Resiliency-based & Trauma-Informed Practices

Trauma-Informed, resiliency-based, and Interprofessional Practice Sequences

“Being Trauma-informed does not meant that you see trauma in everyone, it means that you see resilience in everyone. And then transforming the surrounding systems to support the growth of that resilience”  –graduate student completing courses

UVM’s College of Education and Social Services offers this coursework to prepare educators and health and human service professionals to address the complex challenges associated with trauma and adversity using restorative, strength-based, and collaborative approaches that build resilience and encourage children, youth, and families to thrive and learn. Through 9-15 credits of graduate level coursework, students will (a) gain a deeper socio-ecological understanding of the structural solutions inherent in equity, culturally sustaining partnerships, and resilience, (b) learn about the impact of trauma and adversity, and (c) build a toolbox of skills for fostering resilience through building and restoring relationships with families, schools, and communities.

The program will include core coursework and then allow participants to select a track for specialization and complete a micro-credential in either:

Trauma-responsive and Restorative Practices (TRP) or,

Family-school-community partnerships and interprofessional collaboration (FSC).

Through the coursework students will:

• Learn to effectively partner with children, youth, families, and professionals from other disciplines to enhance resilience and well-being in those affected by trauma and adversity
• Understand how social and cultural factors influence how children experience, identify, interpret, and respond to traumatic events
• Understand the relationship between trauma, behavior, brain development, and learning.
• Recognize the signs of secondary traumatic stress among professionals and caregivers and learn prevention and coping strategies.
• Learn how to build trauma-informed, resilience-fostering schools and organizations that can enhance academic success, social-emotional well-being, and positive youth development.
• Gain new skills that harness interdisciplinary collaboration to build resilience and impact trauma and adversity.
• Build a toolkit of evidence-informed strategies for effectively engaging children, youth, and families within and beyond school walls.
• Earn credits that can stand on their own or may be applied to graduate degrees in education or social services at the University of Vermont.