Dealing with Challenging Clients: Why Don’t They Just Get Over It? (Live Online)

Course Dates:

Mon., July 18, 2022 from 8:45 am to 4:30 pm

Tues., July 19, 2022 from 8:45 am to 4:30 pm

As practitioners or helping professionals, we find ourselves faced with clients who present as annoying, passive, aggressive, stubborn, refusing to communicate fairly, stuck in the past, and unwilling to move forward. This behavior affects the communication and learning process and limits our clients’ ability to benefit from the services we provide. Familiarity with typical trauma reactions will allow conflict resolvers and other professionals to shift their thinking and take a different approach.

Many trainings give you the textbook information about trauma. This training gives you a powerful experience and insight into trauma effects, how your clients are affected every day of their lives, and why they can’t just “get over it” and move on. This experiential workshop will equip you to recognize clients’ trauma and help them break free and move forward.

This training is rooted in polyvagal theory, provides core concepts and skills from neurobiology, conflict transformation, spirituality, and restorative justice to address the needs of trauma-impacted individuals and communities.

Trauma affects individuals, families, and communities and can fuel continuing cycles of conflict and harm. This training pulls together a wide variety of professionals and paraprofessionals into an experiential trauma training that goes right to the core and helps you connect on a deeper level with other participants and your clients. It will challenge your assumptions about why some trauma survivors seem stuck and not be able to “just get over it” and move on. After completion of this program, you will reach a level of providing trauma-informed care beyond what you were previously able to give to your clients.

Learning Objectives:

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Distinguish both subtle and obvious trauma symptoms and the common responses to psychological trauma;
Assess how trauma affects the communication and learning process limiting clients’ ability to benefit from services provided;
Apply grounding and soothing techniques to discharge trauma energy from the body and brain;
Illustrate the links between unhealed trauma and cycles of violence for victim and offenders;
Analyze why trauma survivors may appear stuck or unable to move forward, and how this manifests itself in clients in the legal and human service system;
Contrast a Criminal Justice approach to Restorative Justice as a response to trauma and the potential for reconciling victims and offenders;
Appraise input from two Circle Processes that allow you to experience safety and vulnerability with other participants as we expect our clients to do with us all the time;
Practice Emotional First Aid and discuss how to help clients discharge trauma safely from their body;
Evaluate your self-care skills though studying vicarious traumatization and practicing self-care tools;
Assess how a trauma-informed and resilience-oriented lens to your personal and professional life;
Identify how a trauma-informed lens can be used to view clients in both the human service system and the legal system;
Identify and examine practical ways to build resilience and accompany individuals and groups on their trauma healing journey through identifying individual and systemic resilience strategies.

Research: SAMSHA produces and provides a number of publications on substance use and mental health. Google Scholar provides links to a number of research studies on trauma and addiction.

Target Audience: social workers, mental health practitioners, creative arts therapists, marriage and facility therapists, psychologists, addiction professionals, case managers, legal professionals, restorative justice professionals, school counselors, clergy, medical staff, emergency and disaster first responders and other interested individuals working with trauma survivors.

Customer Service

We are happy to respond to any concerns or questions you may have. Please contact us at by email at sw-ce@buffalo.edu or by phone at 716-829-5841.

ADA Accommodations: If you require any support for your ADA needs in the United States, please contact us by email at least 3 weeks prior to the event by email at sw-ce@buffalo.edu or by phone at 716-829-5841.