Trauma-Informed Care Microcredential
Students will learn about the neurological, psychological, biological, and sociologic research around trauma in order to promote resilience in others through inclusive, empathic, and compassionate interactions, policies, and practices.
Trauma-informed care (TIC) draws from biological, health, and social sciences to inform practitioners on the deleterious effects of trauma and how prolonged, toxic stress negatively impacts the brain and body. As the science of traumatic stress has evolved, this fact can no longer be ignored in public systems of care.
Trauma-informed care offers an important and innovative opportunity for health and human sector systems and providers to improve quality care and the patient/client experience, thereby increasing longitudinal engagement of marginalized and hard-to-reach patient populations and begin to foster healing, growth, and improved health.
The SAU School of Social Work and Psychology Department offers this microcredential to build trauma-informed champions in our health and human service systems.
Accepting applicaitons for the 2024-2025 Cohort. For information about scholarships, email Jennifer Best at bestjennifera@sau.edu. To register for the course with a credit card, click here
Ambrose Advantages
- Hybrid Courses to Fit With Your Schedule
- Curriculum Developed By Local Trauma-Informed Care Experts
- High-Impact Learning Through Practical Experiences
More Information About Trauma-Informed Care
Paricipants in this microcredential must already be working or volunteering at a school or agency. Exceptions may be made for people who are completing an internship or student teaching.
Instructors expect that paricipants enrolled will have varying levels of knowledge on Trauma-Informed Care.
Part One
August-December (16 weeks), 2-3 hours/week
Participants will engage in weekly continuing education professional development through workshops, reading, discussion, and exercises that provide a deep overview of both the microlevel and macrolevel elements of trauma, with a focus on understanding cross-discipline research. Participants will earn 40 hours of continuing education credit.
Course topics will include:
- Introduction to Adverse Childhood Experiences
- History of Trauma Theory and Treatment
- Early Childhood Neurobiology and Attachment
- Complex Developmental Trauma vs. Other Trauma Disorders
- Polyvagal Theory and Neurosequential Model
- Sensory Systems and Regulation
- Healing-Centered Movement and Resiliency
- Restorative Practice as an Application of Being Trauma-Informed
- and Macrolevel Systems.
Part Two
January-May (16 weeks), 2-3 hours/week
Participants will identify, analyze, and create implementation plans for a micro-level situation within their scope of practice. Then, they will repeat that process by developing a macrolevel policy implementation plan for an organization, department, or service area.
Activities will include selection of an analysis tool, practice in using this tool, development of implementation plans related to the data gained from this tool, and the presentation of this plan with opportunities for discussion and feedback.
Your digital badge is proof that you have satisfied certain course requirements. The digital badge contains information about the microcredential, including when it was achieved.
To earn the Trauma-Informed Care Microcredential, students must:
- Engage in each module including the online discussion board
- Attend each in-person meeting
- Submit and meet minimum competency standards on both Implementation Plans
In 2013, Family Resources and the Child Abuse Council (now called EveryChild) brought together a group of concerned community partners to prevent, reduce, and address the effects of childhood trauma in Scott and Rock Island County. This partnership grew into a consortium of dedicated people and organizations that are working together to provide solutions to make our community a healthier, more resilient place to live.
Through the time, talent, expertise and resources of the members of the Quad City Trauma-Informed Consortium (QC-TIC), thousands of individuals have received training and education about the impact of trauma on the health and wellbeing of individuals, families and our community.
In 2020, the QC-TIC leadership envisioned advancing the Trauma Informed Movement from "awareness and education" to implementing changes in the way we effectively deliver care. To do this, the community needed to create a systematic way of developing both deep knowledge and specific skills in the actions required to make our programs, services and classrooms trauma-informed.
Through their engagement with the QC-TIC, St. Ambrose University's School of Social Work and Department of Psychology created the Trauma-Informed Microcredential to raise capacity within our community to make systemic changes to our relationships, practices and policies-from the inside out.
For more information about the Quad Cities Trauma Informed Consortium, visit their Facebook page or visit them online.
Knowing about trauma and toxic stress isn't enough. To create a healing program, service, organization or classroom, trauma-informed behaviors must be implemented to create healing places and practices. To ensure Trauma Informed Care Microcredential participants have practiced how to do this work, they will engage in two projects.
Participants will develop a discipline-specific micro level implementation plan and a discipline-specific macro level implementation plan that fits their organization, program, service or classroom. The microcredential modules will lead participants through each step of the development of the plan. Instructors will provide feedback and coaching throughout the process, ensuring that participants' plans will be ready to use in their organizations upon completion.
2024 -25
In-person classes at the SAU North Davenport Education Center, 1950 E. 54th St., Davenport.
Fall 2024
Part One, Aug. 19 – Dec. 9, 2024
Fall Virtual Meetings (optional):
• September 30, 2024 & October 28, 2024 6:00-7:00 PM
Fall Face to Face Meetings (required):
• August 22, 2024 6:00-8:00 PM
• September 19, 2024 6:00-8:00 PM
• October 17, 2024 6:00-8:00 PM
• November 21, 2024 6:00-8:00 PM
• December 12, 2024 6:00-8:00 PM
Spring 2025
Part Two, Jan. 20-May 12, 2025
Fall Virtual Meetings (optional):
• February 20, 2025 & April 24, 2025 6:00-7:00 PM
Fall Face to Face Meetings (required):
• January 23, 2025 6:00-8:00 PM
• March 27, 2025 6:00-8:00 PM
• March 27, 2025 6:00-8:00 PM
• May 1, 2025 6:00-8:00 PM
• May 8, 2025 6:00-8:00 PM
Total Cost: $1,300
Payment plans available upon request.
What You Receive:
- Upon completion of Part One, participants earn Continuing Education Units.
- Upon completion of Part Two, participants earn a digital badge.
This microcredential is not for college credit.
Cancelation Policy:
Course payments may be transferred to another scheduled offering if St. Ambrose University is notified prior to the course date. Courses paid for, but not attended, will be refunded less a 25% cancellation fee if you cancel within two weeks of the training program.
Contact
Jennifer Best, MS Ed, CFLE, CFCS-HDFS, BCC
Psychology Department
518 W. Locust St.
Davenport, IA 52803
563-333-6199
BestJenniferA@sau.edu