Syllabus

Master of Social Work

SSWO 650 Trauma Informed Theory and Practice – Spring A 2024

Credits - 3

Description

This course will prepare students to become practitioners and leaders versed in Adverse Childhood Experiences, resiliency, historical and intergenerational trauma, and trauma-informed theory. Students will explore these trauma-informed principles and apply them on micro and macro levels through a focus on implementation science for trauma-informed organizational and individual practice change. This course provides a strong foundation that complements clinical electives such as Advanced Trauma Practices.

Materials

Asmundson, G. J. G., & Afifi, T. O. (Eds.). (2020). Adverse childhood experiences : using evidence to advance research, practice, policy, and prevention. Academic Press.
Bloom, S. L., & Farragher, B. J. (2013). Restoring sanctuary: A new operating system for trauma-informed systems of care. Oxford University Press.

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

School of Social Work Program Outcomes:

Graduates of the UNE SSWO will demonstrate knowledge, skills, and leadership in the following:

Practice social inclusion to enable people, populations, and communities to fully participate in society, enhance human bonds in the context of cultural diversity and ensure improved quality of life and equitable resource distribution. EPAS Competencies 2 & 3
Engage in culturally-informed relationship building, being respectful of the complexity and diversity of contexts and circumstances. EPAS Competencies 3 & 6
Utilize theories of human behavior, social systems and social inclusion when offering interventions with people and their environments. EPAS Competency 8
Promote ethical reflection, critical consciousness and shared decision-making based in social work values and with consideration of the broader contexts of the world in which we live. EPAS Competency 1
Balance the roles of helpers, activists, and advocates through collaboration with communities to build healthy and sustainable resources. EPAS Competencies 2, 5, & 6
Engage as critical consumers and producers of research as it relates to assessment, intervention and evaluation of clinical and community practices. EPAS Competencies 4, 7, 8 & 9
Practice person-centered and collaborative community partnerships across diverse settings. EPAS Competency 6

Course Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

Apply trauma theory and intervention strategies in an ethical and professional manner with clients. EPAS 1, 6, & 7
Discuss an understanding of ACEs and its influence upon lifelong challenges. EPAS 1 & 4
Identify the basis of trauma informed care including the principles of TIC and general practices. EPAS 4, 6 & 9
tRecognize the importance of safety and care of oneself and of others. 1 & 7
Assess and demonstrate an understanding of what organizations can do to improve upon operating in a trauma informed environment. EPAS 2, 5 & 9

Assignments

Week 5 TI Agency Interview

Submit a six to eight page paper based on an interview you conduct with an agency employee.

Week 7 Final TI Proposal

Based upon your interview and analysis in the Week 5 Trauma Informed Agency Interview Assignment, develop a six to eight page proposal which addresses the agency/organizational strengths and areas needing improvement, and proposes opportunities to improve or foster the agency’s trauma informed approach to services.

Full assignment requirements, rubrics, and due dates for all learning activities are provided in the course.

Whole Class Discussions

You will be asked to post one initial response to Discussion Questions each week, and then make a minimum of 2 peer response comments to each Discussion prompt. Postings must meet the criteria for substantiveness to earn the maximum points available.

Reflective Journals

Throughout the course, you will respond to Reflective Journal prompts. There is no length requirement for the contributions you make to this entry; however, your reflection must demonstrate comprehension and application of what you gained from this experience and how it will hinder or assist your work with others. You may also submit a video or audio recording of this reflection in lieu of a written journal.

Grading Policy

The School of Social Work uses the following grading system for all courses with the exception of field education courses. Students are expected to maintain a “B” (3.0) average over the course of their study. Students with less than a GPA of 3.0 will be placed on academic probation. Students must have an overall GPA of 3.0 in order to receive their Master’s Degree.

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Assignments	Points	Percent of Total Grade
Acknowledgement of Academic Engagement	1 pt	1%
Discussions	56 Points (3.5 each)	56%
Reflective Journals	8 Points (2 points each)	8%
TI Interview Assignment	15 pts	15%
TI Organization Proposal	20 pts	20%
Total	100 pts	100%

Schedule

Course weeks run from 12:00 AM ET on Wednesday through 11:59 PM ET on Tuesday, with the exception of Week 8, which ends on Sunday at 11:59 PM ET. Unless otherwise specified, all discussion comments and assignments are due the last day of the week. Initial responses to discussion prompts are due by 11:59 PM ET on Sunday unless otherwise noted.

ALL TIMES ARE IN THE EASTERN STANDARD TIME ZONE, NO EXCEPTIONS.

Course Weeks

Week 1: Jan 17 – Jan 23
Week 2: Jan 24 – Jan 30
Week 3: Jan 31 – Feb 6
Week 4: Feb 7 – Feb 13
Week 5: Feb 14 – Feb 20
Week 6: Feb 21 – Feb 27
Week 7: Feb 28 – Mar 5
Week 8: Mar 6 – Mar 10

Week 1 Trauma Informed Care: History and Development

Assigned Reading and Multimedia:

Levenson, J. (2020). Translating Trauma-Informed Principles into Social Work Practice. Social Work, 65(3), 288–298.
Mersky, J. P., Topitzes, J., & Britz, L. (2019). Promoting evidence-based, trauma-informed social work practice. Journal of Social Work Education, 55(4), 645–657.
Perez , A. (2020). SSWO650 Original [Video].
SAMHSA( 2014) Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma Informed
Saunders, K.,et.al. (2023). A scoping review of trauma informed approaches in acute, crisis, emergency, and residential mental health care. BMC Psychiatry, 23(1), 1–36.
Trauma Informed Institute(2023.Feb) Understanding the six trauma informed Principles.

Whole-Class Discussion (4)

Week 2 Adverse Childhood Experiences: What are They and What Does it Mean in Social Work Practice?

Assigned Reading and Multimedia

Week 2 Lecture (Video)
Asmundson, G. J. G., & Afifi, T. O. (Eds.). (2020). Adverse childhood experiences : using evidence to advance research, practice, policy, and prevention. Academic Press. Chapters 2, 4-7.
Cole, A. B., Armstrong, C. M., Giano, Z. D., & Hubach, R. D. (2022). An update on ACEs domain frequencies across race/ethnicity and sex in a nationally representative sample. Child Abuse & Neglect, 129. Ginwright, S. (2020, December 9).
The Future of Healing: Shifting From Trauma Informed Care to Healing Centered Engagement.
Moreland-Capuia, A. (2021). The Trauma of Racism : Exploring the Systems and People Fear Built (1st ed.). Springer International Publishing AG. Chapter 7.
Nadine Burke Harris: How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime[Video]
NASW Code of Ethics Code of Ethics: English Code of Ethics: Spanish
Sacks, V. (2021, March 8). The prevalence of adverse childhood experiences, nationally, by state, and by race or ethnicity. Child Trends.
Trauma-informed care champions: From treaters to healers. [Video]

Whole-Class Discussions (2)

Week 2 Assignment

Week 2 Reflective Journal

Week 3 The History of Organizational Trauma and Becoming Trauma Informed

Assigned Reading and Multimedia

Week 3 Lecture [Video and PDF]
Barker, M.-J. (2021). Hell yeah self-care! : a trauma-informed workbook (A. Iantaffi (Ed.)).
Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Chapters 5-8.
Bloom, S. L., & Farragher, B. J. (2013). Restoring sanctuary: A new operating system for trauma-informed systems of care. Oxford University Press. Chapter 1-3: 9 pp.262-265.
SAMHSA. (2014, March). Tip 57: Trauma Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services
SAMHSA. (2014.) Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma Informed
Unick, G. J., Bassuk, E. L., Richard, M. K., & Paquette, K. (2019). Organizational trauma-informed care: Associations with individual and agency factors. Psychological Services, 16(1), 134–142.

Whole-Class Discussion (2)

Week 4 Assisting Organizations to Become Trauma Informed. Part I

Assigned Reading and Multimedia

Emerick, D. (2022). Developing 1 Million Trauma-Informed Leaders[Video]. TEDx Talks.
Illi, D. (2020). How to Reduce the Risk of PTSD in the Workplace [Video] Tedx Bear Creek Park
Peacock A. (2023). Compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma. Nursing management, 54(1), 14–22.
SAMHSA. (2014). Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma Informed
SAMHSA. (2023). Practical Guide for Implementing a Trauma-Informed Approach. Chapter

Whole-Class Discussions (2)

Week 4 Assignment:

Week 4 Reflective Journal

Week 5 Assisting Organizations to Become Trauma Informed. Part II

Assigned Reading and Multimedia

Fernández, V., Gausereide-Corral, M., Valiente, C., & Sánchez-Iglesias, I. (2023). Effectiveness of trauma-informed care interventions at the organizational level: A systematic review. Psychological Services. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000737
Huo, Y., Couzner, L., Windsor, T., Laver, K., Dissanayaka, N. N., & Cations, M. (2023). Barriers and enablers for the implementation of trauma-informed care in healthcare settings: a systematic review. Implementation Science Communications, 4(1). https://doi-org.une.idm.oclc.org/10.1186/s43058-023-00428-0

SAMHSA. (2023). Practical Guide for Implementing a Trauma-Informed Approach. Chapter 3. https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/pep23-06-05-005.pdf
SAMHSA. (2014, March). Tip 57: Trauma Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services. Part 2 Chapter 1. https://store.samhsa.gov/product/TIP-57-Trauma-Informed-Care-in-Behavioral-Health-Services/SMA14-4816

Whole-Class Discussion (1)

Week 5 Assignment

TI Agency Interview Assignment

Week 6 Restoring Sanctuary

Assigned Reading and Multimedia

Week 6 Lecture [Video]
Bloom, S. L., & Farragher, B. J. (2013). Restoring sanctuary: A new operating system for trauma-informed systems of care. Oxford University Press. pp 23-32, Chapters 4, 5 & 6
Esaki, N., Reddy, M., & Bishop, C. T. (2022). Next Steps: Applying a Trauma-Informed Model to Create an Anti-Racist Organizational Culture. Behavioral Sciences (2076-328X), 12(2), 41.
Social & cultural awareness. (2021). Channel 1 Creative Media.

Whole-Class Discussions (2)

Assignment:

Week 6 Reflective Journal

Week 7 Trauma-Informed Change: Advocacy at the Macro Level

Assigned Reading and Multimedia

Gohara, M. S. (2018). In Defense of the Injured: How Trauma-Informed Criminal Defense Can Reform Sentencing. American Journal of Criminal Law, 45(1), 1–54. Pages 25-53
Graves, K. N., Ward, M., Crotts, D. K., & Pitts, W. (2019). The Greensboro Child Response Initiative: A Trauma-Informed, Mental Health–Law Enforcement Model for Children Exposed to Violence. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 28(5), 526-544.
Scott, J. T., Ingram, A. M., Nemer, S. L., & Crowley, D. M. (2019). Evidence‐based human trafficking policy: Opportunities to invest in trauma‐informed strategies. American Journal of Community Psychology, 64(3–4), 348–358.
Steane, B. (2019). Removing Traumatic Barriers to Learning: The Need for Effective Trauma-Informed Approach to Learning Legislation in Pennsylvania. Temple Law Review, 92(1), 299

Whole-Class Discussion (1)

Week 7 Assignment

Final TI Proposal Submission

Week 8 Trauma Informed Social Work Practice and Self Care

Assigned Reading and Multimedia

NASW Code of Ethics
Murray, A (2021)NASW Code of Ethics: Self Care and Cultural Competency. NASW. 2021
Treisman, K (2021). A Treasure Box for Creating Trauma-Informed Organizations : A Ready-to-Use Resource for Trauma, Adversity, and Culturally Informed, Infused and Responsive Systems. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Chapter 3
Van Dernoot Lipsky, L (2015, April)Beyond the Cliff[Video].|

Whole Class Discussions (2)

Assignments:

Week 8 Reflective Journal

Student Resources

Online Student Support

Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.

Questions? Visit the Student Support Social Work page

UNE Libraries:

Library Access for all students: Your library login ID and password are the same as the ones you use to log into Blackboard/Brightspace.
Social Work Databases: https://library.une.edu/library-materials/find/research-by-subject/social-work/
Library Tutorial: Find an article
Video Tutorials: https://library.une.edu/research-help/guides-tutorials/video-tutorials/
Library Questions: Ask a librarian or phone library staff at (207) 602-2361 or (207) 221-4330.

Information Technology Services (ITS)

ITS Contact: Toll Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673

Accommodations

Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.

Policies

Essential Academic and Technical Standards

Please review the essential academic and technical standards of the University of New England School Social Work (SSW): https://online.une.edu/social-work/academic-and-technical-standards-une-online-ssw/

Technology Requirements

Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements

Confidentiality Statement

Student and faculty participation in this course will be governed by standards in the NASW Code of Ethics relating to confidentiality in sharing information from their placement sites and practice experiences. Students should be aware that personal information they choose to share in class, class assignments or conversations with faculty does not have the status of privileged information.

Attendance Policy

Online students are required to submit a graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. If a student does not submit a posting to the graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET, the student will be automatically dropped from the course for non-participation. Review the full attendance policy.

Late Policy

Assignments: Late assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.

Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.

Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.

Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures

The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.

UNE Online Student Handbook

UNE Course Withdrawal

Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.

Academic Integrity

The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit UNE Plagiarism Policies.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.

Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.