Trauma can make it difficult to concentrate, stay organized, and follow through on everyday tasks. Trauma-Informed Goal Management Training (TIGMT) is an adapted version of Goal Management Training™ that integrates cognitive rehabilitation with trauma-informed principles to support recovery.
Funding: Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)
TRAUMA-INFORMED
GOAL MANAGEMENT TRAINING
Supporting cognitive recovery and daily functioning after trauma.
What is TIGMT?
A group-based program designed to help individuals experiencing trauma-related difficulties strengthen attention, focus, and goal management in everyday life.​​
The Trauma and Recovery Research Unit (TRRU) initiates the delivery of Goal Management Training™ (GMT) groups.
TRRU conducts the first formal evaluation of GMT™ at the Operational Stress Injury (OSI) Clinic.
TRRU develops and pilots the first trauma-informed adaptation of Goal Management Training™ (TIGMT) with participants from the general public.
TRRU evaluates Trauma-Informed Goal Management Training™ (TIGMT) at the OSI Quebec Clinic.
2019 - 2021
2022
2023 - 2024
2024 - 2025
The Problem:
Trauma and Cognitive Functioning
Trauma doesn’t only affect emotions — it also affects our thinking.
Many individuals who experience trauma report challenges with cognitive functioning, particularly executive functioning. These challenges can include:
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Difficulty concentrating
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Problems with memory and attention
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Trouble organizing tasks
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Feeling mentally overwhelmed
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Difficulty following through on goals
For individuals exposed to repeated traumatic events — such as public safety personnel — these challenges can significantly impact daily functioning, work performance, and quality of life.
Research has shown that cognitive difficulties are also associated with:
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Reduced response to psychotherapy
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Increased functional impairment
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Lower quality of life
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Greater stress and burnout
Yet most trauma treatments focus primarily on emotional symptoms and do not directly address cognitive functioning.
Our Solution:
Trauma-Informed Goal Management Training
A cognitive training program adapted for trauma.
TIGMT is a structured program designed to strengthen goal management and executive functioning in individuals who have experienced trauma. TIGMT builds on GMT, a well-established cognitive rehabilitation program originally developed to help individuals with executive functioning difficulties.
Through our previous research studies and clinical work, we learned that individuals with trauma histories may experience unique challenges when participating in cognitive training programs, like GMT.
Participants shared that certain elements of traditional cognitive training could feel overwhelming or difficult when trauma symptoms were active. Based on this feedback — and guided by trauma-informed principles — our research team created TIGMT, a program that:
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Addresses psychological safety
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Provides Psychoeducation
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Is flexible and supportive
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Is better suited for individuals with trauma histories
TIGMT Webinar
How Did We Adapt TIGMT?
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Trauma-Specific Psychoeducation
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How trauma affects attention, memory, and decision-making​
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The role of the nervous system and the window of tolerance​
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How hyperarousal, hypoarousal, and dissociation interfere with goal-directed behaviour​
02
Trauma-Relevant Examples and Language
Examples were modified to reflect real-world challenges commonly experienced by individuals with trauma, such as:​
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Losing track of goals due to emotional overwhelm​
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Avoidance and shutdown during complex tasks​
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Impulsive reactions during survival states​
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Adapted Present-Mindedness Exercises
Present-mindedness practices were adapted to improve tolerability for trauma-exposed individuals.
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Replacing body-focused exercises that may be triggering
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Explicit framing of mindfulness as a tool for regulation
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Encouraging flexible use of exercises
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Integration of Window of Tolerance Awareness into Cognitive Skills
Participants were encouraged to monitor how regulated they were while doing tasks.
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Linking cognitive slips to arousal shifts rather than effort​
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Adjusting goals and task demands based on current capacity​
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Emphasizing pausing and resetting as acts of self-regulation, not failure​
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Focus on Safety, Flexibility, and Self-Compassion
​Trauma-informed care was embedded into the program.
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Flexibility in goal setting rather than rigid standards​
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Acceptance of current cognitive functioning​
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Reducing shame associated with cognitive slips​
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Building skills gradually to support sustainable change
What is Cognition
Layers of the Brain
One way to understand the brain is to think of it as having three main systems:
​​​The Survival Brain
This is the brain’s alarm system.
Its job is to keep you safe.
It reacts very quickly when it senses danger and activates your fight, flight, or freeze response. This system doesn’t stop to think — it acts fast to protect you.
The Emotional Brain
This system helps you feel, remember, and connect.
It processes emotions, stores emotional memories, and shapes how you respond to experiences. It plays a big role in how safe or unsafe the world feels.
The Learning Brain
This is the part of the brain responsible for thinking clearly and getting things done.
It helps with:
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Paying attention
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Making decisions
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Solving problems
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Planning and organizing
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Learning new information​​
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What Happens After Trauma?
For people who have experienced trauma, the brain is trying to protect them from future harm.
The survival brain and emotional brain can become highly active, staying on alert and constantly scanning for danger — even when there is no immediate threat.
This can lead to:
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Feeling on edge or hyperaware
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Strong emotional reactions
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Being easily triggered
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Difficulty feeling safe or grounded
Because the brain is focused on survival, the thinking brain can take a back seat.
When this happens, it can feel harder to:
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Concentrate
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Stay organized
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Follow through on tasks
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These responses are not a sign that something is wrong with you — they are your brain’s way of trying to keep you safe.
Trauma and the Window of Tolerance
The window of tolerance refers to the zone where we feel calm, focused, and able to function at our best. When we are within this window, we can think clearly, manage our emotions, and respond to challenges in a flexible way.
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After trauma, this window can become narrower, making it easier to feel overwhelmed (anxious, on edge) or shut down (numb, disconnected).
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One of the goals of TI-GMT is to help individuals recognize when they are moving outside this window and develop skills to return to a regulated state. Over time, this can help expand the window, making it easier to stay grounded, think clearly, and engage in daily life.
Returning to the Learning Brain
When we’re stuck in survival brain, getting to the learning brain can feel like pushing a boulder up a hill. Things that might normally feel simple — focusing, organizing, making a decision, remembering what you were doing — can suddenly take a huge amount of effort.So the cognitive difficulties we see in trauma are not a personal failure. They’re often the result of a brain that is working very hard to keep someone safe.
Participant Feedback
We interviewed TIGMT participants to learned more about their experience with TIGMT. Here is what we found:
Overall Experience
Did TIGMT Help?
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Improved mental health
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Felt more in control of trauma symptoms
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Skills were practical and usable in daily life
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Group helped them feel less alone
“The skills and tools we learned were helpful, I’m using them on a daily basis now.”
Overall Experience
The Power of the Group
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Experiences were normalized
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Feeling understood
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Learning from others’ stories
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Reduced isolation
"It made me feel more comfortable and accept the fact that I’m not alone in that."
Overall Experience
How TIGMT can be Improved
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A clearer introduction to PTSD
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Booster sessions or follow-up support
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More space for discussion
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Catch-up options if sessions were missed
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Optional individual check-ins
"More overview on what PTSD is why these things happen would be helpful."
Group Structure & Delivery
What Worked Well
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Warm, supportive facilitators
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Predictable weekly structure
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Online delivery
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Two-hour sessions with a break
"Online worked really well… I didn’t have to drive anywhere… that helps when you have a busy life."
Perception of TIGMT Content
What Felt Most Helpful
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Simple, portable tools
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Concrete frameworks
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Case studies
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"Pause and reset" strategies
"Stop… breath, focus… reflect and check… it’s so simple… I have something now to use."
Perception of TIGMT Content
Homework: Helpful but Hard
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Homework made sense
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It aligned with the goals
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But follow-through was difficult
""The homework was helpful… my personal approach to it was just hard.