Trauma-Informed Care Before, During, & After Critical Incidents: Developing Resilience in Victims & Responders – Carrie Steiner

Critical Incident Trauma: How to Prepare for It, Cope with It, and Survive after It

Many current offerings on critical incident trauma fall short by dealing almost exclusively with the aftermath of the event, the symptoms of trauma exposure, and basic treatment options. Successful coping also requires prevention and intervention, as well as an understanding of pre-event, event, and post-event factors that impact trauma and a negative or resilient response to it.

In this recording, Dr. Carrie Steiner, a Police Psychologist and former Chicago police officer, shows you an engaging exploration of how to positively impact the lives of victims, responders, and law enforcement agencies before, during, and after critical incidents. Dr. Steiner’s professional experience is invaluable as she shares first-hand knowledge of the successes that accompany the use of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs, as well as clinical strategies such as EMDR, Prolonged Exposure, Yoga, and somatic experiencing. Her presentation is practical and realistic, with honest dialogue about how to handle both the factors that we can control in a traumatic event, and those we cannot.

1. Describe how trauma affects the brain, emotions, and cognition, and how this informs the clinician’s choice of treatment interventions
2. Identify individual and sociocultural features in clients that serve as risk or protective factors
3. Analyze the clincial interventions that a clinician may choose from to intervene pre-event, event, and post-event
4. Explain re-traumatization issues that might surface post-event, and describe how this informs the clinician’s choice of treatment interventions
5. Analyze critical event factors that impact the coping response of the client to trauma
6. Determine what trauma-informed and body-based trauma clinical interventions would be best for a client based on observed symptoms

TRAUMA INFORMED CARE:  TRAUMA AWARENESS AND BRAIN RESPONSE

• Social-ecological model of trauma impact
• High clinical risk of developing trauma disorders
• Brain development and trauma
• Bidirectional relationships of trauma, substance abuse, and mental illness
• DSM-5®: PTSD, ASD, trauma-related disorders

PRE-EVENT FACTORS THAT SHAPE TRAUMA COPING ABILITIES

• Adverse Life Events (ACEs) Study
• Genetics
• Age, gender, sexual orientation/gender identity effects
• Family history
• Pre-existing mental health factors
• Interventions

• Education on trauma-informed care
• Decreasing secondary trauma for professionals and others
• Utilization of crisis services
• Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program

EVENT FACTORS THAT SHAPE TRAUMA RESPONSE

• 16 critical factors that impact development of a trauma disorder
• Expected vs. unexpected trauma
• Natural vs. human caused trauma
• Individual vs. group trauma
• Physical injury
• Community and culture
• Historical/generational trauma
• Mass trauma
• Interventions
• Preparedness and mental rehearsal
• Psychoeducation about normal stress reactions
• Utilizing active coping skills
• Limit exposure
• Social support

POST-EVENT FACTORS THAT SHAPE TRAUMA HEALING

• Knowledge, access, and utilization of trauma services
• Interventions
• Trauma-informed care (EMDR, CBT, CPT, neurofeedback, and Prolonged Exposure)
• Body-based trauma therapy (EMDR, yoga, somatic experiencing, EFT, sensory motor therapy)
• Video example of EMDR
• Re-traumatization issues
• Resilience: cultural, racial, and ethnic characteristics
• 10 key protective traits