Course Overview
Human Services work involves many crisis conversations. Psychologists, social workers, clinicians, and other helping professionals are often face to face with hurting people. We may also be those hurting people. Trauma Informed Care is meant to be a full 360 – not just for the “clients” but also for the caregivers and professionals. How do we prepare ourselves to help, and to be helped? To support and to reach out for support?
Crisis Conversations may overwhelm your internal and/or external resources. Topics such as suicidal ideation, self-harm, rage, extreme helplessness, or violence are difficult. And just as trauma is personal, a crisis conversation can be a conversation that hits us the wrong way, at the wrong time. It can be difficult to admit to feeling exhausted, and yet it is vital to be self-aware.
Self-assessment and preparation will allow you to better serve those you are helping today and in the future. Being prepared increases your ability to care for others while maintaining your own resilience. Trauma Informed Care involves a full 360-degree approach to crisis conversations. Having a trauma-informed response to crisis conversations includes a large set of skills that can be learned or improved upon.
At the end of this workshop, you will have a crisis conversation worksheet to use in practice so that you are better prepared for the conversations to come.
This intermediate-level training is intended for psychologists, social workers, clinicians, and other helping professionals who are regularly engaging in crisis conversations with clients and their families.
In this training you will be able to...
Assess internal resources needed to provide a Trauma Informed response in crisis conversations.
Describe the principles of trauma-informed care.
Discuss the principles of mental health crisis management.
Explain the impact of oppression regarding access to resources.
Plan ways to ask for help to strengthen their internal and external resources in order to provide a trauma-informed response in crisis conversations.
Laura Gaines, MSW, LISW-S
Laura Gaines is a trainer and researcher with a current focus on resilience as an individual and community skill. She has been an Ohio Child Welfare Training Program trainer and curriculum developer for over 20 years. Laura has served as a volunteer on the Crisis Text Line since April 2020.
Her career experiences include being a child and adolescent therapist for over 20 years, and 15 years working with children and adults who have developmental disabilities, thus providing thousands of opportunities to work with clients and their families in moments of crisis. Laura has specialized training in Trauma Informed Care and presented at the 2021 Ohio Children’s Alliance conference: Eighth Annual Trauma Informed Care Summit. Her trainings focus on child development, mental health, developmental disabilities, ethics, trauma informed care, resilience, and each person’s individual solutions to their life’s challenges.
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