Mission & Purpose

Mission:

The National Initiative for Trauma Education and Workforce Development’s (the Initiative) aims to provide training to mental and behavioral health service providers and social work educators to close the knowledge gap in the provision of effective services to clients who are affected by trauma.  The Initiative supports the development of trauma-informed practitioners who understand that trauma occurs within a broad context that includes individuals’ personal characteristics, life experiences, and current circumstances. The combined impact of disproportionate exposure to current trauma and experiences of historical trauma, marginalization, racism, and oppression shapes the perceptions of children and families, cultural groups, and the broader systems they live in. Practitioners must recognize the need to contend with issues involving justice, obtaining legal redress, and seeking protection against further harm. In addition, working with individuals exposed to trauma can evoke distress in providers and make it more difficult for them to provide good care. Proper professional development and self-care is an important part of providing quality care and of sustaining personal and professional resources and capacities over time. 

Statement of Need:  

The University of North Carolina School of Social Work (UNC SSW) believes that both mental and behavioral health service providers and social work educators are facing a critical knowledge gap in the provision of effective services to clients who are affected by trauma. Meeting the needs of growing numbers of clients with trauma is presenting major challenges for practitioners including cost of training and ongoing supervision.1 Effective intervention is critical for the treatment of traumatized children and their families as exposure to at least one traumatic event is a leading risk factor in harm across a child’s stages of development. The implementation of evidence-based trauma treatments remains a challenge, particularly for Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities where culturally congruent interventions are needed and trauma is usually untreated. 

Some of the problems confronting practitioners begin in higher education, including social work – the discipline representing the largest group of mental health practitioners. Only a minority of MSW students receive didactic and clinical supervision in evidence-based treatments, and fewer receive training in evidence-based treatments. Critical barriers to teaching evidenced-based treatments, including evidence-based treatments in schools of social work, are lack of knowledge and experience with evidenced based-treatments on the part of social work faculty, and the limited number of field practicum settings where students can practice and receive supervision.

Purpose of the National Initiative for Trauma Education and Workforce Development: 

The National Initiative for Trauma Education and Workforce Development, is working to develop an evidence-based curriculum based on common trauma-informed practice elements found in evidence-based traingin for children, youth, and families. The most commonly occurring practice elements- engagement, assessment, safety planning and trauma processing, will form the foundation for the evidence-based training curriculum.  

The Initiative is developing  two new intervention products: 1) a free online training with consultation and opportunities for subsequent training enhancement for mental health practitioners, and 2) a new Common Trauma Informed Practice Elements MSW course. Given the increased risk for trauma exposure among Black, indigenous, and people of color and to help reduce health disparities in trauma treatment, the Initiative will follow the recommendations of the Department of Health and Human Services Action Plan to strengthen workforce and infrastructure by recruiting and prioritizing NCTSN centers serving minority clinicians or clients and MSW programs in historically Black colleges and those institutions serving minority populations.