Trauma Training
Child protection social workers face constant challenges to their professional well-being. The work is essential, compelling and impossible. A trauma and resilience perspective sheds light on the nature of these challenges, and helps us develop strategies to build an effective, healthy workforce.
Trauma Theory
Psychological trauma theory grounds us in a strengths-based perspective that assumes each of us is whole and competent. When overwhelming events occur in our lives, we're all at risk of suffering, diminished functional capacity and decreased life satisfaction.
Trauma theory allows us to appreciate our fundamental goodness while also understanding the negative effects of traumatic experiences. I've led trauma workshops and courses for 30 years, applying these ideas to all social work practice areas, with a particular focus on child protection and youth services.
Below is an essay based on these lectures, and sample training materials.
Trauma theory allows us to appreciate our fundamental goodness while also understanding the negative effects of traumatic experiences. I've led trauma workshops and courses for 30 years, applying these ideas to all social work practice areas, with a particular focus on child protection and youth services.
Below is an essay based on these lectures, and sample training materials.
Family Engagement
For an intervention to work we each need to be engaged in the effort to help us. This is challenging to achieve in involuntary services, and nowhere more challenging than in child protection work. How do child protection staff move past the barriers created by their authority in a family's life, and what does it look like when families are engaged
Trauma-informed wraparound
Behavioral health wraparound models operate from the premise that child behavioral health indicators will improve when a strengths-based, empowerment-focused, informal network-building practice convenes family-driven team meetings that produce network-informed and supported plans of care. In WRAP-CT, Connecticut's child behavioral health wraparound program, the over-arching goal is to transform child behavioral health services statewide toward this affirmative, family-driven perspective.
We've developed a multifaceted approach to quality assurance to help meet this goal. First, we developed an on-going system to train and coach the workforce for compliance with national fidelity indicators. Next, in response to staff requests, we implemented a Child and Family Team data collection system that allows us both to create an evidenced-based narrative of our efforts to engage family members, and to link these efforts to substantive behavioral health outcomes. Finally, we developed Fifteen Factors for Families, a trauma-relational practice model that translates trauma-informed, relationally-driven, resilience-enhancing practice principles into action.
We've developed a multifaceted approach to quality assurance to help meet this goal. First, we developed an on-going system to train and coach the workforce for compliance with national fidelity indicators. Next, in response to staff requests, we implemented a Child and Family Team data collection system that allows us both to create an evidenced-based narrative of our efforts to engage family members, and to link these efforts to substantive behavioral health outcomes. Finally, we developed Fifteen Factors for Families, a trauma-relational practice model that translates trauma-informed, relationally-driven, resilience-enhancing practice principles into action.