The California Center of Excellence for Trauma Informed Care offers training and consultation on a wide variety of topics relevant to the multi-faceted experiences of trauma-exposed populations. Below are brief descriptions of several of the Center's available trainings. If you do not see the topic that interests you, please contact us for a more exhaustive list or for a referral.

The Center provides training to clinical and non-clinical staff in order to develop a therapeutically beneficial milieu within which specific interventions and therapies can function more effectively. The Center staff are not clinicians themselves.

Trauma-informed services

This training provides participants, managers, line-staff and administrators with key elements of what a trauma-informed program looks like (and does not look like). It will review the 2001 “Using Trauma Theory to Design Service Systems” framework as well as provide resources for assessing and transforming agencies to become more trauma informed.

Children and Trauma

This training reviews the research related to early childhood trauma, evidence-based interventions and suggestions on how to work with children that are affected by trauma. The ACE Study will be explored and research data from trauma-specific children’s programs will be discussed.

Overview of PTSD and complex trauma

This training will go over the current research regarding PTSD and complex trauma. It allows participants to have a familiarity with trauma-related terms, identify trauma symptoms and identify responses that can exacerbate or alleviate trauma responses. Research from Lisa Najavits, Bessel Van Der Kolk, and others will be discussed.

Substance Abuse and Trauma

This training will review the research that shows the close connections between trauma and the development of substance abuse and dependence. It will review evidence-based interventions that have proved positive outcomes for people with trauma and substance abuse programs, including seeking safety, TREM and TRIAD.

Self-Care and the Impact of Trauma

This training will provide staff people with an understanding of how working with populations exposed to trauma can affect them in their personal lives. Specific suggestions on self-care, resources and fellowship will provide experience samples of how to feel better immediately when struggling with the impact of trauma work.

The Neurobiology of Trauma

This training goes over the work done by Bill Perry and others regarding how trauma interferes with brain development and how the traumatized brain works. This training will offer a lay-persons’ understanding of the brain and trauma, accessible and understandable to any participant. Additional resources will be provided. This is a 3-hour training.

Trauma and Personality Disorders

This training will review the research showing associations between early childhood abuse, especially child sexual abuse, and the development of personality disorders, including borderline personality disorder. Participants will be able to develop specific non-clinical skills to work with people who have both trauma and personality disorder behaviors, with or without a diagnosis. This is a 3-hour training.

Working with Former or Current Sex Workers

This training will go over the research and known association between childhood trauma and adolescent and adult sex work. Additional trauma, substance abuse, and criminal justice involvement issues often co-occur. Participants will be given suggestions on prevention and intervention curricula appropriate for populations engaged in sex work. This is a 3-hour training.

HIV and trauma

This training reviews the research that shows a highly correlated association between early and severe child abuse and continuing HIV risk behaviors. Participants will receive additional resources and interventions to increase effectiveness in the promotion of HIV-prevention activities. This is a 3-hour training.

Trauma and Eating Disorders

This training will provide a review of the copious research into trauma and the development of eating disorders, disordered eating and obesity. Tools, such as the Kids’ Eating Disorder Survey, EAT-26 screen and the ACE questionnaire, will be provided. Suggestions on how integrate eating disorder and obesity prevention and intervention in a variety of social service settings will be discussed. This is a 3-hour training.

Military Sexual Assault

This training will look at the newly identified phenomenon of sexual assault within military troops. The focus will be on female victims but issues related to male victimization will also be discussed. Suggestions on screening as well as resources in case of disclosure will be discussed. This is a 3-hour training.

Working with Elderly Adults with Child Abuse Histories

Research into the affects of child abuse and subsequent traumas over the lifespan will be reviewed. Participants will learn many of the issues related to why victims of child abuse, specifically child sexual abuse, never disclose until late in life. Participants will engage in a strategic discussion of the services and gaps in Monterey County for elder victims of child abuse. This is a 3-hour training.

Domestic Violence, Trauma and Substance Abuse

This training will look at research and practice regarding how to integrate substance abuse treatment with domestic violence perpetration interventions. Participants will get a solid foundation in the connection between substance abuse and the commission of domestic violence and how integrating practices that address both issues, from a trauma-informed perspective, enhances positive client outcomes, namely less substance use and violence. This is a 3-hour training.

Women, Substance Abuse and Trauma

This training reviews the research, including the Women with Co-Occurring Disorders and Violence Study, into how women’s substance abuse and dependence issues are closely connected to early and later life trauma. The training will review curricula recommended for gender-responsive services as well as an agency assessment on gender-responsiveness and the core competencies for a gender-responsive substance abuse/mental health program.

Implementing ‘Seeking Safety’

This training is specifically for program staff that have either never been trained in ‘seeking safety’ or have been trained but still feel in need of additional training to implement a ‘seeking safety’ group. Additional technical assistance will be available to programs interested in beginning ‘seeking safety’ in the programs. ‘Seeking safety’ is an evidence-based practice designed for people with PTSD and Substance Use Disorder, but has been shown to be effective with a variety of populations struggling with trauma. Visit http://www.seekingsafety.org/3-03-06/training.html#Setting up a training to set up a training. Gabriella Grant is a trainer of ‘seeking safety’ through Dr. Lisa Najavits, the manual’s author.

PTSD and Problem Gambling

This training looks at the research showing a strong correlation between PTSD, trauma and the development of problem gambling and pathological gambling. Participants will understand problem gambling, how it sooths symptoms of PTSD and trauma, and how to identify and work with a person who has mental health and/or substance abuse issues as well as problem gambling. This training is free. Contact Eilene Cary at ecary@ontrackconsulting.org to begin the scheduling process.

Other topics:

Adverse Childhood Experiences Study
Domestic Violence
Older adult/Dependent adult abuse
Sexual Assault Survivors
Child Sexual Abuse
Suicide
Human Trafficking
Female Offenders and recently incarcerated women
Improving probation and parole services
Preventing teen sexual exploitation
Advocating on behalf of survivors
Working with perpetrators of child abuse and domestic violence
Working with women who abuse partners