Working with traumatic and sensitive material

Trainer: Jen Kavanagh

Jen Kavanagh is a freelance curator, oral historian and project manager. Before going freelance, Jen worked at London Transport Museum, the Science Museum and as Senior Curator of Contemporary History at the London Museum. Her freelance roles include working with the National Trust, the Garden Museum, the Museum of the Order of St John and the Museum of Croydon. She is currently curator of Bromley Historic Collections. Jen has worked with sensitive material related to the 7/7 London bombings, with the 9/11 UK Families Network and with the London Museum on their historic oral history collection. In 2025 she co-authored a report for the ARA entitled ‘The impact of collecting after sudden, unforeseen or violent events on the

mental wellbeing of the record-keeping workforce’.

What will be covered?

· An introduction to defining traumatic and sensitive material

· Case studies of this type of material

· Step-by-step guidance on working with these collections

· Practical tips for working with historic material

· Guidance on future proofing for unforeseen collecting

· Information on how to support staff with this work

· Insight into publications and guides to help with this work

Who should attend?

· Museum and archive professionals responsible working with collections, volunteers and communities

· Museum and archive professionals with existing collections of challenging material

Museum and Archive staff working in a local authority service, or one supported by the local authority will be given priority booking for this course.

By the end of this course, you will:

· Have a greater awareness of the types of material that may be considered traumatic and challenging

· Understand how to put processes in place to safeguard staff and volunteers

· Gain confidence with working with these collections

· Have an understanding of where to access further guidance