Fostering Resilience in Trauma Impacted Youth through Attachment, Regulation, and Competency

Chronic exposure to traumatic stress in childhood has been recognized as one of the most prominent health risks of our time, with estimates that as many as one in three children in the United States will be exposed to a potentially traumatic experience in their childhood. Although not every mental health provider self-identifies as a “specialist” in treating traumatic stress, it is critical that every provider working with children and families gain expertise in understanding and intervening with this population. Childhood trauma exposure may impact a wide range of developmental, relational, and regulatory capacities and, as a result, may directly or indirectly lead to service referral across settings.

In this workshop, we will delve deeply into a flexible, comprehensive framework for approaching intervention with youth and families impacted by traumatic stress. Designed to translate across service systems, the Attachment, Regulation and Competency (ARC) intervention framework offers a core components approach to addressing key domains affected in trauma-impacted youth. Moving beyond a pathology reduction model, the ARC framework identifies as its primary goal the building and enhancing of developmental capacities that allow the child and their surrounding system to navigate their life.

In addition to didactics, this workshop will incorporate small-group discussion and case application, experiential activities, and exploration of provided case material and video clips.