Course Outline
Trauma Treatment Certification Course
Join Robert Lusk, PhD, who has dedicated his 26-year career to healing traumatized clients. Robert serves Veterans diagnosed with PTSD through the VA and knows first-hand the challenges of working with trauma. From Robert's expertise as a clinician, researcher, teacher, and speaker you're going take with you an incredible breadth of information — Beginning with assessment and leading to long-term healing.
New Research on the Impact of Trauma
Assessment and Diagnosis
Address Trauma's Impact on Neurobiology
Evidence-based Treatments vs. the "Real World"
Points of Intervention in Trauma Treatment
- Short term and long-term effects (the ACE study)
- The "good" and "bad" news about trauma exposure
- Limitations of current research
Assessment and Diagnosis
- What's still missing from the DSM-5®?
- My "favorite" diagnosis & why to use it frequently
- How to assess all populations
Address Trauma's Impact on Neurobiology
- Utilize the 3-part brain & how to use it
- Treating neurologically-related issues:
- "Arrested Development"
- "Hair Trigger" threat response
- Cognitive, academic & work-related problems
- Understanding the arousal continuum
- Penetrating dissociation
Evidence-based Treatments vs. the "Real World"
- How they're different and why it matters
- What does “evidence-based treatment” mean in trauma?
- Essential components
- Implementing the approaches
Points of Intervention in Trauma Treatment
- Distinguish immediate support vs. trauma treatment
- Give psychological first aid
- What to do if your client isn't emotionally or physically safe
- Trauma-Informed CBT interventions
- Case examples
Specific interventions for each Domain Affected by Trauma
Additional Components for the 3 Stages of Trauma Recovery
Resiliency and Protective Factors
- The Physiology Domain
- The Relationship Domain
- The Emotional Regulation Domain
- The Cognitive Domain
- The Identity Domain
Additional Components for the 3 Stages of Trauma Recovery
- Stage One: Safety & Stabilization
- Stage Two: Process the Past Trauma
- Preparation
- Create the trauma narrative
- Play and verbal-based methods
- Process of constructing narrative
- Know each stage is complete
- Stage Three: Reconnection
- Consolidate/internalize coping skills
- Enhance positive emotions
- Make meaning of the trauma
- Facilitate reconnection to daily activities
- Improve current relationships
- Prepare for future safety and triggers
- Cultivate post-traumatic growth
Resiliency and Protective Factors
- Integrate new research on resiliency
- Cultivate the top protective factors
- Build lasting resiliency
Addictions Treatment Certification Course
Eric Gentry, PhD, LMHC, DAAETS, FAAETS, CCTP, has trained tens of thousands of clinicians and is an internationally recognized expert speaker on addiction and trauma. As a critically acclaimed author on traumatic stress and addiction, Eric blends decades of clinical experience with research and even his own lived experience. Eric is a true master-therapist, so get ready to take in everything this course has to offer!
Foundational Issues in Addictions
Chemical Dependency Facts You Need to Know
Process Addictions — How They're Different
Don't Miss Comorbidities Again
Levels of Care & Treatment Selection
Three-Stage Behavioral Treatment Model
Stage I: Boost the Therapeutic Relationship
- Substance abuse vs. dependency vs. addiction
- Biopsychosocial assessment approach
- Apply neurobiology immediately
- Unravel attachment and addiction
- Ethical & legal issues
Chemical Dependency Facts You Need to Know
- Classes of commonly abused drugs
- Street names of common drugs
- Signs, symptoms of use & withdrawal
Process Addictions — How They're Different
- Process vs chemical addiction treatment
- Food
- Compulsive sexual behaviors
- Electronic addictions
- Gambling
- Compulsions
Don't Miss Comorbidities Again
- What to ask—and how to ask it
- Look for pink flags & red flags
- Recognize co-occurring disorders
- Implement assessment scales
Levels of Care & Treatment Selection
- Detoxification Expectations
- Levels of treatment
- Medication-assisted treatment
- 12-step groups & alternatives
- Harm reduction strategies & when to use them
Three-Stage Behavioral Treatment Model
Stage I: Boost the Therapeutic Relationship
- Feedback-Informed Therapy
- Harness Motivational Interviewing
- Use therapist-client co-regulation
Stage II: Skills & Cognitive Restructuring Interventions
Stage III: Integration & Desensitization
Interventions for Special Populations
- Social Engagement System building
- Relaxation Skills
- Progressive muscle relaxation
- Trauma releasing exercises
- Tapping
- Bilateral stimulation
- Neurofeedback
- Grounding to interrupt dissociation
- Containment of intrusive thoughts
- Envelope method
- Vault
- Relational containment
- Foster post-traumatic growth
- Complementary & alternative treatments (CAM) strategies
Stage III: Integration & Desensitization
- Imaginal Exposure Therapy
- EMDR
- Narrative-Driven Exposure Treatment
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- PE (prolonged exposure)
- Trauma-focused CBT
- Somatic-Based Treatments
- Somatic Experiencing
- Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
- Trauma-Focused Yoga
- In-vivo Exposure
- Direct Therapeutic Exposure (DTE)
- Forward Facing Trauma Therapy (FFTT)
Interventions for Special Populations
- Children & adolescents
- LGBTQ clients
- Incarcerated clients
- Clients in court-ordered drug treatment