Traumatic Stress

Traumatic Stress

This course will provide an overview of approaches in working with patients who have experienced psychological trauma. Research findings and theories on traumatic stress will be presented from neurobiological, sociocultural, and ecological perspectives. The course will focus on the roles of mental health clinicians in evaluating and treating disorders of traumatic stress. Various types of traumatic experiences and common issues and presentations of trauma survivors will be covered, with attention to considerations in treating specific groups, including immigrants and homicide survivors. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will also be discussed from a trauma perspective, including topics of collective trauma, psychiatric sequelae, grief and loss, and frontline worker experiences

The course will describe a range of treatment approaches for traumatic stress, including eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), internal family systems (IFS), mindfulness, and group modalities. The phenomena of relational experiences, attachment, and shame as related to trauma will also be explored, and approaches to address common challenges encountered when working with traumatized patients will be presented. In addition, the impact of treating patients who have experienced trauma will be examined, with strategies provided to promote clinicians’ effective clinical practice and resilience, and reduce the likelihood and impact of secondary traumatic stress. Attendees will not only gain a deeper understanding of the etiology and correlates of traumatic stress, but will leave with essential skills to integrate into their clinical practice.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

Integrate theoretical perspectives and research findings to construct a comprehensive understanding of the range of outcomes of trauma from biopsychosocial, sociocultural, and ecological perspectives, as well as risk and protective factors in the development of trauma-related symptomology and conditions across diverse groups. Evaluate the rationale and principles of several trauma treatment approaches, taking away essential therapeutic skills to integrate into clinical practice and strategies to address common issues that arise when working with trauma. Identify how working with patients who have experienced trauma may affect clinicians, and describe strategies to address secondary traumatic stress and promote effective clinical practice and resilience.

Target Audience

This course is targeted to mental health and health practitioners, including counselors, social workers, psychologists, primary care physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and nurse practitioners. This course may also be of interest to physicians who practice in family medicine, lifestyle and mind-body medicine, psychiatry, and neurology, as well as healthcare administrators, policy creators, and others interested in the treatment of traumatic stress.

Course Directors

Hsiang Huang, MD, MPH
Leah Soumerai, LICSW
Kate Zona, PhD