I just returned from attending The National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children’s 2011 Childhood Trauma Practitioners Assembly and wanted to highlight some of the program offerings:
This year’s theme was Trauma-Informed Resilience-Focused Practicesand kicked off with a keynote on The Adolescent Brain by Jeffery M. Georgi. Georgi’s all day offering included a lot content and considerations to better understand the development and structure of an adolescent’s brain functioning, especially related to trauma exposure and substance abuse. An emphasis on implementing sensory based approaches when working with traumatized teens was highlighted to support that the adolescent brain develops from the “back to the front”. Interventions such as art, music and smell can have a stronger impact on brain functioning, regulation, and control. You can learn more about Georgi’s work here and check out these recommended book resources here.
Another Assembly offering I attended that I found helpful for my shelter work with youth and families included Jean West’s workshop about facilitating trauma work with homeless children and adults using TLC’s SITCAP Model. Some of the resources and ideas offered during this workshop included implementing a trauma informed approach with this population through sensory based interventions and grounding individuals in crisis through the senses to cope with overwhelming experiences, losses, and strong emotional states. Some helpful trauma informed resources and publications recommended during the workshop included information available from the National Center on Family Homelessness.
This year it was a pleasure to conclude my TLC Assembly experience with facilitating a workshop about group strategies with youth exposed to domestic violence. I wanted to share some of the websites, children’s books, and related literature I recommended:
In addition to having the honor of being a presenter this year, I also want to sincerely thank TLC for including me as a 2011 award recipient for Consultant Supervisor of the Year. TLC’s certification training, courses, tools and resources have been so very valuable in my professional development and commitment to become a trauma informed therapist and to better help the youth, women, and families I work with who have impacted by trauma and loss. Thanks to TLC for all their work and dedication to help traumatized children everywhere.
March 18, 2012 at 10:52 am
[...] informed lens, including what is offered and created for family shelter programs and services. As posted here last summer, I attended a great workshop about this very topic and in that post shared some of the [...]