Adopting a Trauma-Informed Lens in Clinical Supervision
Fulfills requirement:Supervision
Clinicians are likely to encounter clients with histories of trauma regardless of whether their work focuses on the trauma itself or the clients’ current problems in living that stem from trauma exposure. Despite the prevalence of trauma among those seeking or required to seek treatment, there is a lack of guidance regarding trauma informed (TI) clinical supervision.
Adopting a TI lens in clinical supervision does not require a new set of skills, as it draws upon widely accepted models of supervision. It does, however, require supervisors to understand the basic principles of the TI approach and its application to clinical practice.
In this course, Dr. Knight, Professor Emeritus, begins by introducing the trauma-informed formulation and its core principles. She then delves into clarifying the trauma-informed perspective and its intersection with core values, ethics, skills, and principles of professional practice. The nature of indirect trauma and its manifestations are explained.
Dr. Knight identifies four widely disseminated conceptual models of supervision that form the basis for trauma-informed supervision. She then discusses the supervisory skills that model trauma informed practice and help supervisees adopt a trauma-informed approach, become more competent and autonomous practitioners, and manage their experiences with indirect trauma.
Case examples, theories, and research findings are integrated throughout the course. Additionally, two recordings of supervision sessions with a specific clinician illustrate principles of TI supervision, while demonstrating the growth of both the clinician and the client as a result of adopting a TI lens.
Educational Objectives
- Identify the rationale for and the core principles of the trauma-informed formulation
- Describe the implications that the trauma-informed perspective has for clinical practice
- Recognize the manifestations of indirect trauma
- Employ supervisory skills that promote trust and safety in the supervisory relationship
- Utilize supervisory skills that promote supervisees’ growth and empowerment
Syllabus
- PART I
- The trauma-informed formulation
- Trauma-informed practice and trauma-informed care
- Impact of trauma on those exposed to it
- Core principles of the trauma-informed formulation
- Original formulation, 2001
- SAMSHA additions, 2014
- Adopting a trauma-informed lens in clinical practice
- Intersection of the TI perspective and core principles and values of clinical practice
- Trauma-informed versus trauma-focused
- Indirect trauma
- The trauma-informed formulation
- PART II:
- Distinct features
- Understanding of what it means to adopt a trauma-informed lens in clinical practice: The importance of the parallel process
- Understanding indirect trauma and supervisor’s role in assisting supervisees in managing it
- Intersection of the trauma-informed formulation and relevant models of supervision
- Discrimination model
- Relational/reflective models
- Interactional model
- Solution-focused models
- Distinct features
- Supervisory skills that promote trust and safety in clinical supervision
- Recording of the first of two supervision sessions
- Supervisory skills that promote choice, collaboration, and empowerment in clinical supervision
- Recording of the second of two supervision sessions