Mental Health Workforce

Featured Resources

R2R Quick Clips

Building Trust with Children Through Genuine Interest

2022 | CTDTD, CTRJJ

In this quick clip – Dr. Michael Salter highlights the importance of building trust with children through genuine interest.  For more in-depth information about trust and building resilience see

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PODCAST

How Mental Health Providers Can Foster Resilience

2022 | CTDTD, CTRJJ

In this podcast, Drs. Amanda Zelechoski and Julian Ford discuss with guest experts how mental health professionals can foster resilience.   Hear guest experts speak directly about what youth and families can expect if they are looking for trauma-informed treatment.   

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R2R Quick Clips

How to Talk to a Child Who is Dissociating

2022 | CTDTD, CTRJJ

In this quick clip – Dr. Joyanna Silberg offers practical suggestions on how to talk to a child who is dissociating.  For more in-depth information on this topic see 

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PODCAST

Understanding Dissociation

2022 | CTDTD, CTRJJ

In this podcast, Drs. Amanda Zelechoski and Julian Ford discuss with dissociation with a guest expert, Dr. Joyanna Silberg.  In this episode, we learn why dissociation takes place, the early signs of dissociation, and what parents and professionals can do to assist children who are experiencing this process of psychologically “disconnecting”. 

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Resource Guides

Resource Guide

Trauma-Focused Practice Supplement for the Crossover Youth Practice Model | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2022 | CTRJJ, CCTASI, and YMI Work Group

The Trauma-Focused Practice Supplement for the Crossover Youth Practice Model is designed for those working with youth involved in multiple systems using the Crossover Youth Practice Model. This supplement is a brief version of A Trauma-Informed Guide for Working with Youth Involved in Multiple Systems developed specifically for staff working with youth who are currently or have been involved in the child welfare, juvenile justice, and other systems. After a brief description of the CYPM, real world examples are provided that highlight five distinct steps of trauma-informed practice with crossover youth.

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Resource Guide

A Trauma-Informed Guide for Working with Youth Involved in Multiple Systems | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2022 | CTRJJ, CCTASI, and YMI Work Group

The Trauma-Focused Practice Supplement for the Crossover Youth Practice Model is designed for those working with youth involved in multiple systems using the Crossover Youth Practice Model. This supplement is a brief version of A Trauma-Informed Guide for Working with Youth Involved in Multiple Systems developed specifically for staff working with youth who are currently or have been involved in the child welfare, juvenile justice, and other systems. After a brief description of the CYPM, real world examples are provided that highlight five distinct steps of trauma-informed practice with crossover youth.

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Resource Guide

NCTSN Trauma-Informed Organizational Assessment (TIOA) Course | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2022 | CTRJJ and National Center for Child Traumatic Stress

The NCTSN Trauma-Informed Organizational Assessment (TIOA) Course helps organizations assess their current practices in the context of serving children and families who have experienced trauma. It is an important part of an organizational transformation process to create trauma-informed organizations. The NCTSN TIOA is a process created by the UCLA-Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress (NCCTS). This course includes the assessment and accompanying resources for professionals interested in using the TIOA and provides information to get started, access to the assessment, guidance on using the assessment, and resources for implementation and organization change.

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Resource Guide

Essential Elements of a Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice System | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2015 | CTRJJ and Justice Consortium 

The Essential Elements of a Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice System helps programs who work with justice-involved youth better understand the steps to take to recognize and respond to the trauma-related needs of youth, family members, and staff working in the justice system. This guide offers trauma-informed policies and procedures to help make juvenile justice organizations safer and more effective by ensuring the physical and psychological safety of all youth, family members, and staff and promoting their recovery from the adverse effects of trauma.

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Fact Sheets

Fact Sheet

Assessing Exposure to Psychological Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in the Juvenile Justice Population | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

Updated 2023 | CTRJJ 

Assessing Exposure to Psychological Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress in the Juvenile Justice Population fact sheet explores the importance, clinical considerations, and approaches to assessing for psychological trauma and posttraumatic stress with youth in the juvenile justice population. This fact sheet addresses challenges that are unique to assessment within the juvenile justice environment.

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Fact Sheet

Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Among Girls in the Juvenile Justice System | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

Updated 2023 | CTRJJ 

The Trauma Among Girls in the Juvenile Justice System fact sheet gives details about the growing number of girls in the juvenile justice. This fact sheet outlines the prevalence of trauma exposure among justice-involved girls, the prevalence of PTSD among justice-involved girls, potential consequences of trauma for girls, the impact of juvenile justice system on traumatized girls, and gender responsive programming.

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Fact Sheet

Evidence-Informed Interventions for Posttraumatic Stress Reactions with Youth Involved in the Juvenile Justice System | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

Updated 2023 | CTRJJ 

The Evidence-Informed Interventions for Posttraumatic Stress Reactions with Youth Involved in the Juvenile Justice System fact sheet describes evidence-informed interventions for youth involved in the juvenile justice system. This fact sheet discussed interventions that address posttraumatic emotional and behavioral problems, setting the stage before providing or referring for a therapeutic intervention, intervention for traumatized adolescents, interventions for traumatized youth involved in the juvenile justice system, and additional clinical considerations when working with youth involved in the juvenile justice system.

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Fact Sheet

Trauma-Informed Guiding Principles for Working with Transition Age Youth: Provider Fact Sheet | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2022 | CCTASI

The Trauma-Informed Guiding Principles for Working with Transition Age Youth: Provider Fact Sheet offers information for providers supporting transition age youth with trauma-informed guiding principles to inform their work. This fact sheet describes transition age youth and their unique experiences, and six trauma-informed guiding principles to better support youth in their journey and recovery.

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Fact Sheet

Complex Trauma: In Juvenile Justice-System Involved Youth | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2017 | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network 

The Complex Trauma: In Juvenile Justice-System Involved Youth resource delineates the path from complex trauma exposure to involvement in the juvenile justice system. This fact sheet describes the “survival-oriented coping” that youth adopt to manage their lives and explores the many challenges these youth face in managing their emotions, physical responses, and impulses. It also presents recommendations for judges and juvenile justice program administrators, parents and family members, and adults who supervise youth.

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Fact Sheet

Racial Disparities and the Juvenile Justice System: A Legacy of Trauma | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2013 | CTRJJ 

Racial Disparities and the Juvenile Justice System: A Legacy of Trauma fact sheet outlines the historical context of racial disparities and highlights how systems can move forward to reduce these racial disparities, including by framing the issue so that practical and pro-active discussion can move beyond assigning blame. This brief, written by Clinton Lacey, Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Department of Probation, describes racial disparities within the juvenile justice system.

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Fact Sheet

The Role of Family Engagement in Creating Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice Systems | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2013 | National Center for Child Traumatic Stress

The Role of family Engagement in Creating Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice Systems fact sheet outlines the role of family engagement in creating trauma-informed juvenile justice systems. This brief, written by Liane Rozzell at Families and Allies of Virgina Youth, offers information on family engagement, why it is a key element in a trauma-informed juvenile justice system, how family engagement supports a trauma-informed juvenile justice system, the challenges to family engagement in juvenile justice, what family engagement looks like in the justice system, and recommendations to address the challenges.

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Fact Sheet

Trauma-Informed Assessment and Intervention | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2013 | CTRJJ

Trauma-Informed Assessment and Intervention fact sheet outlines the importance of trauma-informed assessment and intervention in the juvenile justice system. This brief describes how to integrate trauma-informed assessment and intervention in juvenile justice systems, challenges for assessment and treatment, success stories, and recommendations.

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Fact Sheet

Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice Roundtable: Current Issues and New Directions in Creating Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice Systems | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2013 | National Center for Child Traumatic Stress

Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice Roundtable: Current Issues and New Directions in Creating Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice Systems fact sheet provides an introduction to the NCTSN Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice Roundtable, describes the current issues and essential elements of a trauma-informed juvenile justice system, and outlines possible new directions for the future. This collection of briefs written by experts invited to the NCTSN Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice Roundtable address topics essential to creating trauma-informed juvenile justice systems.

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Fact Sheet

Service Systems Brief: Creating Trauma-Informed Child-Serving Systems | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2007 | CTRJJ and National Center for Child Traumatic Stress 

The Service Systems Brief: Creating Trauma-Informed Child-Serving Systems fact sheet summarizes the importance of trauma-informed systems. This brief describes how to create trauma-informed systems including school systems, child welfare systems, health care systems, juvenile justice systems, mental health systems, and trauma-informed law enforcement or first responder systems.

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Fact Sheet

Principles of an Anti-Racist, Trauma-Informed Organization

2022 | NTCSN 

Offers actionable principles that organizations and child-serving systems can implement to move toward the fundamental transformation of becoming anti-racist and trauma-informed. Our nation is at a critical precipice for reimagining how to improve access to and quality of the services for children, families, and communities throughout the United States (US) who have been traumatized by the current and historical impacts of anti-Black racism, as well as to dismantle the white supremacy culture that continues to uphold this racism. This list of principles is a companion document to the Being Anti-Racist is Central to Trauma- Informed Care: Principles of an Anti-Racist, Trauma-Informed Organization resource, which includes further explanation and strategies for how organizations can put these principles into action.

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Fact Sheet

Cultural Responsiveness To Racial Trauma

2020 | NTCSN 

Offers mental health providers information on understanding cultural responsiveness to racial trauma, why it matters, and what to do. This infographic includes information on what is racial trauma, what is cultural responsiveness, how did we get here, what are the effects of racial trauma and discrimination, as well as your responsibility as a mental health provider.

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Fact Sheet

Identifying the Intersection of Trauma and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: Part I: Key Considerations

2021 | NCTSN

Addresses why providers should ask about sexual orientation and gender identity, identifies the intersection of trauma, sexual orientation and gender identity, and provides goals for the screener. This resource also includes what studies have revealed about LGBTQ+ youth and trauma and key implementation considerations for trauma-informed organizations and providers.

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Webinars

Webinar

Institutional Responses to the Current Crisis

2021 | CTRJJ

In this webinar, speakers focus on institutional responses to the current combined crises of community violence during this time of pandemic and unrest. Panelists will represent a range of institutions including law enforcement, juvenile justice, national disaster, public school, and mental health systems.

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Webinar

Traumatic Impacts of Community Violence, COVID-19, and Civil Unrest on Immigrant Families

2021 | CTRJJ, Clinicians and Youth and Families

The COVID-19 pandemic, along with severe immigration enforcement policies in recent years, and historical and present structural inequities have all had a disproportionate impact on BIPOC communities, including marginalized immigrant populations in the US. This has resulted in increased risk factors, including decreased access to financial, technological, social, educational and healthcare resources resulting in an increasing risk of infection, family separation and loss, trauma exposure and victimization. In this webinar, speakers will focus on current challenges and recommendations for addressing the needs of young immigrant children, youth and families; highlighting the importance of community partnership, early childhood protections; addressing substance use and its effects, as well as faith based supportive approaches.

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Webinar

Making Think Trauma Stick: A Guide to Training and Implementation | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2021 | CTRJJ

The Making Think Trauma Stick: A Guide to Training and Implementation resource is a virtual guide that walks through Making Think Trauma Stick: A Guide to Training and Implementation, developed by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). This guide helps support the process of implementation at your organization, introduces key factors and activities to engage in before, during, and after the full Think Trauma training, and includes tips and questions to utilize along the way.

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Webinar

Addressing Trauma and Disproportionate Ethnic Minority Contact in Juvenile Justice through Empowerment: It’s about more than a seat at the table. | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2016 | CTRJJ

The Addressing Trauma and Disproportionate Ethnic Minority Contact in Juvenile Justice Through Empowerment: It’s about more than a seat at the table resource explores both the historical and current causes for disproportionality and the relationships between trauma responses, violence and disproportionality. This webinar will also pose potential avenues to truly engage families and communities in the formation of new systems and services, which are built upon principles of empowerment.

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Webinar

Assisting Commercially Sexually Exploited Youth in the Juvenile Justice System | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2015 | CTRJJ 

The Assisting Commercially Sexually Exploited Youth in the Juvenile Justice System resources gives an overview of current issues and challenges for law enforcement and the juvenile justice system in assisting children and adolescents who face commercial sexual exploitation. This webinar discusses promising approaches and models currently used in New York, California, and other communities to identify, intervene with, and support this vulnerable population. It also emphasizes practical tips and resources to assist law enforcement and juvenile justice professionals in supporting their communities’ efforts to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

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Webinar

Trauma-Informed Services and Treatments for Crossover Youth | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2015 | CTRJJ 

The Trauma-Informed Services and Treatments for Crossover Youth resources discusses the processes leading maltreated youth to become involved in the juvenile justice system. This webinar describes the characteristics of crossover youth with a particular focus on those living in urban settings, including the highly disproportionate representation of ethnic minority youth and girls.

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Webinar

Polyvictimization Considerations in the Judicial System | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2013 | CTRJJ

The Polyvictimization Considerations in the Judicial Justice System resource provides an overview of the effects of polyvictimization on youth involved in the juvenile justice system. This webinar offers approaches to identifying this highly vulnerable subgroup and providing them and their families with help in recovering from victimization.

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Webinar

Systems of Care: An Effective Strategy to Improve Outcomes for Youth in Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare who have Experienced Trauma | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2013 | National Center for Child Traumatic Stress

The Systems of Care: An Effective Strategy to Improve Outcomes for Youth in Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare who have Experienced Trauma resource describes the Systems of Care Initiative and how federal programs are realized at local levels. This webinar discusses providing trauma-informed care to crossover youth, as well as how this federal program can impact individuals.

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Webinar

A Developmental Approach to Trauma-Informed Practice with Crossover Youth | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2015 | CTRJJ 

The Trauma-Informed Services and Treatments for Crossover Youth resources discusses the processes leading maltreated youth to become involved in the juvenile justice system. This webinar describes the characteristics of crossover youth with a particular focus on those living in urban settings, including the highly disproportionate representation of ethnic minority youth and girls.

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Webinar

Eminent Psychotherapists’ Revealed with Julian Ford

2024 | CTRJJ

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Webinar

A Trauma-Informed Approach for Working with Youth Involved in Multiple Systems

2024 | NCTSN

Reviews the new resource A Trauma-Informed Guide for Working with Youth Involved in Multiple Systems. Participants will understand why Youth Involved in Multiple Systems (YIMS) are a population worth special attention, learn the benefits of using a trauma-informed lens when working with YIMS, and gain concrete recommendations to enhance practice through commentary and case examples from speakers.

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Webinar

How Race, Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity Impact Treatment of Trauma

2024 | NCTSN

In this webinar, you will hear from five expert trauma therapists about their experiences and reflective processes while working with children and families who have experienced developmental trauma and come from complex backgrounds in terms of race, ethnicity, culture, and identity. In addition, Dr. Rocio Chang (who also participated in the roundtable discussion) will moderate live commentary with Dr. Maureen Allwood, Dr. Ernestine Briggs-King, and Dr. Russell Jones. They will talk about the importance of open conversations related to the roundtable topics as well as the impacts of recent events that have brought racism to the forefront.

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Webinar

Longing to Reconnect with Family: A Teenager and His Father Encounter Their Losses and Fears

2024 | NCTSN

Joshua’s mom abandoned him when he was a few days old. For the first three years of his life, Joshua lived with his maternal grandmother and her partner. When Joshua began preschool, his teachers had some concerns about his overall hygiene and care. A few months later, his teacher called DCF to report suspected abuse when he came to school with burns on both of his hands. DCF removed Joshua from his grandmother’s care due to neglect and physical abuse. Joshua went to live with his biological father for two years. At 6 years of age, Joshua’s father was incarcerated, forcing Joshua to be placed in a foster home. DCF arranged visits with his father on and off for a few years after his father’s release from prison. Joshua remained in the same foster home until the day he was arrested for attempted armed robbery at age 15​. In this session, the therapist was asked by DCF to work on strengthening the relationship between Joshua and his father to see if he could move in and live with his father’s family in the future. The therapist begins the session by welcoming the father and letting him know that she has been working with Joshua for a month now. The therapist goes over Joshua’s strengths and highlights how grateful Joshua is for the opportunity to reconnect with family.

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Webinar

PTSD and Risk Assessments for Juvenile Court Evaluations

2024 | NCTSN

In this webinar, David Foy and Julian Ford provide an overview of juvenile court evaluation procedures, highlight how PTSD and risk assessments are utilized within these evaluations, and discuss ways to improve their use.

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Webinar

From Child Maltreatment to Juvenile Delinquency: Trajectories of Crossover Youth and the Role of Trauma

2024 | NCTSN

In this webinar Gene Griffin and Denise Herz report findings from research on Crossover Youth. They discuss how traumatic stress plays a role in the trajectory of Crossover Youth, and implications for policy and practice.

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Webinar

Toward Trauma-Informed System Change: A TARGETed Approach

2024 | NCTSN

In this webinar Julian Ford describes the purpose and design of the TARGET model of trauma-focused treatment. He explains why trauma is debilitating, based on our understanding of the neurobiology of the brain, and how TARGET helps young people manage emotions rather than avoiding or being controlled by them.

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Webinar

The Impact of Developmental Trauma in Communities of Color During the Pandemic

2020 | NTCSN

Features Andrew Woods, a clinician with over two decades of experience working with boys and men of color. Speakers interview Mr. Woods and discuss the impact of developmental trauma in communities of color during the pandemic. This video also includes Mr. Woods describing his experience and work developing and implementing culturally appropriate, high quality, and evidence-based crisis response, mental health and supportive programs, partnerships, and policies for victims of violence and trauma to improve the lives of youth and adult victims of crime and their families in the Greater Hartford Area of CT.

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Webinar

Safe Places, Safe Spaces: Creating Welcoming and Inclusive Environments for Traumatized LGBTQ Youth Video

2015 | NTCSN

Introduces the viewer to the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth who have experienced trauma. This video discusses how to create welcoming and inclusive environments for youth who have experienced trauma and identify as LGBTQ. It may be used in conjunction with the discussion guide as a training tool or in supervision with staff.

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Webinar

LGBTQ+

2023 | CTDTD

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Webinar

Utilizing Trauma-Informed Approaches to Support Transition Age Youth (TAY) in the Criminal Justice System.

2024 | CTRJJ

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Training Curriculum

Training Curriculum

Think Trauma: A Training for Working with Justice Involved Youth, 2nd Edition | The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

2020 | CTRJJ 

The Think Trauma: A Training for Working with Justice Involved Youth, 2nd Edition provides an overview for juvenile justice staff on how to work towards creating a trauma-informed juvenile justice residential setting. This training includes four modules including trauma and delinquency; trauma’s impact on development; coping strategies; and vicarious trauma, organizational stress, and self-care.

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Training Curriculum

Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education and Therapy

2012 | NCTSN 

TARGET is a strengths-based approach to education and therapy for survivors of physical, sexual, psychological, and emotional trauma. TARGET teaches a set of seven skills (summarized by the acronym FREEDOM (Focus, Recognize triggers, Emotion self-check, Evaluate thoughts, Define goals, Options, and Make a contribution) that can be used by trauma survivors to regulate extreme emotional states, manage intrusive trauma memories, promote self-efficacy, and achieve lasting recovery from trauma.

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Training Curriculum

Trauma and Grief Compoent Therapy for Adolescents

2012 | NCTSN 

TGCT-A is a manualized group or individual treatment program for trauma-exposed or traumatically bereaved older children and adolescents that may be implemented in school, community mental health, clinic, or other service settings. It is a modularized, assessment-driven, flexibly tailored treatment manual and accompanying youth workbook that includes detailed instructions for conducting individual or group sessions. Specific treatment modules (and specific sessions within modules) are selected, prioritized, sequenced, and emphasized based on clients’ specific needs, strengths, circumstances, and informed wishes. The intervention contains a variety of components organized into four modules.

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Training Curriculum

Being Anti-Racist is Central to Trauma-Informed Care: Principles of an Anti-Racist, Trauma-Informed Organization

2022 | NTCSN 

Systems and organizations must shift beyond performative action toward becoming antiracist and trauma-informed. This resource offers actionable principles and strategies that organizations can implement to make this move toward fundamental transformation. Our nation is at a critical precipice for reimagining how to improve access to and quality of the services for children, families, and communities throughout the United States (US) who have been traumatized by the current and historical impacts of anti-Black racism, as well as to dismantle the white supremacy culture that continues to uphold this racism. The goal of this resource is to light a fire in the bellies of systems, their leaders, and their agents to adopt conscious efforts and actions that promote equity, healing, and justice. This cannot be achieved by inspiring systems to simply think differently about individuals negotiating racism in their daily lives – they must act differently.

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Training Curriculum

Using the Radical Healing Framework to Address Identity-Based Wounds in Adolescent Black Males

2022 | CDC TRAIN and CDC ELI

This course is a primer on using the radical healing framework to address racial trauma that shapes identity-based wounds in adolescent Black males ages 10 to 24. Through an anti-oppression and social justice lens, therapists and social workers will learn to apply the framework as a complimentary healing-centered approach to open pathways for adolescent Black males to have a solid sense of meaning, self-perception, healing, and purpose.

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Training Curriculum

Mental Health, Racial Trauma, and Health Inequities Confronting Boys and Men of Color

2020 | NTCSN

Features Dr. Wizdom Powell, an artist, Director of the Health Disparities Institute and Associate Professor of Psychiatry, and a Senior Consultant for the Center for the Treatment of Developmental Trauma Disorders, at UConn Health, who has worked to advance health equity for boys and men of color. During this segment, Dr. Powell will describe the impact of chronic exposure to racial and developmental trauma on young Black men and share how intergenerational trauma has affected families and communities of color. She will highlight creative pathways that can be considered to promote healing for boys and men of color who have experienced racial and developmental trauma.

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Studies

Study

The Resilience for Trauma-Informed Professionals (R-TIP) Study

2024 | Risk to Resilience Lab

R-TIP is a curriculum developed by Dr. Patricia Kerig for non-mental health professionals to develop evidence-driven strategies to cope with secondary traumatic stress (STS). STS is a stress reaction that emerges when a person is exposed to information about other people’s traumatic experiences. The R-TIP study will test the efficacy of this training and establish a protocol for training others in its delivery.

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