L7, M7

THERAPY ISN'T JUST FOR THERAPISTS:  HOW DIRECT CARE WORKERS CAN ALSO PROVIDE THE MEDICINE

Presenters: Joseph Benamati

Abstract Category: Mental Health

Instruction Level: Intermediate

Presentation: Not Provided

Description:

Systematic Training to Assist in the Recovery From Trauma (START) is a trauma-informed training for direct care staff ( residential, foster care, special education). Based on sound, evidence-based practices, START helps the "rest of the team" work effectively with traumatized youth.

Abstract: 

Lacking a general understanding of the nature of trauma, what stressors brought a child into care, the duration, severity, and frequency of the traumatic events, all tend to produce an environment in which staff focus on symptomatic problems and current crises. Much of the training in most agencies, therefore, tends to focus on symptomatic solutions such as behavior control, coercion, restraints, level systems, and staff-centered power and authority. Staff engage in power struggles with clients, other staff, and the client’s guardians because their understanding of how best to treat clients is based on the training they receive in coercive techniques.

Workshop participants will learn the fundamentals of the 2-day START training. START offers staff the ability to think about and investigate what constitutes a safe environment, how children in their care have been affected by traumatic events, what specific behaviors may be directly linked to prior trauma, and what language staff can use to help ameliorate the effects of those traumas.

START is a hands-on training with lots of experiential activities, multi-media learning modules, homework assignments, and even a pre-post test to determine the effectiveness of the training.