Crisis & Trauma: Assessment and Treatment of Acute and Prolonged Symptoms

Disclaimer: This course is purely educational and does not intend to serve as a license (or permission) to mental health professionals to prescribe or practice any of the approaches discussed in this course unless they fall within the scope of practice of your profession. Check with your licensing board about the scope of practice of your profession to make sure you practice within that scope. It also does not serve as a permission to title yourself in any specific way.

Course fulfills the Crisis and Trauma Counseling requirement for pre-licensure for LPCCs in CA. Please verify the regulations and requirements prior to registration:

BBS regulations on LPCC out-of-state requirements

BBS regulations on LPCC in-state requirements

Some of the content from this course is included in other Zur courses as well.

In an age where trauma and tragedy are nearly becoming commonplace, clinicians must arm themselves with education and training in the management of crisis and trauma. This foundational course will provide a comprehensive overview of crisis and trauma; describe its multidisciplinary management; identify best practices in identifying, assessing, and treating acute and prolonged symptoms associated with trauma; and explain the importance of trauma-informed supervision.

This course is comprised of articles and some of the content contains interviews or recordings (available in audio and/or video formats and written transcripts) with experts in the field of crisis and trauma. The course begins with an introduction to crisis and trauma, including definitions; the physical, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, relational, and spiritual symptoms; common forms of crisis intervention; assessment tools; and treatment. The first section focuses on multidisciplinary responses to crises, emergencies, and disasters. Attention is given to responses to community violence and to triage and crisis interventions in an emergency room. Dr. David Jobes discusses his collaborative assessment and management of suicidality.

The second section of documents provides several frameworks for better understanding traumatic response and the implications for treating PTSD and other symptoms. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk speaks about his groundbreaking neurobiological approach in an interview with Dr. David Van Nuys. Dr. Van Nuys also reflects on the influence of trauma on cognitive interpretation and human experience in his interview with Dr. Pat Ogden, and he discusses applying polyvagal theory to the treatment of trauma. Prolonged exposure and cognitive processing therapy are introduced, and an overview of using EMDR for the treatment of trauma and PTSD is provided.

The final section of the course provides a thorough overview of trauma-informed treatment and supervision with Dr. Carolyn Knight. Additional resources and references are provided for further study, but they are not part of the course.