Trauma Stewardship Institute

What Trauma Stewardship Institute does

Trauma Stewardship Institute is a privately held, founder-owned educational and consulting organization headquartered in Wausau, United States, and structured as Trauma Stewardship, LLC. Founded by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky in 2006, the institute centers on a singular concept — 'trauma stewardship,' which Lipsky coined — describing a sustainable, justice-rooted approach to caring for self while caring for others. The organization blends ancient wisdom traditions, liberation theory, and modern psychological research and neuroscience to develop frameworks for navigating trauma exposure, decision fatigue, and overwhelm among helping professionals, leaders, organizations, and communities in crisis.

The institute's product and service portfolio spans four layers. At the content layer are two published, bestselling and award-winning books — 'Trauma Stewardship' (originally 2006, with a 20th anniversary revised edition pre-orderable for September 2026) and 'The Age of Overwhelm: Strategies for the Long Haul' (2018; audiobook released April 2025 on Audible) — supported by printed handouts, mini-posters, wallet cards, digital downloads, and the weekly 'Future Tripping' podcast, which is syndicated across Apple, Google, Overcast, and Amazon Music. The services layer comprises keynotes and plenary talks for audiences of 20 to 2,000, workshops and retreats, organizational consulting, and disaster and crisis response engagements. A merchandise layer sells care packages ($68–$78), branded t-shirts ($28), and other items through a direct e-commerce store, with distribution partnerships via Porchlight Books, Givingtons, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org.

Commercially, the firm operates a sales-led, event-driven, direct-to-consumer go-to-market. Revenue streams are predominantly professional-services fees from speaking, workshops, consulting, and crisis response, complemented by one-time book sales, unit-priced care packages and merchandise, and voluntary donations. The customer base is unusually diversified for a solo expert practice: marquee logos span federal government (U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Detroit Police Department), technology (Microsoft, Facebook/Meta), healthcare (University of Washington Medical Center, Planned Parenthood), education (Georgetown, Stanford, LAUSD), nonprofit advocacy (ACLU, Humane Society, Legal Aid Society), sports (WNBA, Los Angeles Sparks), media (The Atlantic), and entertainment (SAG-AFTRA). Headcount sits at 1–10 employees, and delivery of professional services remains personally anchored on the founder, which structurally caps scalability but reinforces the brand's authenticity. The organization is bootstrapped with no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, and no M&A activity.

Name

Trauma Stewardship Institute

Legal name

Trauma Stewardship, LLC

Website

https://traumastewardship.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Trauma Stewardship Institute, founded by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, is a private educational and consulting firm that sells trauma-informed keynotes, workshops, consulting, and crisis-response services alongside bestselling books, a podcast, and care-package merchandise to government agencies, corporations, healthcare organizations, universities, and nonprofits.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trauma-Informed Professional Training & Consulting

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117), Emergency and Other Relief Services (62423)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Trauma-Informed Care & Crisis Response (School-Based) (EDAKAMAF)

Keywords

• Trauma stewardship consulting
• Trauma-informed training
• Vicarious trauma support
• Keynote speaking services
• Overwhelm management workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Wausau

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Speaking & Keynote Engagements: Fees for bringing Laura to in-person or virtual events, conferences, and gatherings. Audiences range from 20 to 2,000 attendees.
2. Workshops & Retreats: Fees for team workshops and organizational retreats ranging from two-hour sessions to multi-day retreats, addressing decision fatigue, secondary trauma, and systemic challenges.
3. Consulting Services: Strategic consulting engagements including organizational assessments, leadership coaching, and ongoing support for workplace culture transformation.
4. Disaster & Crisis Response: Crisis support services including real-time disaster response, post-event debriefing, community healing sessions, and long-term accompaniment for communities.
5. Book Sales: Direct sales of Trauma Stewardship and The Age of Overwhelm books. Also available through Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org. Pricing $20.95-$24.95 per book.
6. Care Packages & Products: Bundled care packages ($68-$78) containing books and printed materials. Also individual mini-posters ($2-$3), handouts ($1-$2), wallet cards ($5), and podcast merchandise including t-shirts ($28) and pins ($5).
7. Donations & Support: Voluntary financial contributions ranging from $5-$300 to support barrier-reduction efforts for those seeking trauma stewardship resources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Trauma Stewardship Institute sells two trauma-informed books and delivers fee-for-service professional engagements including keynotes, workshops, consulting, and disaster/crisis response. It complements these with bundled care packages, printed handouts and mini-posters, podcast content, and a donation-supported access program. Revenue is generated primarily through speaking and consulting fees contracted with organizations, plus direct book and merchandise sales to individuals.

Product overview

The Trauma Stewardship Institute offers a portfolio of educational products and services centered on trauma-informed practices and overwhelm management. The core offerings include two published books—'Trauma Stewardship' and 'The Age of Overwhelm'—alongside fee-for-service offerings such as keynotes, workshops, consulting, and disaster response. Supporting products include care packages, printed handouts and mini-posters, and the Future Tripping podcast. The institute operates through Laura van Dernoot Lipsky as the primary expert and author, with services delivered to individuals, organizations, and communities across sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others The seminal book on trauma stewardship that introduces the concept and provides practical guidance for anyone working to make the world a better place while managing the personal toll of that work; for individuals in helping professions and the general public.
• The Age of Overwhelm: Strategies for the Long Haul A practical guide offering concrete strategies for adults and young adults to ease the burden of overwhelm, restore perspective, and gather strength to navigate modern life's challenges.
• Keynotes & Plenary Talks Inspirational, research-based keynote presentations delivered by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky to in-person or virtual audiences of 20 to 2,000 attendees, covering trauma, overwhelm, decision fatigue, and structural oppression.
• Workshops & Retreats Experiential sessions designed to help teams and organizations navigate overwhelm and trauma, ranging from brief intensives to multi-day retreats.
• Consulting Services Strategic support for organizations facing overwhelm, burnout, vicarious trauma, and structural challenges, including organizational assessments, leadership coaching, and recovery and resilience planning.
• Disaster & Crisis Response Crisis support services including real-time disaster response, post-event debriefing, community healing sessions, and long-term accompaniment for communities recovering from traumatic events such as climate disasters, violence, or tragedy.
• Care Packages Curated bundles priced at $68–$78 containing both books, handouts, mini-posters, and wallet cards; the Care Package + Chocolate variant includes a Spinnaker Chocolate bar.
• Mini-Posters & Handouts Printed and digital visual aids including the Decision Fatigue Mini Poster, Map for Managing One's Day Poster, Overcoming Overwhelm Mini Poster, Age of Overwhelm Mini Poster, Tiny Survival Guide Mini Poster, and the Five Directions Trauma Exposure Response Handout, priced at $1–$3 each.
• Future Tripping Merchandise Branded podcast merchandise including Future Tripping T-Shirts ($28) and handmade pins designed by a 6-year-old ($5), with pin proceeds donated to LGBTQ+ organizations in Texas and Florida.

Quantifiable outcome

• Culture-shifting organizational transformation reported by major healthcare institutions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Spinnaker ChocolateminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the Care Package + Chocolate product. Spinnaker Chocolate provides artisanal chocolate bars with proceeds supporting ocean litter removal and environmental protection. Their sustainability mission aligns with TSI's environmental values.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Calm: Consumer and enterprise mental-wellness app with content on stress, sleep, and emotional regulation — a scaled, subscription-based alternative to TSI's high-touch, expert-led approach for the same end-buyer concern.
• PESI: Large-scale continuing education and training provider for mental-health, healthcare, and social-work professionals. Overlaps with TSI on training content for helping professionals but operates a much broader catalog across many instructors.
• Headspace: Large corporate wellness platform offering meditation and mental-health tools to enterprises (Microsoft, Google, etc.). Competes for the same corporate wellness and employee support budget pool TSI addresses, but via software rather than expert-led services.

Direct peers

• National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine (NICABM): Provider of continuing education, online courses, and expert-led training for mental-health professionals on trauma and evidence-based practice — overlapping audience and content model with TSI's professional training and workshops.
• Sounds True: Multimedia publisher of self-development, mindfulness, and trauma-related books, audio programs, and courses. Overlaps with TSI on publishing trauma-informed authors and distributing wellness content to consumers and professionals.
• The Trauma Center at JRI: Founded by Bessel van der Kolk, the Trauma Center combines clinical services, professional training, and public education on trauma — directly comparable to TSI in mission (trauma education) and audience (clinicians, organizations, public).
• Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute: Founded by Peter Levine, SE offers trauma-informed training, certification programs, and professional development for clinicians — a parallel boutique training institute with comparable founder-led, framework-based positioning.
• Brené Brown: Researcher, author, and solo-led educator whose business model — bestselling books, keynote speaking, workshops, and consulting around helping-professional themes (vulnerability, shame, leadership) — closely mirrors TSI's structure, pricing, and client base.
• EMDR International Association: Membership and certification body for EMDR trauma treatment, offering training events and continuing education for trauma clinicians — comparable in delivering fee-based trauma training and certification to helping professionals.

Emerging players

• The School of Life: Educational content and workshop provider addressing emotional intelligence, overwhelm, and workplace wellbeing for individuals and organizations — adjacent to TSI's audience with a more curriculum-and-class-based delivery model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCKf9l6gTTLzvzwvsSYEHkuw
• Facebookfacebook.com/traumastewardship
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-trauma-stewardship-institute
• Instagraminstagram.com/futuretrippingwithlaura
• Xx.com/traumasteward

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Trauma Stewardship Institute