Fight, Flight, Freeze and Fawn: What Those Who Support System Involved Youth Need to Know

Nicole Klasey, Psy.D., Nancy Acosta

Training Description

Given the amount of trauma system involved youth and families have experienced, it’s crucial for those who support them to understand common trauma responses and how they may manifest. Although fight, flight, and freeze are more commonly known, there is increasingly more acknowledgment of the fawn response. This training will provide an overview of these common responses, how they manifest and how to support system-involved youth who are experiencing them. Not only is it important for us to understand these trauma responses, but it’s equally as important to help system-involved youth understand how they show up in their lives and may even be impeding their functioning at home, at school, and in other settings.

Learning Objectives

· Participants will be able to identify at least one characteristic of the fawn trauma response.

· Participants will be able identify at least one characteristic of the fight trauma response.

· Participants will be able to identify at least one strategy to support system-involved youth who exhibit the fawn trauma response.

Agenda

12:00-12:15pm  Introductions

12:15-1:45pm  Trauma response overview

· Fight trauma response

· Flight trauma response

· Freeze trauma response

· Fawn trauma response

1:45-2:00pm  Break (CE hours will not be offered for this time)

2:00-3:45pm  Supporting system-involved youth with trauma responses

· Providing psychoeducation

· Fight trauma response strategies of support

· Flight trauma response strategies of support

· Freeze trauma response strategies of support

· Fawn trauma response strategies of support

3:45-4:00pm  Closing and wrap-up

Meet Our Trainer

Nicole Klasey is a clinical psychologist who has worked with trauma survivors for 14 years. She currently consults with agencies on trauma-informed care, programming for commercially sexually exploited youth, vicarious trauma, and leadership development. Nicole has been training multidisciplinary audiences on trauma-related topics since 2015 and provides guest lectures at local universities on human trafficking.

Nancy Acosta is a bilingual therapist who has 7 years of experience working with trauma at a sexual assault center. She has provided services to children and adults in various settings including outpatient community mental health centers, college counseling centers, crisis centers, and in an integrated behavioral health setting. She has completed training in Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy as well as Cognitive Processing Therapy. She has experience providing training and supervision to doctoral level graduate students in trauma related topics including crisis intervention, vicarious trauma, and grounding techniques. In addition to developing a training manual for a student training program at a rape and crisis center, she also has experience supervising practicum students and providing support to staff and advocates. Nancy has experience working as a behavioral health consultant with multidisciplinary staff to improve recognition, treatment and management of behavioral problems and conditions.

This course meets the qualifications for (3.75) BBS CE hours for LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCCs, and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.