- TBA 12:00-4:20 ET
Description: This online course for professional manual therapists provides critical knowledge and skills necessary to bring a trauma-informed approach to one’s work and life. Topics include the neurological and psychological basis for shock and developmental trauma, and how to recognize and respond to trauma with appropriate relational skills that prevent re-traumatization by promoting implicit safety, intersubjectivity, and client agency. The course is comprised of 10% Powerpoint lecture-discussion and 90% of interactive exercises in breakout rooms to ensure that participants gain practical, real-world skills. The course also includes two 1-hour videos by the instructor that serve as prerequisite material prior to the 13-hour synchronous/interactive class. This course includes all of the content in parts 1, 2, and 3, plus a focus on how it applies as a manual therapist.
- Neuroscience, Trauma, and Implicit Safety
- Shock Trauma and Autonomic First Aid Skills
- Developmental Trauma and Therapeutic Relationship Skills
- Common Factors in Therapeutic Settings
- Somatic Psychology and Retraumatization
- Supporting and Accepting Client Defenses
- Colluding vs. Cheerleading vs. Agency
Objectives: By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Describe the characteristics of a trauma-informed approach.
- Describe how trauma relates to one’s work practice.
- Describe implicit safety and why it’s important to maintain it.
- Contrast shock and developmental trauma.
- Identify shock trauma responses.
- Apply Autonomic First Aid practices when a shock trauma response is present.
- Describe the relationships between trauma, pain, and neuromuscular patterns.
- Describe the value of supporting a person’s defenses.
- Describe the concept of foreclosure and its implications when interacting with people.
- Describe the function of survival styles and how they commonly show up in others or oneself.
- Describe in trauma theory terms why it’s important to establish goals when working with people.
- Contrast cheerleading and colluding with promoting agency.
- Identify common strategies for responding to developmental trauma that are ineffective or re-traumatizing.
Trauma-informed Relational Skills Certification
Individuals must complete the following online courses for certification in Trauma-informed Relational Skills:
- Essential Relational Skills (20 hours)
- Chronic Pain: Changing the Narrative (8 hours)
- Trauma Theory and Relational Skills for Manual Therapists (13 hours)