Crisis Counseling, Trauma, and Response: A Multi-level Approach
Instructor: Marguerite McCormack, MA, LPC
FACT SHEET:
This three day seminar is intended for three levels of mental health intervention in disaster: the most immediate responders, usually paraprofessionals, the more long-term intervenors, mental health professionals, and those who supervise both short and long term mental health response. The three days build upon each other, although day two can be taken as a stand-alone unit. Supervisors should attend at least days two and three. In this seminar, participants will learn trauma-informed crisis response, with the ultimate aim of ameliorating--or even preventing--trauma acquisition and loss of functioning. The latest research in the field will be discussed, including topics such as timing of interventions, the advisability of debriefing, and the impact of trauma on special populations, such as children.
Level I - Crisis Counseling Principles and Practices
The first level consists of incident command structures, hazmat procedures, crisis counseling procedures, ethics, vicarious traumatization identification and prevention, and basic trauma knowledge, including some elementary brain stuff. It also includes applications to special populations, including children. There is some substance abuse education involved as well.
(7 Contact Hours)
Level II - Crisis and Trauma Intervention for Professionals
The second level is crisis counseling for clinicians, and delves more deeply into trauma education and intervention, and specifically into some short-term strategies embraced by the FEMA model of intervention. (7 Contact Hours)
Level III - Short and Long Term Intervention for Supervisors
The third level is for supervisors, and describes supervision in crisis and more long term disaster intervention, ethics, risk management, community intervention, building a disaster team, rotation, vicarious trauma identification in staff, and phases of trauma and disaster, and targeted intervention for each. (7 Contact Hours)
