Fundamental Skills for Therapists and Allied Health (40 Hours)
Format: Asynchronous (online, self-directed)
Cost: $895 + HST
No textbook required.
Highlights of this course:
- Trauma training geared toward novice/intermediate practitioners that work in mental health care, such as Psychotherapists, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Doctors, Nurses, etc.
- An asynchronous model, you will complete 40 hours of self-directed study, learning and applying a broad-based knowledge of trauma within the general population. Students may begin whenever they wish, and may proceed as quickly or slowly as they wish, within the given time-frame
- Note that this course is not correct for practitioners wishing to become trauma specialists.
- Specific instruction on how to conduct the client encounter and assess for trauma (history taking, assessment, the relationship with the client)
- Individualized attention and instructor feedback given via evaluations of the professional and reflective practice exercises within each module, including a consolidating case study in the final assignment
- All work can be done from home; you will need a reliable internet connection to do so
Course Overview and Outline
Regardless of one's preferred modality, mental health workers of every kind must equip themselves with at minimum a basic understanding of trauma and its impacts on people. All too often, the word “trauma” is used to describe an event, rather than its correct signification: the lasting responses of emotional, physical, and cognitive symptoms that come from living through distressing or horrible events.
Approximately 70% of adults are believed to have experienced some type of traumatic event at some point in their lives, with about 3.5% of the population meeting the criteria for PTSD. Every professional that aspires to work in the field of human services must ethically practice from a trauma-informed lens, able to treat trauma with at least a beginner’s level of proficiency. Not intended for those wanting to specialize in trauma, this course will equip students with a solid skill set that includes a trauma framework of “big T” and “little t” experiences, assessment measures, how to understand the bio-psycho-social framework of trauma, instruction on use-of-self with trauma clients, and the three stages of ethical trauma work (stabilization, processing, and post-traumatic growth). This course will orient the student to the most common recovery modalities (including CBT, EMDR, body work and more), including their strengths and weaknesses. Written and oral fluency in English is required.
Eligibility and Certification
ADLER’s Faculty of Continuing Education offers certificate programs that incorporate a case-based learning approach, encompassing theoretical discussion supported by real-life cases, scenarios, and role-playing. This approach affords participants the opportunity to experience the actual, day-to-day challenges encountered by most therapists.
Many ADLER Continuing Education courses qualify for programs like the continuing education credit hours for the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. Contact your organization to determine eligibility of a particular course.
Upon submission of all course assignments, including completion of the 8 modules, and following their review by the teaching team, students will then receive a letter of completion at the end of this course. Please be advised that this course has been designed to meet the educational requirements of the certification process and exam.
Disclaimer: Please note that there is no current “regulating” body for trauma; however, completion of this course will satisfy most continuing education requirements. Completing this course will not qualify you to register with any regulatory body in Ontario, including neither the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW), nor the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO). You are advised to select learning that leads to the regulations and qualifications you hope to satisfy and achieve in your career.
Getting Started
This course will become available to access on October 1, 2021. Once payment is received, you will receive an enrolment email (after October 1, 2021) with a UserID and a temporary password; these will allow you to enter the course software and begin. This enrolment email will take approximately seven business days to be processed. PLEASE CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDER DURING THIS TIME. If you do not see this email within seven business days, please contact us.
Please note that all of our online courses have a set amount of time for you to complete your coursework. For this course, the maximum allotted period is 12 weeks. Your window begins upon receipt of your enrollment email. To ensure that you are given sufficient time to complete all of the material, please purchase your course no sooner than 5-7 business days prior to the date that you intend to begin studying, as this is how long it takes for the license key to be generated from the time you make your purchase. Your countdown will begin upon receipt of your enrollment email, and not upon your using the information there contained to access the course. We uphold a policy that we do not extend or re-open the software to you once your 8-week period of learning is up. Plan accordingly: if you will be away, you must catch up on your work.
Contact Us
Students may contact a representative from our Faculty of Continuing Education at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.