ONLINE COURSES

Childhood Trauma and Times of Crisis: Moving from Trauma-Informed to Trauma-Competent

Program Description

This course is about the realities of children’s trauma. While we will review the fundamentals of trauma, how it is defined and, more so, how it manifests on the ground, we will also delve into what we can do to help those children who are most challenged with managing their behavior, emotions, learning, and attention. We will explore a model of support planning developed by the presenter which is also described in his book, “Children Gripped by Trauma” (ABC-Clio, 2021). In addition, we will look at a few major aspects of crisis theory and how they relate to some of the challenges we’re seeing in front of us every day, both in the classroom and beyond.

Participants will be asked to read the first chapter of the book (there is a free link to this chapter on the author’s website) and we will then meet for a presentation, discussion, and case studies. Confidentiality will be carefully maintained, but this material is all about the stories of the children we see and try to help. Upon completion of those steps, you will develop your own support plans, which we will then come back as a group to discuss.

Participants read chapter one of my book (free at website, www.jameslevinephd.com) = 2 hours
PD with PPT: 2.5 hours and 1 hour for discussion and questions = 3.5 hours
Participants develop their own support plans based on a student or case of their own. Justify the steps based on theories and ideas we discussed regarding crisis and trauma = 2 hours
Discussion of participant support plans in live forum = 2.5 hours

Total = 10 hours

Intended Audience:

Teachers (especially special educators, but this is relevant to all teachers), school administrators, counselors, and paraprofessionals working with challenging children.

Learning Goals:

Develop an increased level of understanding of childhood trauma and how it manifests through the intersection of children’s behavior, mood, learning, and attention
Show how the violation of trust reveals itself in the specific ways children maintain relationships with both adults and peers
Improve understanding of the link between crisis/childhood trauma theory and the creation of support plans
Demonstrate how support plans should be structured, presented, and implemented
Learn how these plans support both the RTI process in schools and the broader need for equity