Foster Care Training

This training has a didactic and an experiential component. The didactic portion covers the concepts of vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion fatigue. We will begin with administration of the ProQOL (Professional Quality of Life measure, a self-report measure that identifies burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction). We will then proceed to an in-depth review of Dr. Laurie Ann Pearlman’s framework of Vicarious Trauma. In this review, we’ll define the term, explore who is most at-risk and why, and examine signs and symptoms of vicarious trauma, as well as Dr. Pearlman’s concept of the two levels of responding to vicarious trauma. We will then comprehensively review the neurophysiology of stress, including an overview of the Polyvagal Theory. We will review the Applied Mindfulness restorative practices conceptual framework. In the experiential portion, we will experience a broad variety of restorative practices for applying mindfulness skillfully in responding to the disruptions in autonomic nervous system regulation that characterize second-level trauma exposure. We will explore internal, relational, and creative practices, as well as nature connection. Individuals will identify a variety of approaches for themselves that address underlying concerns and identify a toolbox of approaches that they can apply. We will conclude by studying the emerging field of behavior design, which synthesizes insights from neuroscience and design thinking about how to transform behavior.