Trauma & Crisis Specialist

"Wow! I can say that I absolutely loved each article, podcast, webinar, etc. that was included in the Trauma and Crisis Management Specialist training. I can't wait to continue sharing the information with my teachers and principals. In the 10 years of being a school counselor, this was so far the best professional development."
– Laura Shelton, Bernard Middle School, St. Louis, Mo.

Location: Online, Self-paced

Course Description
Forty-six million children witness violence, crime, physical and psychological abuse every year in the United States. A study from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network found that one out of every four children attending school has been exposed to a traumatic event that can affect learning and/or behavior.  While the exact statistics vary for a variety of reasons, the commonality of all studies reveal trauma is something many U.S. children face. With such startling statistics, it’s likely that there are students in your school who have been exposed to some sort of trauma in their lifetime. This trauma can be detrimental to your students’ academic achievement, social/emotional development and postsecondary readiness.

Entire schools can also experience traumatic experiences, such as natural disasters, the loss of a student or facility member or a school shooting, and school counselors play an important role in developing and leading the crisis response team after a traumatic event unfolds. Learn how you can best support individual students living with and experiencing trauma and how you can be an instrumental leader in creating and/or maintaining a safe, supportive, trauma-sensitive school. View the Specialist syllabus.

Learning Objectives
After completing this course, should be able to:

• Explain in detail the prevalence and impact of trauma on students’ academic achievement, college and career readiness and social/emotional development.
• Identify different types of trauma students may experience
• Explain the role of schools in the lives of traumatized children
• Define and list the core attributes of a trauma-sensitive school
• List key tasks to complete in the wake of a crisis
• Discuss scenarios to understand the depth of response and what schools need in the recovery phase of a traumatic event
• Identify different ways to advocate for a trauma-sensitive schools.
• Locate valuable resources to aid students coping with trauma

Registration Fee
The Trauma/Crisis Management Specialist training is $99 ($249 for nonmembers) and is equal to 5 CEUs/50 Contact Hours. Graduate credit is available for an additional fee.