Solution-Focused Therapy for the Treatment of Trauma

Course Description

Overview

The Institute for Solution-Focused Therapy has prepared a course which describes the application of Solution-Focused Therapy to the treatment of trauma, which is one of the most difficult but important areas of psychotherapy. The need for brief, practical techniques to effectively relieve painful and debilitating symptoms of trauma-related disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, has become increasingly critical in the everyday work of clinicians, counselors, clergy and humanitarian aid workers. Solution-focused brief therapy is particularly well-suited to treat trauma-related disorders as it provides a compassionate, respectful and effective treatment alternative that supports traumatized clients in making positive changes by focusing on the present and the future without requiring them to re-tell or re-visit painful details of traumatic past events.

Format

This course is an asynchronous online text and lecture-based course.

Learning Objectives
The specific Learning Objectives of the course are as follows. After completing the course, you will be able to:

Recall the DSM 5 diagnostic criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder;
Describe the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Approach;
Summarize Compassion, Coping, and Counterbalance as it applies to the solution-focused approach to treating trauma;
Apply the Solution-focused Brief Therapy tenets to the treatment of trauma;
Apply the common Solution-Focused Brief Therapy interventions and techniques to the treatment of trauma;
Recall the evidence supporting the effectiveness of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy for the treatment of trauma.

Course Assessment

There will be a 30-item multiple-choice test which is designed to assess your understanding and ability to apply the course material. You must receive at least 80% on the test to pass the course. You may take the exam multiple times until you pass the exam.

Course Certificate of Completion

After you have passed the exam, and complete the course evaluation, you will receive your certificate of completion for the course. You will be able to save the certificate as a PDF file, from which you Will also be able to print it.

Instructional Hours

There are 4.5 instructional hours associated with this course.

Instructors / Authors

Anne Bodmer Lutz, MD, Course Instructor, Course Author.

Anne Bodmer Lutz, B.S.N., M.D. is the Director of the Institute for Solution Focused Therapy. She was trained by the founders of Solution-Focused Brief therapy, Insoo Kim Berg and Steve de Shazer. She is a board-certified adult, child and adolescent psychiatrist, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester MA, and was a nurse before becoming a physician. Anne currently practices as a child and family psychiatrist at Doctor Franklin Perkins School and has a private practice in West Boylston Massachusetts where she integrates solution-focused practices in her treatment of children and families. She provides direct clinical supervision, teaching, and training to medical students and psychiatric residents, workshops for community-based treatment organizations, agency based training and coaching in Solution-Focused Therapy. She has worked for many years integrating solution-focused practices in community mental health, residential treatment and with adolescents and families coping with substance use and co-occurring disorders.

Anne is the author of Learning Solution-Focused Therapy: An Illustrated Guide (2014, American Psychiatric Press) which includes over 30 videos and many case examples focusing on “how to” implement this approach, along with numerous articles, and chapters in books. She received a Massachusetts Course of Distinction award in 2016 for online and blended learning course entitled “Solution-Focused Fundamentals and Practice.”

Terry S. Trepper, PhD, Course Author

Terry S. Trepper, Ph.D., is Co-Founder of the Institute fo Solution-Focused Therapy, and is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Purdue University Northwest. He was the Editor of the Journal of Family Psychotherapy for 30 years, and has authored/edited seven books and numerous academic articles and chapters on the SF approach. Terry is an internationally recognized scholar, educator, and researcher, winning numerous awards and honors in each of these domains. His scholarly and training interests include the evidence-basis of solution-focused therapy, systemic and solution-focused approaches to treating substance abuse, and positive psychology.

Terry’s authored or co-authored books include Systemic Treatment of Incest (1990, Brunner-Mazel); 101 Intervention in Family Therapy (1998, Routledge Press); Family Solutions for Substance Abuse (2001, Routledge Press); more Than Miracles: the State of the Art of Solution Focused Therapy (2007, Routledge Press); and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: A Handbook of Evidence-based Practices (2012, Oxford Press).

Yvonne M. Dolan, MA, Course Author

Yvonne Dolan, MA, is the Director Emeritus and Co-Founder of the Institute for Solution-Focused Therapy, and has been training mental health and medical professionals in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy since 1991. She is a co-founder (with Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg) of the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Association (SFBTA), and Co-Founder of the International Alliance of Solution-Focused Training Institutes (IASTI). She has authored/co-authored six books (translated into nine languages) and numerous articles and chapters on the SF approach, and has conducted seminars in solution-focused treatment of trauma in 23 countries.

Yvonne’s authored or co-authored books include: A Path with a Heart: Ericksonian Utilization with Resistant and Chronic Clients. (1985, Brunner/Mazel); Resolving Sexual Abuse: Solution-Focused Therapy and Ericksonian Hypnosis for Adult Survivors. (1991, W.W. Norton. Translations in French in German); One Small Step: Moving Beyond Trauma and Therapy to a Life of Joy. (1998, Papier Mache Press, Translations in Spanish, Polish, Japanese, Dutch, Finnish, in German); Tales of Solutions :A Collection of Hope Inspiring Stories. (2001, Norton. Translated into French); Solution-focused Brief Therapy: It’s Effective Use in Agency Settings (2003, Routledge Press. Translated into French and Chinese); More than Miracles: the State of the Art of Solution-focused Brief Therapy (2007, Routledge Press. Translated into Chinese, Japanese, French, German, and Dutch).