Teaching Resources
Please see our general tips for educating students about trauma, as well as various undergraduate, graduate, and seminar syllabi below. In addition, there is an extensive collection of training videos that may be helpful teaching tools for you classroom.
Graduate/Undergraduate Syllabi
Graduate Class Syllabi
Special Topics: Working with Trauma in Clinical Practice
Trauma-Focused Approaches to Intervention
Advanced Trauma-Focused Approaches to Intervention
Assessment and Treatment of Trauma
Clinical Case Seminar in Trauma Studies: Transdisciplinary Reappraisals of Clinical Work
Trauma: Theoretical and Clinical Perspectives
Crisis and Disaster Interventions
TeachTrauma
Bethany Brand's TeachTrauma site contains a variety of course syllabi and other helpful information on teaching trauma in an academic setting.
Education Video Collection
The Center for the Treatment of Developmental Trauma Disorders, a treatment and services adaptation center in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network has developed a library of 50+ films of therapy sessions and dialogues amongst therapists, youth, and caregivers that are designed for pre-professional and professional education by bringing to life the experience of doing trauma-focused psychogherapy with children, youth, and young adults who are courageously recovering from complex trauma — and also dealing with ongoing adversity and complex trauma — and their adult caregivers. The films feature more than 25 outstanding therapists from diverse personal backgrounds and professional orientations, who are meeting in real-time with clients in crisis. The clients are portrayed by actors to protect privacy and safety, but the sessions and the commentaries/dialogues afterward are spontaneous and real. We invite educators, trainers, and professionals in practice and in training to view these films at no cost — and to utilize them in trainings and classes -- by going to the CTDTD website (above) or the Critical Moments and Healing Developmental Trauma pages in the Clinical Resources section of the NCTSN Learning Center.
Guidelines on Trauma Competencies for Education and Training
The scientific literature on trauma is large and growing. However most mental health professionals only have a cursory knowledge of this science (Courtois & Gold, 2009) . In addition, they have no formal training in nor apply evidence-based psychosocial treatments for trauma-related disorders (Cook, Dinnen, Rehman, Bufka, & Courtois, 2011; Gray, Elhai & Schmidt, 2007 ).
A national consensus conference was held at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut in April 2013 to develop a comprehensive model of trauma-focused, empirically-informed competencies—knowledge, skills, and attitudes that professionals should aspire to have when working with traumatized children and adults (Cook, Newman, & the New Haven Trauma Competency Group, 2014).
APA has now officially approved the model, deemed the New Haven competencies, as the Guidelines on Trauma Competencies for Education and Training. They can provide the basis for training a trauma-informed mental health workforce.
Textbooks Grades
Coverage of Childhood Maltreatment
A recent study by Cindy Miller-Perrin of Pepperdine University found that textbooks used in teaching Introductory Psychology courses often lack information about the prevalence and impact of child maltreatment, despite the well-documented and often long-term negative impact that maltreatment has on children (Kissee, Isaacson, & Miller-Perrin, 2014). Even more concerning, some textbooks presented one sided reviews of controversial topics such as delayed recall of childhood trauma and dissociative disorders. Bethany Brand and her research team at Towson University recently collaborated with Cindy Miller-Perrin to assess the accuracy and adequacy of the information about child maltreatment and its link to psychopathology in Abnormal Psychology textbook. Their results echo those of earlier studies: some textbooks still present one-sided, sensationalized, and even inaccurate information related to child maltreatment (Wilgus, Packer, Lile-King, Miller-Perrin & Brand, 2015). The results of these studies will impact professors' textbook selections as well as prompt textbook authors to provide balanced and evidence-based information about trauma in their textbooks.
Based on this important work, Division 56 bestowed the "Best Coverage of Child Maltreatment in Undergraduate Psychology Textbooks Award to Nevid, J., Rathus, S., & Greene, B. (2014). Abnormal Psychology in a Changing World. (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. due to its outstanding coverage of traumatic disorders linked to child maltreatment.
Dr. Nevid stated the following in response to the award:
"I am deeply honored to have earned this award. I received the notification today and downloaded your article, which was very thorough and extremely helpful I am especially thankful for the suggestions in the article about the additional mentions to improve coverage of CM issues. Though space is always at a premium in texts, I intend to expand our coverage to include additional content. Thank you again for this very distinguished honor."
Division 56’s Education and Training Committee has compiled a list of graduate academic programs that currently offer training in trauma or have faculty who specialize in trauma. If you know of additional programs or faculty that should be included, please contact the Chair of the Committee to have them added to the list. We would like to extend our appreciation to the Committee members Janna Henning, Psy.D., FT, Jessica Jensen, Psy.D., Christianna Flynn, M.S., M.A., and Sydney Rae Appelbaum, M.A. for their hard work in compiling this list.
Please see our guide for doctoral and internship training programs with a trauma focus.
Please see our interactive map below for doctoral and internship program locations.
Web-Based Trauma Psychology Resources On Underserved Health Priority Populations for Public and Professional Education
The purpose of this project was to create web-based empirically-informed materials (i.e., printable fact sheets, YouTube videos, and suggested reading lists) on trauma and its impact in underserved health priority populations that can serve as valuable resources for clinicians, researchers and the public. Division 56 partnered with collaborative teams from Divisions 12 Section II (Clinical Geropsychology), 20 (Adult Development & Aging), 27 (Community Research and Action: Division of Community Psychology), 33 (Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities), 44 (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues), 45 (Culture, Ethnicity & Race), and 53 (Clinical Child and Adolescent) to create the fact sheets and videos found below.
Fact Sheets and Suggested Reading Lists:
Trauma & PTSD in Veterans by Vanessa Simiola, PsyD & Sonya Norman, PhD
Trauma & PTSD Older Adults by Joan Cook, PhD, Vanessa Simiola, PsyD, & Lisa Brown, PhD
Trauma & PTSD in Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse by Chris Anderson
Trauma & PTSD in LGBTQ Individuals by Amy Ellis, PhD
Trauma & PTSD in Ethnic Minorities by Jasmin Llamas, PhD et al.
Trauma & PTSD in Economically Disadvantaged Populations by Bekh Bradley-Davino and Lesia Ruglass, PhD
Trauma & PTSD in Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities by Nora J. Balderian, PhD
Trauma & PTSD in Children and Adolescents by Julian Ford, PhD
Trauma & PTSD in Traumatically Injured Populations with Terri deRoon-Cassini
Video Clips:
Please click the following pictures to watch videos from experts in the field discuss important topics and considerations regarding trauma and PTSD in various underserved populations.
Acknowledgement
Division 56 would like to extend its most sincere gratitude to Drs. Vanessa Simiola and Amy Ellis for their tireless effort and coordination in bringing this project to completion. They delivered this effort with huge heart and great attention to detail. It is our hope that these trauma psychology web-based resources will serve as valuable resources for clinicians, researchers, and the public.
Assessment Tip Sheet
This Tip Sheet for psychologists and other mental health professionals who conduct clinical screening and assessment with children and adolescents was developed by the Division 56 Child Trauma Task Force. The Tip Sheet is designed to assist clinicians in making screening for trauma exposure and trauma symptoms a standard practice in their work with children and families. Guidelines are provided elucidating the basic requirements for doing child trauma screening and assessment that is efficient, comprehensive, evidence-based, sensitive to individual and cultural differences, and coordinated across all relevant services and providers for the child and family. Key principles for deciding when and how to make referrals for child trauma assessment also are provided for clinicians who do not specialize in child trauma assessment/treatment when trauma screening indicates a need for a specialized trauma assessment and potentially for child trauma treatment. The Tip Sheet also alerts psychologists to potential pitfalls in child trauma screening/assessment that can result in clinical problems, and suggests appropriate precautions to avoid those pitfalls.
Suggested citation: Ford, J. D., Stover, C. S., Elmore, D., Ghosh Ippen, C., Hanson, R. F., Kassam-Adams, N., Kerig, P. K., & Mannarino, A. P. (2017). Trauma Screening and Assessment for Children and Adolescents: Tips for Psychologists. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Division 56 (Trauma Psychology). http://www.apatraumadivision.org/679/child-adolescent-tip-sheets.html
Treatment Tip Sheet
This Tip Sheet for psychologists and other mental health professionals who conduct clinical assessment and treatment with children and adolescents was developed by the Division 56 Child Trauma Task Force. The Tip Sheet is designed to assist clinicians in recognizing and providing empirically-supported best practices for the treatment of trauma-related symptoms and impairments as a standard practice in their work with children and families. Guidelines are provided for treatment that is efficient, comprehensive, evidence-based, sensitive to individual and cultural differences, and coordinated across all relevant services and providers for the child and family. Key principles for deciding when and how to make referrals for child trauma treatment are provided for clinicians who do not specialize in child trauma assessment/treatment when screening or assessment indicates a need for specialized trauma treatment. The Tip Sheet alerts psychologists to potential pitfalls in child trauma treatment that can result in clinical problems, and suggests appropriate precautions to avoid those pitfalls.
Suggested citation: Ford, J. D., Stover, C. S., Elmore, D., Ghosh Ippen, C., Hanson, R. F., Kassam-Adams, N., Kerig, P. K., & Mannarino, A. P. (2017). Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Trauma Symptoms: Tips for Psychologists. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Division 56 (Trauma psychology). http://www.apatraumadivision.org/679/child-adolescent-tip-sheets.html
Sexual abuse is an international problem and an often overlooked public health issue for men and boys. Given the prevalence of trauma and its well documented connection to mental and physical health disorders, the relevance of male survivor input and engagement in health care research is profound. As part of an engagement project funded by Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), Dr. Joan Cook from Yale University School of Medicine teamed up with a nonprofit organization, MaleSurvivor, to create web-based resources to educate and equip trauma survivors and researchers for mutual collaboration and equitable partnerships in all aspects of research.
https://societyforpsychotherapy.org/lessons-learned-from-male-survivors-of-sexual-abuse/
This video is a web-based training designed for trauma survivors to demystify research and present an introduction to research design and methodology, data collection, analysis and interpretation. The roles and responsibilities of involvement as trauma survivors as equitable partners in research as well as privacy, confidentiality, and legal protections including IRB and HIPAA laws are covered. Also included are a list of suggested readings. This video is narrated by Dr. Amy Ellis of Albizu University.
It is estimated that 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused by the time of their 18th birthday (e.g., Briere & Elliot, 2003; Holmes & Slap, 1998). However, the majority of the research on sexual abuse, including the development and testing of psychosocial interventions, focuses primarily on women.
Men and boys who have experienced sexual abuse can be viewed as an overlooked, neglected or stigmatized popluation by the public, and sometimes, by health care professionals.
Mr. Christopher Anderson, the former Executive Director of MaleSurvivor, narrates this web-based training video designed to help de-stigmitize male sexual abuse and promote male survivors mental health and healing.
[Float-Menu id=”1″]