certified practitioners. Peer-led labs, Weight Room Sessions, the Certified Practitioner Portal, and The Bulletin Board.

Access →

Granted to certificate graduates. Requires annual recertification to stay active.

FALL 2026 COHORT

Ready to apply?

Fair warning: you'll miss your Wednesday nights.

Applications are open. The cohort runs 10 weeks, fully online. Intro to TIWL and Foundations are not prerequisites — start wherever makes sense for you.

Apply Now

Program at a Glance

Format - 100% online, cohort-based

Duration - 10 weeks

Tracks - Movement & Strength · Mental Health & Clinician

CEUs - 1.9 NASM · 6 ACE

Schedule - Spring & Fall annually

Prerequisites - None, start here

Scholarship - Available, apply to inquire

Why Trauma Care?

Approximately 70% of the world’s population have been exposed to a traumatic life event. The resulting mental health problems represent a major challenge to public mental health services, globally.

Experiences of trauma profoundly change our relationship to our body. Yet few treatments exist for complex trauma survivors, making healing exponentially more difficult for them.

Meet Our Founders

Why Weight Lifting?

Weight lifting, when approached in a trauma-informed manner, can foster resilience, increase a felt sense of agency and empowerment, cultivate healthy nervous system functioning, and facilitate a positive relationship with self and others.

Trauma-Informed Weight Lifting combats the isolating and dividing nature of trauma. How?