EXA and Trauma

Catalog description

This advanced-level class focuses on developing an understanding of what trauma is and how it functions on individual, community, and collective levels. Students will critically explore theories and practical responses to the affective, cognitive, behavioral, neurological effects associated with trauma and crisis counseling. Students will develop an advanced understanding of DSM definitions of trauma, differential diagnosis, and evidenced-based treatment strategies. As a third-year course for Expressive Arts Therapy students in practicum, this class emphasizes the student's being and becoming a trauma focused community mental health practitioner, inclusive of assessment strategies for clients in crisis; brief, intermediate, and long-term approaches for working with individuals responding to acute, chronic and historical trauma; principles of intervention for individuals with mental and emotional disorders; multidisciplinary responses to crisis; client-centered advocacy; culturally-responsive arts-based interventions; & effective self-assessment, self-care and self-preservation. RESTRICTED TO EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY STUDENTS