Reducing Secondary Trauma by Understanding Countertransference in Work with Youth and Families: GH CEUs

This course qualifies for GH CEUs.

As we work in a field of providing therapeutic and supportive services to individuals and families who have and continue to experience individual, community, and historical trauma, we eventually become fatigued and experience traumatization from hearing the stories of others, witnessing the harm of our clients, and from feeling the weight of the sociopolitical factors that contribute to harm that reaches the communities that we are trying to heal. This traumatization is often referred to as secondary trauma and it may lead us to experience doubts about continuing in the work, we may engage in unhealthy coping skills, and we may feel that we must cope with our secondary trauma on our own. Many of us were drawn to this field because we wanted to contribute to the healing journey of communities that have experienced generations of trauma and grief and, often, we may not realize that as we do this work, our own personal stories, reactions, and identities may be impacting further our perspective and feelings about the work. Our internal process is vital to understand so that we can monitor our feelings, thoughts, reactions, and behaviors towards our clients’ stories. Having this self-awareness can assist us in monitoring, titrating, and managing our strong reactions towards the work so that we can reduce any overwhelming feelings, negative coping skills, and reduce our feelings or actual isolation that often occurs.

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Instructor: Jeanette Lopez-Urbina, LCSW

Jeanette Lopez-Urbina, LCSW has worked in the mental health/social services field since the year 2000, in various settings in Northern and Southern California, including residential and community-based services, through services such as Wraparound, psychotherapy, and violence prevention work. Jeanette has worked extensively with youth and families, especially in the area of trauma, including supporting youth and families in specialized services that address gang involvement, sexual exploitation, immigration trauma, and issues related oppression, racism, and acculturation issues. Jeanette is a bilingual first-generation Salvadoran American practitioner who enjoys practicing mostly from a social justice, relational, and psychodynamic approach. She currently is the owner of a group Private Practice in Berkeley, is part-time faculty at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, and has been a lecturer at UC Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare. Jeanette provides trainings throughout the Bay Area on topics related to best practices in serving the Latine population, trauma informed care, and culturally responsive services.

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Other Important Information:

Accommodations: To request additional assistance or accommodations, please contact Brisa Romero, Training Assistant, at bromero@catalyst-center.org.

Grievances: To obtain the grievance policy or report a grievance please email Ivon Favela, Deputy Director of Training at ifavela@catalyst-center.org

CE Certificates: Upon course survey completion, participants will be awarded CE certificates.

Refund/Cancelation Policy: All requests for cancellation and refunds must be submitted in writing to bromero@catalyst-center.org prior to the course date. Otherwise, no refunds will be allowed.