Somatic Strategies with System Involved Youth Trauma Survivors

Nicole Klasey, Psy.D. and  Nancy Acosta

Training Description

The majority of system-involved youth have experienced numerous traumas and experienced numerous adversities. Given the chronic exposure to trauma, stress and adversity, it’s imperative that those who support system involved youth including, social service providers, foster parents and natural supports, understand how stress is stored in our bodies, not just in our minds. It is essential to address how trauma impacts the body. The training will provide an overview of somatic strategies and ways providers can utilize them with system-involved youth and transitional age youth when they struggle with depression, anxiety and PTSD

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will be able to describe at least 3 ways that trauma, stress, and adversity impacts the body to better support system involved youth. 

2. Participants will be able to identify at least 1 somatic strategy to help system-involved youth and transitional age youth address traumatic reactions

3. Participants will be able to identify at least 1 somatic strategy to support individuals struggling with anxiety.

Agenda 

9:30am-9:45am Welcome and Introductions

9:45am-11:00am Somatic support overview, Somatic support for trauma survivors

· Upregulation exercise and body scan

· Automatic nervous system overview

· Impact of trauma, stress and adversity on the body

· Fight, flight, freeze and fawn

11:00am-11:15am Break (CE hours will not be offered for this time)

11:15am-12:30pm Somatic support for trauma survivors

· Somatic symptoms of trauma, stress, and adversity on the body

· Feeling unsafe in one’s body

· Vagus nerve overview

· When tension is held in body

· Self-soothing

· Grounding

12:30pm-1:30pm Lunch (CE hours will not be offered for this time)

1:30pm-3:00pm Somatic strategies for anxiety and depression

· How anxiety feels in the body

· Somatic strategies for individuals with anxiety

· How depression feels in the body

· Somatic strategies for individuals with depression

3:00pm-3:15pm Break (CE hours will not be offered for this time)

3:15pm-4:15pm Somatic strategies for sexual trauma

· Tonic immobility overview

· Tonic immobility and sexual assault

· Somatic strategies for sexual trauma

4:15pm-4:30pm Q&A and closing

Meet Our Trainers

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 (6.0) 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.