Understanding Behavior. Restoring Dignity. Creating Hope.
We help organizations across interconnected systems understand what may be influencing behavior so they can respond with insight, compassion, and confidence.
Katrina B. Phillips- before there was Traumana, there was a child whose behavior had a story.
I Was the Child Behind the Behavior
Katrina B. Phillips, Founder of Traumana Group Services, LLC
Before I ever learned the language of trauma, I lived it.
I spent my early childhood in Yonkers, New York, during the Reagan era—amid the crack epidemic, poverty, and the intensifying War on Drugs—at a time when childhood trauma was rarely understood through the lens we have today. Like many children navigating difficult environments, some of my behavior could be seen as “bad” from the outside. But from my perspective, there was a reason behind it. I was responding and adapting to the world around me.
Years later, I was trained by a licensed trauma recovery therapist and coach who helped me see my childhood through a trauma-informed lens. She told me that my journey was rare—and that people needed to hear it.
That stayed with me. I realized that what I carried wasn't only a story of what happened to me—it was the perspective of the child behind the behavior, and an ability to explain what adults may not see from the outside. That perspective became part of the foundation of Traumana Group Services.
Lived Experience. Professional Expertise. A Different Lens.
Katrina B. Phillips, CARC-I, CARC-II
Katrina B. Phillips brings a distinctive perspective to trauma-informed work—one shaped by lived experience, professional training, and continued education in trauma, emotional well-being, human behavior, recovery, and trauma-informed approaches.
Having once been the child whose behavior was interpreted by adults, Katrina applies that perspective to help organizations and professionals consider the person, developmental stage, experiences, and environment surrounding a young person's behavior.
Professional Credentials
Credentials earned through specialized professional training and certification.
Certified Addiction Recovery Coach (CARC-I)
Specialized professional training in addiction recovery, behavioral patterns, trauma-informed recovery support, and recovery coaching.
Issuing body
National Board of Addiction-Recovery Professionals (NBARP)
Certified Abuse Recovery Coach (CARC-II)
Specialized professional training in abuse and trauma recovery, including support related to childhood abuse, domestic violence, dysfunctional family environments, prolonged adversity, and other traumatic experiences.
Issuing body
National Board of Addiction-Recovery Professionals (NBARP)
Professional Training
These are areas of completed education and professional training, not separate certifications or licenses.
Professional & Community Affiliations
Organizations with which Katrina is affiliated.
NAMI is listed as a professional and community membership and affiliation. This membership does not imply that NAMI certified, licensed, sponsored, approved, or endorsed Katrina B. Phillips or Traumana Group Services, LLC.
Scope of Practice
Traumana Group Services provides educational, developmental, trauma-informed, coaching, facilitation, and program-based services. These services are not psychotherapy, mental-health diagnosis, or a substitute for treatment from a licensed mental-health or healthcare professional. Katrina B. Phillips is not a therapist, psychotherapist, psychologist, mental-health counselor, clinician, social worker, or other licensed healthcare professional.
A Rarely Represented Perspective
The conversation around childhood trauma rightly emphasizes how deeply it can shape a life. For many people, early adversity leaves lasting effects that deserve recognition, support, and care.
My own experience sits in a less often represented part of that conversation. I lived through significant childhood adversity, yet that experience did not develop into many of the long-term outcomes commonly associated with childhood trauma. The licensed therapist and coach who trained me described my journey as rare and encouraged me to share it because she believed people needed to hear this perspective.
I share this carefully and with respect. This is not a comparison, and it is not a suggestion that anyone else should respond the way I did. Trauma affects people differently, and no single outcome represents every trauma experience.
Trauma can deeply affect a life without having to define the rest of it.
My experience is personal to me, but research has also documented resilient developmental outcomes among children who experienced significant adversity. The landmark Kauai Longitudinal Study followed children from birth into adulthood; among children considered high-risk, approximately one-third demonstrated resilience and positive development by age 18 despite significant adversity.
For Traumana Group Services, this research reinforces the importance of understanding and supporting young people while they are still developing—looking beyond labels, considering context, and becoming curious about what may be influencing behavior without removing appropriate boundaries or accountability.
Beyond the Label
Young people may be described as difficult, disrespectful, defiant, withdrawn, attention-seeking, unmotivated, or simply “bad.” These words can quickly shape how adults see and respond to them.
But labels describe an interpretation of behavior. They don't necessarily explain what is happening within the young person or what they may be experiencing in the environment around them.
Instead of only asking, “How do we stop this behavior?” we can also ask, “What might this behavior be communicating?” That shift creates room for questions before conclusions.
Understanding Doesn't Mean Excusing
Understanding what may be underneath behavior doesn't mean that every behavior is acceptable. Young people still need appropriate boundaries, guidance, accountability, expectations, and consequences.
Accountability and understanding can exist at the same time.
When we understand what may be driving a behavior, we have a better opportunity to respond to the young person instead of simply reacting to what they did.
Bringing the Perspective of Youth & Emerging Adults Into the Room
“I bring the young person's perspective into rooms where adults are making decisions that affect youth and emerging adults.”
I know what it is like to be the child whose behavior is being interpreted by adults while having an entirely different experience internally. That does not mean I assume I know exactly what every young person is experiencing. Every person and every situation is different. Instead, my lived experience helps me recognize questions adults may not initially think to ask.
That difference in perspective matters. When adults are responsible for supporting, guiding, teaching, or making decisions for young people, how they interpret behavior can shape how they respond to it.
“Because sometimes the young person being called ‘the problem’ may be responding to a problem the adults around them haven't fully seen.”
Before we label the behavior, let's understand the logic behind it.
Consulting, Training, and Coaching
Traumana Group Services provides organizational consulting, professional training, and individual and group coaching.
For organizations, we consult with leaders, train staff, and provide individual and group coaching for youth and emerging adults ages 8–24 through organizational partnerships.
For private clients, we offer individual and group coaching for adults ages 25 and older who book independently.
Our Mission
To help organizations and professionals who support youth and emerging adults better understand behavior, emotional development, and the experiences of young people—so they can respond more effectively and strengthen the way young people are understood, supported, and responded to.
Our Vision
A world where youth and emerging adults are approached with curiosity before judgment, and where the adults supporting them have the understanding and tools to respond with dignity, compassion, and care.
What Guides Our Work
Dignity
Every person is treated with compassion and respect, always.
Hope
We lead with possibility, resilience, and the belief that people can grow.
Safety
We foster spaces where people feel safe to learn and grow.
Curiosity
We seek to understand what may be underneath behavior before drawing conclusions about the person.
Collaboration
We partner with people and organizations, never impose upon them.
Integrity
We do what we say, and we serve from a healed perspective.
Lived experience, research, and training, working together
No single source of knowledge is enough on its own. Our services are strongest where these three foundations meet.
Lived Experience
Our founder's lived experience provides a perspective that helps us recognize the human context behind behavior and ask questions that may otherwise be overlooked.
Evidence-informed Research
We draw from current research on trauma, behavior, resilience, and human development to inform our educational frameworks and services.
Professional Training
Professional training and continuing education help us translate lived insight and research into structured, ethical, and practical services.
Built to earn trust, from every side of the table
Whether you are an organization evaluating a partner or an individual considering support, trust is the foundation we build on first.
For Organizations
- Consistent, professional delivery from proposal through follow-up
- Frameworks grounded in research, not trends
- Respect for institutional context, policy, and culture
- Clear outcomes defined collaboratively at the start
For Private Clients
- A warm, non-clinical, strengths-based relationship
- Confidentiality and care in every conversation
- Guidance rooted in real lived experience, not just theory
- A focus on hope, growth, and practical next steps
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to a few common questions about our work and approach.