Foster Care Training

Children and youth living in communities affected by urban poverty are disproportionally impacted by traumatic life events, which in turn can affect development and learning. COVID-19 has exacerbated existing inequities for historically marginalized communities. Educators in public schools who serve these communities may find themselves overwhelmed as they strive to meet the needs of these children and their families in virtual setting. This stress can result in teacher burnout as well as a tendency to operate under a deficit model of thinking – or identifying what children and families lack as opposed to their adaptive abilities. Mental-health clinicians who work in schools are in a unique position to serve as catalysts for reducing the impact of trauma and inequity in the classroom and with students via direct and indirect services, including providing therapy, consultation and collaboration. However, successful service provision requires not only knowledge of effective interventions, but skills in building successful relationships with teachers and administrators within the context of school systems. Furthermore, we must also now consider our the context of collective trauma as a result of a dual pandemic: COVID-19 and racism. This course provides an overview of collective trauma, insidious trauma, and complex trauma, as well as trauma-informed therapeutic interventions for students and a framework for supporting teachers in classroom implementation. We will identify practices and techniques that support therapeutic work with students with complex and collective trauma histories and successful consultation with teachers via trauma-informed practices and interventions that support trauma treatment within the classroom context. Specific strategies for creating trauma-informed environments on zoom are discussed.