Class Descriptions

Current Treatment for Trauma Survivors

SW701

Credits:	1
Prerequisites:	None

Pathway Associations

Community Change
Global
Interpersonal Practice	Elective (Host)
Mgmt & Leadership
Policy & Political
Program Evaluation
Older Adults
Children & Families

Course Description

Among adults seeking treatment for behavioral health concerns, including mental health and substance use disorders, the high prevalence of historical
trauma and associated PTSD is increasingly well-established. The results of the significant Adverse Childhood Experiences Study only emphasize further the high cost in negative health outcomes of neglecting to identify and treat the impact of childhood traumatic experiences. But what can be done to address this important co-occurring condition that otherwise poses such a threat to physical, emotional and mental health? This training will take participants through the steps of clinical treatment
sequence that includes evidence-based best practices, from engagement with understandably ambivalent clients to available, research-based group and individual treatments. Use of the most recent version of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Checklist (PCL-5) for client education, diagnostic assessment, treatment planning considerations, and outcome measurement will be featured. The groupwork modalities of Seeking Safety and the Trauma Recovery & Empowerment Model (TREM/M-TREM) will be presented, as well as individual therapy approaches including Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral approaches, and Prolonged Exposure Therapy. Participants will be equipped with information, resources, and beginning skills that can lead to actionable change in the direction of improving the effectiveness of treatment for PTS/D across various service settings, from community mental health clinics, to substance use disorder treatment programs, to integrated primary care & behavioral health centers.

Objectives

1. To understand the prevalence of the incidence of trauma and resulting posttraumatic stress and its impacts on quality of life and level of functioning.
2. To gain an appreciation of the need for intentional and effective engagement and motivational enhancement with trauma survivors who are often untrusting and highly ambivalent about committing to trauma treatment.
3. To learn how to evaluate for problematic posttraumatic stress symptoms as a routine part of assessment in primary care, mental health & substance abuse treatment settings.
4. To gain familiarity with 5 evidence-based treatment interventions with demonstrated efficacy in treating trauma survivors through increasing symptom management skills and/or processing PTSD symptoms to resolution.

Design

Lecture, Handouts, Educational Videos, Case scenario presentations, Class discussion.

Intensive Focus on Privilege, Oppression, Diversity and Social Justice (PODS)

Because privilege, oppression, diversity and social justice are themes pertinent to the effective development and delivery of primary care, mental health, and substance abuse treatment services, class discussions will intentionally include consideration of these themes, within the context of the various class session topics. Negative experiences of oppression and privilege can be among the many circumstances that can lead to traumatic events. Factors contributing to posttraumatic stress symptoms may register differentially among diverse people groups, and consideration of some of these differences will be a necessary part of class discussion, along with an emphasis on cultural humility as an appropriate position from which to learn more about an individual’s cultural characteristics that factor into accurate assessment of and effective treatment recommendations for persistent symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Social justice argues for access to effective and culturally appropriate screening, assessment, and treatment for the traumatized individual, without discrimination and regardless of ethnic, socioeconomic, sexual orientation, or other factors.
This course integrates PODS content and skills with a special emphasis on the identification of theories, practice and/or policies that promote social justice, illuminate injustices and are consistent with scientific and professional knowledge. Through the use of a variety of instructional methods, this course will support students developing a vision of social justice, learn to recognize and reduce mechanisms that support oppression and injustice, work toward social justice processes, apply intersectionality and intercultural frameworks and strengthen critical consciousness, self-knowledge and self-awareness to facilitate PODS learning.