Trauma Counseling Certificate

Introduction

Most of us are dealing with individual trauma and collective trauma in the world. Some experiences that can traumatize people include adverse childhood experiences, child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, natural disasters, sexual assault, violence, wars, the COVID-19 pandemic, police violence and brutality, racial injustice, marginalization, and oppression. The prevalence of trauma indicates that as mental health counselors or other mental health professionals, we will work with trauma survivors. Therefore, mental health counselors need to become trauma-informed and have competency in working with trauma-related issues.

Trauma is a very complicated issue, and the purpose of the Trauma Counseling Certificate is to give students a foundation in trauma counseling so that students can work with clients from the trauma-informed lens, and will be able to build a specialty in trauma counseling moving forward.

This degree is offered by AU Seattle.

Program Overview

The Trauma Counseling Certificate provides five courses that provide a good foundation for mental health professionals to understand trauma and to work with clients from a trauma-informed and polyvagal-informed lens. We believe healing requires community, and learning about trauma requires community as well. Therefore, the certificate program is structured as a cohort model so that students are able to build connection, safety, care, and support when learning trauma materials.

Aligned with the emphasis of social justice at Antioch University Seattle, the faculty members in the Trauma Counseling Certificate are committed to the work of social justice, advocacy, anti-racism, dismantling the colonial ideology, and are committed to teaching the trauma courses from this lens.

All certificate courses are taught online (synchronous through Zoom), and we welcome graduate students and clinicians in mental health counseling or related fields to join our Trauma Counseling Certificate. We believe in community building, and together we can build a trauma-informed society for healing. Please Contact Dr. Pei-Hsuan (Patty) Liu ([email protected]) if you have any questions about the certificate.

Requirements

Courses

There are a total of 5 courses (15 quarter credits) in this certificate, and students need to take the courses in the following order. Certificate classes are held on Wednesdays 9 AM-12 PM (Pacific Time) except the COUN5600 course (which might be held on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoons, and COUN 5600 might be offered as an in-person or online class).

Fall Quarter (1^st Quarter)

COUN 5600: Trauma, Disaster Response, and Crisis Counseling

COUN 5662: Childhood Trauma

Winter Quarter (2^nd Quarter)

COUN 5660: Neurobiology of Trauma

Spring Quarter (3rd Quarter)

COUN 5666: Advanced Trauma Counseling

Summer Quarter (4^th Quarter)

COUN 5664: Trauma and Social Justice

Equivalent coursework will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and may be applied for transfer equivalency and waived from the required course list.

Program Length

The Trauma Counseling Certificate is based on the cohort model, and all certificate students will start in the Fall quarter and finish in the Summer quarter (total 4 quarters, 12 months). Students will be assigned a certificate advisor and will work with the certificate advisor throughout the program.