Trauma-Informed Practice
The Trauma-Informed Practice Certificate supports future practitioners in their efforts to educate and care for children and youth whose lives have been impacted by trauma.
The program has two foci:
- Understanding and applying trauma knowledge to inform practice and leadership; and
- Understanding and enacting roles and functions in interprofessional collaboration.
A primary goal of the program is to prepare students for interprofessional and team-based approaches to prevention and intervention strategies in schools and others systems that serve children and families.
Because creating safe and nurturing school environments requires that all professionals who interact with students understand the impacts of adversity and how trauma manifests in the body, the focus of this trauma-informed practice certificate is interprofessional practice. Holders of this certificate will have knowledge and skills needed to provide interprofessional responses to the consequences of trauma and traumatic stress in the lives of children and youth.
The Trauma-Informed Practice Certificate is offered jointly by the Schools of Education, Nursing, and Social Work.
Requirements
EDUC 540
Students complete EDUC 540 – Trauma Basics.
This course will provide basic foundational knowledge from trauma research and from practitioners’ expertise about the adverse cognitive, social-emotional, behavioral, and health outcomes on children and youth who experience trauma. A key focus will be applying new knowledge about trauma to better perceive trauma’s effects on young people in schools and other settings.
Trauma Basics must be completed prior to courses #2 and #3.
EDUC 541
Students complete EDUC 541 – Trauma-Informed Practice.
This course will provide foundational knowledge about trauma-informed practice, including key principles of a trauma-informed approach. A key focus will be on teachers, social workers, and nurses collaborating to use specific trauma-informed practices for addressing young people’s academic, social-emotional, behavioral, and health needs. An additional focus will be on the impact of trauma on practitioners.
EDUC 540 must be completed prior to enrolling in EDUC 541.
EDUC 542
Students complete EDUC 542 – Creating and Sustaining Trauma-Informed Systems.
This course will provide foundational knowledge about developing and sustaining a school or organizational culture that is trauma-informed. A key focus will be on teachers, social workers, and nurses going beyond their practice role to collaborate on organizational work. Examples include educating colleagues, planning for a long-term project, evaluating programs, and obtaining resources to sustain collaborative models and programs to address trauma in schools.
EDUC 540 must be completed prior to enrolling in EDUC 542.
Deadlines
Application Process
Students in the following programs are eligible to apply for the certificate program: