J. Eric Gentry
TRAUMAPRO                                     
The newsletter of the
International Association of Trauma Professionals
FALL 2011       
                                                        
In This Issue
Two Certification Trainings
Book Review!
The Challenges Before Us
Compassion Fatigue Goes to Australia
Training Photo
IATP Workshop Aug. 27 & 28, 2011  Dr. Mike Dubi, Presenter
Featured Article

JUST MIKE
Dr. Mike Dubi
CONGRATULATIONS NEW CERTIFIED PROFESSIONALS!
 
Esmeralda Alemia
Lawrence Balsam
Harriet Barnes-Parker
Heather Biggs
Andrew Billups
Tracy Blanchard
Daisy Bryant
John L. Carosso
Diedra Cogan
Laryssa Creswell
Sergio Cruz
Katrina Daneshvar
John L. Dotson
Lynn Duffy
Kristin Dundee
Candice Dunn
Katie Grim
Marilyn Halls
Shaina Hicks
Pamela Hirons
Kimberly Hoopaugh
Michael J. Hughes
Margaret Jones
Gale Kelley
Linda Koenig
Margaux LaFortune
Dale Lewis
Ernesto Lopez, Jr.
Nereida Martinez
Bukola A. Ogunkua
Vaughn O'Neal
Melanee Orellana
Pamela Osborne
James Payne
Gary Plep
Julie Rego
Laura K. Rhodes
Alan Sibel
Thomas Slawinski
Michelle Smallwood
Sheryl Stephens-Trask
Kim Swanson
Heather Swiger
Tara Travia
Veronica Villarreal
Cheryl Woodcock
Susan Zimmerman
 
 
 

Quick Links
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trauma Practice: Tools for Stablization and Recovery
Anna Baranowski, Ph.D.
J. Eric Gentry, Ph.D.
Franklin D. Schultz, Ph.D.
 
 
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If you have any questions or comments, or wish to have an article published in our newsletter, please contact Mike Dubi at:

:: (941) 724-1026

or

[email protected]

Greetings!

Hi and welcome to the Fall, 2011 edition of TraumaPro, the IATP newsletter. TraumaPro is an open forum for IATP members and anyone interested in psychological trauma. This is consistent with the IATP mission of preparing professionals throughout the world to treat and conduct research on traumatic stress.

 

As the world becomes more aware of disaster and trauma up close and personal through the media, the need for trained professionals to respond and treat also becomes more apparent. This is as true in places like Australia, where Eric Gentry just spent three weeks training professionals, as it is in all of the hot spots and danger zones throughout the world.

  

As such, we welcome contributions from members of brief articles, announcements and anecdotes related to your work, research and other interests.

  

Entries should be submitted to [email protected] with complete contact information. Of course, we reserve editorial license.

  

On behalf of the IATP board (Eric Gentry, Ph.D., Michael Rank, Ph.D., and myself) we hope you find TraumaPro pertinent and informative.

  

Mike Dubi, President

 

Two New Certification Training Opportunities

J. Eric Gentry, Ph.D. 

J. Eric Gentry

 

IATP is pleased to announce the addition of two new training programs leading to two new certifications available to our members in the spring of 2012. The courses, listed above, will be initially offered in the Tampa/Sarasota area; however, plans are in progress to offer them nationwide in the future. In addition, the IATP Board is working to produce online versions of these two trainings.

Certified Compassion Fatigue Professional - This two-day course will provide professional and volunteer care participants with the most current principles and practices for understanding, assessing, diagnosing, treating and preventing the negative effects associated with working in the caregiving industry. The course offers an in-depth review of the history of compassion fatigue with an equally thorough exploration of the causes and symptoms. Participants completing this certification training will learn the skilled application of the Accelerated Recovery Program for Compassion Fatigue, an evidenced-based, rapidly effective treatment for lessening the symptoms of compassion fatigue. Finally, the course teaches participants the principles and practices necessary for resilient caregiving, helping them to gain insight and skills in preventing compassion fatigue for themselves, their caregiving colleagues and other professionals.

Certified Acute Stress Professional {FIELD} - This two-day course teaches the essential skills for intervention with survivors of recent traumatic experiences. The focus of this training is to develop skills and practices to mitigate and prevent future traumatic stress symptoms within civilian populations. The first day of this training is focused upon helping the participant to integrate the primary relational and expectancy skills - the components of disaster and critical incident intervention that consistently demonstrate effectiveness - into their practice of working with recent survivors. The first day is required for both Field and Clinical levels of Acute Stress Certification. Day two teaches the technical skills for on-site, in-home, and in-situ interventions with survivors of recent traumatic events to help them rapidly stabilize and minimize future traumatic stress symptoms. This training is open to anyone wanting to develop rapidly effective skills for intervening with recent survivors, and is available to all IATP members.

Certified Acute Stress {Clinical} - This add-on level of certification will require completion of the Day one Field level certification training. The first day provides the clinical professional with the skills to maximize the relational and expectancy aspects of their interventions with clients suffering from acute stress. The second day provides the participant with a toolkit chocked full of techniques and interventions for rapid stabilization and resolution of the debilitating symptoms associated with acute stress, with an eye towards preventing future symptoms of PTSD for these clients. This certification level is restricted to the clinical members of the IATP.

Both the Field and Clinical level training for the Certified Acute Stress Professional will be offered in a 3-day format. Clinical members are invited to attend all three days to receive both levels of certification. Alternatively, members may attend Days 1 & 2 to receive the Field level certification or Days 1 & 3 to receive the Clinical level. Watch for details coming soon!

Book Review

by Michelle A. Mitcham, Ph.D.

 

Trauma Practice: Tools for Stabilization

and Recovery

by Anna Baranowski, J. Eric Gentry, and D. Franklin Schultz  2nd Ed.
 

In reviewing "Trauma Practice - Tools for Stabilization and Recovery", it was quickly apparent that this book on how to deliver the Tri-Phasic Model of treatment with trauma clients/survivors, was more of a comprehensive, well-thought out manual; a "complete toolbox" for application and practice in the field of counseling this special population. The book provides detailed CBT approaches techniques and tools for the beginner counselor to the advanced practitioner.

 

The authors organized the book in five easy to follow sections that include research, techniques, and homework on these themes:

  • Foundations of the Trauma Practice Model,
  • Safety and Stabilization,
  • Trauma Memory Processing,
  • Reconnection
  • Integrative & Clinician Self-Care Models. 

 

Each of the first four sections begins with a succinct overview, followed with step-by-step techniques, worksheets, protocols, guidelines, "blueprints" so to speak, to walk you through the concepts, definitions, rationales and finally, myriad exercises or "tools" for delivery and intervention. When reading this manual, it feels as though you have your own "personal coach" assisting you every step of the way, explaining all aspects of each exercise from the time required, materials needed, indications for use, as well as contraindications. Charts, graphs, figures, tables and many visuals enhance the user-friendly, quick reference appeal of this book. Additionally, all of the worksheets in the book are reproducible by the purchaser.

 

In doing therapy with survivors of trauma, clinicians can easily suffer from compassion fatigue. This guide addresses in detail in Chapter 5, Integrative & Clinician Self-Care Models to include The Pinnacle Program: Healing Trauma by Principle-Based Living, which is a proactive strategy. This developmental approach and treatment focuses on how trauma history may yield negative or harmful perceptions and how these affect the present day functioning. The authors provide several "Clinical Notes" throughout the chapter, which help guide and coach the clinician through these processes, which is an added bonus. It is commendable that the authors dedicated so much of the last chapter to the importance of wellness for the therapist. The tool, "Individualized Compassion Fatigue Resiliency Plan" really speaks to the critical need of being a "reflective practitioner" and having our own wellness plan to renew, reflect and reconnect with self.

 

The authors did an outstanding job and are to be congratulated for offering this "trauma toolbox" for clinicians working with survivors of trauma. The content, organization, and endless resources of this book are an invaluable asset for all therapists providing care to survivors of horrible experiences and trauma. This book is definitely a must-read and must-own for any therapist.

 

 

The Challenges Before Us

Michael G. Rank, Ph.D.

 

wounded soldier 2

 

During 1970, I was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army after having served as a combat infantryman in Vietnam. That was 41 years ago. We are still today dealing with the issues of Vietnam veterans; indeed we are still confronted with issues of our World War II veterans and our Korean War veterans. Actually, our Korean War veterans may be the most misunderstood and ignored group of veterans. When speaking about Korean War veterans, many people say, "Oh yeah, the Korean War, that happened between WW II and the Vietnam War and I saw the television program MASH , so I know about the Korean War". What many do not know or realize, however, is that there are, at this time, nearly 30,000 troops stationed in Korea; and that these troops continue to be in harm's way. We hear very little about the contribution of these men and women.

We have more veteran cohorts now than we have ever had in our history. Currently we hear mostly about our current active duty and veterans from OEF (Operating Enduring Freedom - our campaign in Afghanistan) and OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom - officially ended on August 10, 2010), now OND (Operation New Dawn - officially began September 1, 2010). As a result of OIF, 4,421 men and women have died and 31,931 have been wounded in action. On the date of this writing, there have been 34 deaths and 159 wounded in our continuing campaign in Iraq (OND). Also as of this day, we have had 1,569 men and women killed as a result of participation in OEF, with 11,411 wounded in action. Each one of these individuals have families of origin, families of procreation, or families of choice that are grieving, readjusting, and possibly confronting the sequelae of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Our current campaigns have a greater percentage of wounded to killed than any campaign before in history. These veterans and their families have the challenge of TBI (traumatic brain injury), limb loss, gross disfigurement, as well as the emotional and psychological issues that arise from combat stress or multiple extended deployments in a theater of war.

Let us fast forward 41 years to 2052. U.S. citizens, indeed the global society, will still be confronted with the multi systemic issues of our Desert Storm, OEF, OIF, and OND veterans and their families; and that's only if we don't have another military campaign in the next four decades.

Veterans currently make up more than 11% of the U.S. population. It is difficult to live in our world without interacting with, being related to, or knowing a veteran or the family of a veteran. All mental health professionals at some point will have to deal with the issues of our veterans or our active duty members or their families. We are in the second decade of the third millennium.

We can wait no longer to become competent with the multi systemic issues of traumatic stress through training and education.

 

Compassion Fatigue Goes to Australia!

J. Eric Gentry, IATP's Vice-President, just returned from a six-city speaking tour of Australia. TATRA, Australia's premier continuing education provider, contracted Dr. Gentry to provide his one-day Compassion Fatigue Prevention & Resiliency Training in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra. This training was a hit with Aussie caregiving professionals and plans are under way to introduce IATP courses and certification to these professionals. Australia, for all its splendor and beauty, has a significantly traumatized population and have a constant influx of refugees from around the globe that tax the caregiving professionals' skills and resiliency. Many of the several hundred participants of Dr. Gentry's trainings expressed sincere gratitude for learning how to remain resilient while working in these high demand contexts. We are excited about welcoming Aussie care professionals into our family and making IATP a truly international association.