Clinical and Ethical Challenges in Becoming a Culturally Competent Trauma Therapist

Friday, February 3, 2012  |  8:15 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Texas Woman's University
Classroom and Faculty Office Building (CFO)
Denton, Texas

Laura S. Brown, Ph.D., ABPP
Fremont Community Therapy Project
Seattle, Washington

Register Online  | Download Brochure (pdf)

 

Workshop Overview and Learning Objectives

Participants in this workshop should expect to learn basic skills for beginning to work with clients who are trauma survivors. The capacity to assess whether a symptom of distress is trauma-related, and to integrate an understanding of trauma into work with the full range of diagnoses, not only PTSD, and to understand the ways in which trauma informs the dynamics of therapy will both be central to the content of this workshop. Ethical issues such as therapist self-care, vicarious trauma, and the boundary challenges inherent in trauma work will also be integrated into the entire program.

• Understand the role and need for sensitivity to cultural factors when helping survivors of diverse backgrounds.
• Understanding vicarious traumatization, treatment planning, and risk management with trauma clients.
• Ability to maintain ethical awareness and boundaries in working with victims of trauma.
• Cognizance of survivors’ dealings with attorneys and legal system realities.
• Awareness of countertransference and over-involvement of help-givers’ personal values in trauma work.

Who Should Attend

Graduate students in mental health fields, social workers, psychologists, counselors, marriage and family therapists, and others who work in the helping professions.

Keynote Speaker

Laura S. Brown, Ph.D., ABPP
Dr. Laura Brown is a clinical and forensic psychologist in independent practice. A prolific writer and presenter on feminist theory, her approach reaches beyond dimensions of femininity and masculinity in conceptualizing the complexity of an individual’s unique background and experience. Since her early college experience she has been active in social justice movements and has become a forensic expert consulting and providing testimony on issues of trauma and abuse involving survivors of both genders. Dr. Brown is the founder and supervisor of the Fremont Community Therapy Project, a low-fee psychotherapy training clinic in Seattle, WA. She also has a continuing interest in the use of companion animals in psychotherapy practice. A Fellow in ten divisions of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Brown has served on the faculties of Southern Illinois University, the University of Washington, and Argosy University-Seattle; lectured throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Taiwan, and Israel; has served on the editorial boards of over a dozen professional journals; and published 10 books and over 130 articles and book chapters. In the early 1980s, she hosted one of the first radio call-in shows by a psychologist. She is a student of aikido.

Workshop Schedule

7:30 – 8:15   Registration
8:15 – 9:45   Defining and assessing trauma
9:45 – 10:00   Break
10:00 – 11:30   Ethical and boundary issues working with trauma survivors
11:30 – 12:45   Lunch (on your own)
12:45 – 2:15   Integrating cultural competence into work with trauma survivors
2:15 – 2:30   Break
2:30 – 3:45   Self care and vicarious traumatization
3:45 – 4:00   Question and Answer

General Information

Continuing Education Credit
All attendees will receive 3 contact hours (.3 CEU’s) and 3 contact hours (.3 CEU’s) professional ethics from Texas Woman’s University. The continuing education credits are accepted by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors, Texas State Board for Social Worker Examiners, and Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists.

Registration Fees and Location

This workshop will be held at Texas Woman’s University, Denton Campus in the CFO Building, room 202. Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. with the program starting at 8:15 a.m. and concluding at 4 p.m. Lunch is on your own.

Registration Fees: (includes CEU certificate)
Federation University Students $15.00
Federation University Faculty $45.00
Non-Federation Early Bird (Received by Jan. 20, 2012) $95.00
Non-Federation Regular (Received after Jan. 20, 2012) $105.00
On-site $120.00

Confirmation Notice
All event correspondence will be delivered to you by email. It is important to provide a current email address on the registration form and to check your spam box for information from Texas Woman’s University. Our goal is to provide you with up-to-date information regarding this event in a timely and efficient manner.

Cancellation/Refund Policy
Registrants who find it necessary to cancel will receive a refund, less a $10 processing fee. To receive a refund, you must submit written notification seven days prior to the event start date. Refunds will not be issued once the event starts. Substitutions may be made at any time. The Office of Lifelong Learning reserves the right to cancel this event if sufficient enrollment is not met. In doing so, Texas Woman’s University’s liability is limited to the registration fee.

Contact Us
For questions, call TWU Office of Lifelong Learning at 940.898.3408 or email lifelonginfo@twu.edu.

Please come free of scents and perfumes on your person and clothing so that chemically sensitive individuals may attend this program with ease.

This program is offered by:
Psychology Program - The Federation of North Texas Area Universities
Texas A&M University-Commerce
University of North Texas
Texas Woman's University

Local Arrangements by
Texas Woman's University, Continuing Education