Practical and Evidence-Based Intervention Strategies for Direct Care Staff Serving Youth With Complex Trauma in Residential Treatment Settings

This two-hour in-person workshop meets the requirements towards the continuing education training of group home facility administrators. In this workshop, we discuss how complex trauma manifests in a youth residential treatment setting. We explore the therapeutic role that all staff within an organization (not just the therapist) hold in promoting the emotional and physical safety of youth. We also apply a cultural lens, examining interactions with historical, racial, and intergenerational trauma. By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to discuss the importance of, and strategies for, being calm (regulated), connected, and responding effectively to youth in residential settings, enabling youth to develop resiliency and other life skills identified by their therapeutic team. One (1) 10-minute break will be provided.

Note: This workshop has been adapted, with permission, from one of the trainings Hanna Center teaches as part of the west coast contingent of the Complex Trauma Training Consortium (CTTC), a national trainer-training and workforce development initiative that aims to establish sustainable expertise in complex trauma understanding, assessment, and treatment across the USA. The CTTC is a member of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) and is comprised of a faculty of over two dozen subject matter experts diverse in race, culture, language, geography and lived experience.