Trauma-Informed Practices: Prowers County

A free training with Dr. Gizane Indart and Dr. Jerry Yager

Join us for a two-day free training (June 15th and 16th) that focuses on further understanding the impact of trauma on a child's developing brain, and learn ways to mitigate that trauma for child victims and promote their healing. This training will be offered in both English and Spanish.

June 15th - 10:00 am to 4:00 pm / The Impact of Trauma on the Developing Child: 

A child's brain development is profoundly influenced by his or her experience. Adverse experiences such as abuse, neglect or exposure to violence can shape the organization of the brain which, in turn, influences the capacity of the brain to help a child think, feel and behave. The impact of any event is likely to be most profound on the systems in the brain which are most rapidly developing. Therefore, depending upon the specific time in development that the traumatic event takes place, as well as the specific nature of adverse experience, a range of problems can arise, from delayed development to impulsivity to severe emotional problems. When the exposure to violence is compounded by the loss of protection from the child's primary caregivers, brain development becomes particularly vulnerable and the spectrum of symptoms exhibited expand.

Understanding the origins of these problems and how they can be identified and addressed is one of the major challenges for professionals working with traumatized children

June 16th - 10:00 am to 4:00 pm / Trauma-Informed Care: 

Trauma is found in multiple service systems. It occurs as a result of violence, abuse, neglect, loss, war, disasters, and exposure to other adverse life experiences. The impact of traumatic stress, especially during sensitive developmental, is the disruption of multiple biological systems, resulting in physiological, psychological, social and behavioral problems. The need to understand and effectively address trauma is an essential component of effective service delivery. The growing awareness and acknowledgement that trauma survivors were being re-traumatized by the very systems that were designed to care for them made it necessary to change “how we do business.” The effectiveness of researched-based, trauma-sensitive treatments are either enhanced or diminished by the organizational culture, leadership practices, and conditions in which the services are delivered.

This training will explore the concept of organization as living systems and their sensitivity to stress. Participants will gain knowledge about how to make their organization more responsive to the developmental needs of clients who have suffered trauma and reduce the risk of re-traumatization. Principles of a trauma-informed system will be shared and the process for changing the language, practices, and policies of every part of the organization as a necessary step for achieving success. 

About the trainers - 

Dr. Gizane Indart is a bilingual and bicultural professional who has worked with traumatized children and their families since the early 1990s. Gizane is a ChildTrauma fellow at the ChildTrauma Academy under the direction of Dr. Bruce Perry. She speaks locally, nationally and internationally on the impact of abuse and neglect in early development, attachment difficulties in children exposed to maltreatment, and sexualized behaviors in children. Gizane is a member of the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, the Advisory Counsel for the Colorado Coalition of Adoptive Families, and the Florence Crittenton Board of Directors.

Dr. Jerry Yager is a clinical psychologist with more than 25 years of experience in the assessment and treatment of traumatized children and adolescents. He specializes in working with adolescents who exhibit self-destructive behavior and have severe mental illness such as clinical depression, bipolar mood disorder, post-traumatic distress disorder and psychosis. Before working with DCAC, Jerry was the Executive Director of the Denver Children's Home, which shares a mission with DCAC to provide high quality mental health care for low-income children whose problems would otherwise go undiagnosed and untreated. Jerry received his Doctorate in Psychology from Nova University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Colorado. He is a ChildTrauma fellow with the ChildTrauma Academy, and conducts professional training in Colorado and nationally.

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