TRMA Course Descriptions

This course provides an introduction to traumatology and trauma-informed care including the nature of traumatic events and the impact on biological, psychological, and social functioning. In addition, students will identify risk and resiliency factors associated with PTSD prevention and intervention services. The various roles of the responder according to the nature of the event, stage of recovery, and professional scope of practice will be identified. Instruction format includes a blended learning environment including both face-to-face and online class activities.

This course prepares the student for designing trauma-informed individual and group interventions in the aftermath of a critical incident in accordance with one’s scope of practice and competence. Students will apply universal and foundational traumatic stress assessment skills in discerning appropriate intervention methods based on level of need, context, and stage of recovery. Psychological first-aid processes will be mastered. Vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue as it applies to the trauma responder will also be explored. Instruction format includes a blended learning environment including both face-to-face and online class activities. Prerequisite: TRMA 500

This course explores neurological and body-based advancements in trauma-informed care through direct application of experiential exercises designed to promote safety and stabilization, the foundational phase in the tri-phasic model of trauma response. The course will also apply polyvagel theory and techniques in support of practitioner self care in response to compassion fatigue and one’s vulnerability to vicarious trauma when first engaged in clinical training.

Of central concern to the trauma responder is helping individuals and communities recover from extreme loss. This course examines the nature of grief in the face of loss as experienced across the lifespan. Students will gain a deeper awareness of common grief reactions as well as short and long-term psychosocial challenges congruent with common recovery processes. Using theories examining individual and systemic resiliency, students will explore personal and contextual issues influencing an individual and community’s resiliency in the face of loss. And finally, students will learn how to discern grief processes beyond one’s scope of practice within the trauma response setting. Instruction format includes a blended learning environment including both face-to-face and online class activities.

This course provides an introduction to theoretical constructs informing the speciality of traumatology and trauma-informed best practices in response. Students will identify risk and resiliency factors influencing prevention and intervention services that are embedded in the tri-phasic model of recovery. Emphasis is placed on examining the nature of unmitigated stress and/or trauma, and the role of epigenetic and social-cultural factors in mitigating or increasing vulnerability. Multimodal assessment and response strategies prepare the student for advanced traumatology courses examining various treatment issues in greater depth. Instruction format includes both digital synchronous (via Zoom) and digital asynchronous (via Canvas and/or Google applications) class activities.

This course is a deeper examination of the topic under review in the annual Trauma & Social Justice Conference. Held the second week of September, the conference is an annual event sponsored by the Trauma Response Institute. It is designed to promote and support the work of humanitarian aid, mental health, education, ministerial, health care, and social change professionals dedicated to naming and responding to socio-cultural factors that increase stress and trauma among marginalized & vulnerable populations. The course is taught in a blended format with 50% of class time including conference attendance, and the other half including online activities.

This course explores the multi-generational impact of racial and ethnic marginalization. The course will also explore the impact of social dynamics on our development across the lifespan. Students will be invited to see the role of privilege and marginalization in increasing vulnerable populations to additional stress and trauma.

Telehealth, as well as professional engagement and networking, now occur in online venues as often as it occurs in face-to-face environments. Students preparing for a mental health degree, and a trauma-informed specialty in particular, will likely provide counseling services, and network in various digital environments which require specific skills and dispositions. This course introduces professionals to the basics of online engagement that is all part of building a professional online identity (POI). Emphasis is placed on the application of ethical principles informing safe and effective practice. This course is applicable to all graduate students exploring methods of building a practice and / or networking with other professionals. Instruction format includes both digital synchronous (via Zoom) and digital asynchronous (via Canvas and/or Google applications) class activities.

This course examines the theory and application of Emotionally Focused Therapy with couples from a trauma-informed perspective. The course will build on the empirically validated concepts of EFT, by applying its concepts, as well as those of attachment theory, specifically to trauma stemming from attachment injuries. These traumas can be precipitated by a variety of experiences including mental health issues or relational trauma such as miscarriage, military combat, or childhood sexual abuse. Through the use of EFT’s three stages and nine steps, couples reprocess emotional experiences and traumas within the context of finding a secure base and emotional comfort in one another. The course will specifically focus on working with couples from a trauma-informed perspective thereby addressing guilt and shame, and reducing fear and anxiety, through the use of these concepts.

This course introduces independent mental health practitioners to the fundamentals of treating adults sexually abused as children. Since many adults challenged with recovery from incidents of childhood sexual abuse also experienced additional layers of abuse, neglect, or mis-attunement throughout childhood, the focus of this course will examine treatment from a complex trauma recovery lens. The student will demonstrate competence in understanding how to structure therapy for the adult client through the application of course materials. Competence in understanding the psychological, interpersonal, and neurobiological components of abuse will be demonstrated through a collaborative group project. Instruction format includes a blended learning environment including both face-to-face and online class activities. Prerequisite: TRMA 500 or Professor Approval.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is recognized as a best practice strategy effective in mitigating the impact of traumatic stress in those struggling in the aftermath of a critical incident. In this course students will learn a series of CBT techniques useful in early and middle stage interventions with individuals and groups. Students will identify the difference between using these techniques in the context of immediate trauma response verses ongoing therapy. Competence in the techniques will be demonstrated through class role-plays. Instruction format includes a blended learning environment including both face-to-face and online class activities. Prerequisite: TRMA 500 or Professor Approval. Recommended: TRMA 501.

Students earning the post-graduate certificate in trauma-informed care demonstrate their advanced traumatology knowledge through the capstone project. In consultation with the TRI director and early in their TRI certificate studies, students completing the certificate will identify a career objective or a topic of special interest as the focus of their project. This helps the student determine whether their interests are best served by designing a research project or conducting an in depth clinical overview related to a treatment issue. At the conclusion of their project, students will be invited to share their project’s results with peers (in a class or special event presentation) or in a community setting as it relates to the focus of the student’s project. Instruction format includes regular consultation with the TRI director, independent research, and a final presentation to peers or community members. Students are permitted to engage in group projects.

Students completing the Post-Graduate Certificate in Trauma Response Services continue progress on their research component by enrolling in TRMA 572 in either the Fall or Spring term following the successful completion of TRMA 571. The Trauma Research Project is a thesis that represents the culminating demonstration of the student's trauma-informed expertise. The student will engage in a 9 to 12 month project designed to advance service delivery and/or research related to improving trauma response services. Post-graduate certificate candidates may opt to partner with government or non-government organizations, including the Trauma Response Institute, engaged in research or service delivery projects in progress, or design their own project to be developed and implemented within a designated setting. Students may also opt to collaborate together in the completion of a project as long as each student has clearly identified responsibilities. Successful completion of the thesis requires completion of the project as detailed in the candidate’s trauma research proposal, including a written summary of the project suitable for publication. Students will participate in monthly research team work groups during the Fall and Spring academic terms as all projects will be completed under the supervision of the Trauma Response Institute director. Prerequisite: TRMA 500, TRMA 501. Corequisite: Additional Block A, B, and C courses required for certificate completion.

Students completing the Post-Graduate Certificate in Trauma Response Services work towards the completion of the research component by enrolling in TRMA 573 in either the Fall, Spring, or Summer term following the successful completion of TRMA 572. The Trauma Research Project is a thesis that represents the culminating demonstration of the student's trauma-informed expertise. The student will engage in a 9 to 12 month project designed to advance service delivery and/or research related to improving trauma response services. Post-graduate certificate candidates may opt to partner with government or non-government organizations, including the Trauma Response Institute, engaged in research or service delivery projects in progress, or design their own project to be developed and implemented within a designated setting. Students may also opt to collaborate together in the completion of a project as long as each student has clearly identified responsibilities. Successful completion of the thesis requires completion of the project as detailed in the candidate’s trauma research proposal, including a written summary of the project suitable for publication. Students will participate in monthly research team work groups during the Fall and Spring academic terms as all projects will be completed under the supervision of the Trauma Response Institute director. Prerequisite: TRMA 500, TRMA 501. Corequisite: Additional Block A, B, and C courses required for certificate completion.

Students extending the completion of the trauma research project beyond 1 year enroll in TRMA 575 in either the Fall, Spring, or Summer term following the successful completion of TRMA 573. The Trauma Research Project is a thesis that represents the culminating demonstration of the student's trauma-informed expertise. The student will engage in a 9 to 12 month project designed to advance service delivery and/or research related to improving trauma response services. Post-graduate certificate candidates may opt to partner with government or non-government organizations, including the Trauma Response Institute, engaged in research or service delivery projects in progress, or design their own project to be developed and implemented within a designated setting. Students may also opt to collaborate together in the completion of a project as long as each student has clearly identified responsibilities. Successful completion of the thesis requires completion of the project as detailed in the candidate’s trauma research proposal, including a written summary of the project suitable for publication. Students will participate in monthly research team work groups during the Fall and Spring academic terms as all projects will be completed under the supervision of the Trauma Response Institute director. Prerequisite: TRMA 500, TRMA 501. Corequisite: Additional Block A, B, and C courses required for certificate completion.

Responding to a critical incident (an intense traumatic event) whether affecting a small group of persons or entire communities as in a natural or human-caused disaster, requires a distinct set of trauma-informed skills. In this course students will learn how to increase resilience and maximize recovery via prevention, intervention, and postvention activities related to a critical incident. In addition to reviewing components of Psychological First Aid, students will also learn how large scale disaster response organizations structure services, including the use of Disaster Mental Health providers.

These courses focus on best-practice strategies related to trauma-informed care within specific settings and populations. Course offerings may only be offered once, or might be rotated on an every 2 to 3 year basis depending on interest. Prerequisite: On a per topic basis.

A specially designed and individually tailored course of research involving in-depth study of a particular question, problem, or issue presented by the student. The student must make application for the study prior to registration for the semester in which the study will be carried out. The application must be approved by both the faculty member overseeing the study and the department chair.