TLC Courses

TLC Courses

TLC offers courses designed to enable schools, crisis teams, child and family counselors,
and private practitioners to help traumatized children. Online courses are also available.
Click on a course below to read a description.

TLC Courses

Children of Trauma
Structured Sensory Intervention
Trauma Debriefing
Crisis Intervention
Managing & Discharging Activation
Psycho-Physiology of Trauma
Using Children's Drawings in Art and Play Therapy
Art/Play Therapy & Other Expressive Therapies
Tragedy Protocol
Supporting Students with Special Needs
Play Therapy
Guest Lectures
Ready...Set...R.E.L.A.X.
Creative Interventions for Sexually Abused Children
Assembly Workshops
Case Study

TLC Online Courses

Adolescent Grief
Pain Management
Psycho-Physiology of Trauma
Reaching and Teaching Stressed and Anxious Students
Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth in Children
Suicide Intervention
Tragedy Protocol
Working Through an Ethical Lens
Zero to Three: Trauma Intervention
Level-1 Essay Exam
Level-3 Essay Exam

Finish your TLC Certification ONLINE!

Attend the four required Level-1 courses and get Certified from home! All you need to do is successfully complete any two TLC online courses and an essay exam to get your Certification.

Professional CEUs ONLINE!

All online courses provide professional CEUs. The cost is $100 per course. Essay exams are $175. Some courses include books/resources. We continue to add new courses, so keep checking our listings.

Save time and travel by taking a TLC online course!

Children of Trauma Level-1 (Required course for both Clinical Specialist and School Specialist and prerequisite for Consultant and Supervisor) Educational objectives and syllabi	Learn the differences between grief and trauma and come to know trauma as an experience rather than a diagnostic category. Learn how to become a “witness” to a child’s traumatic experience to best appreciate the intensity of the experience and the needs of the child; to see what he now sees as he looks at himself and the world around him. Video-taped interviews will demonstrate how TLC’s evidence-based, structured sensory intervention process brings children relief from the terror of their traumatic experiences. This structured process is used in schools and agencies across the country and has been proven, via research, to reduce trauma-specific reactions across all three major sub-categories. When participating in the TLC Certification Program each participant will receive the TLC video, Children of Trauma. Upon completion a certificate will be handed out. This course is worth 6 contact hours for continuing education.

Structured Sensory Intervention (SITCAP) Level-1 (Required course for both Clinical Specialist and School Specialist and prerequisite for Consultant and Supervisor) Educational objectives and syllabi	Learn trauma-specific intervention tasks and techniques as well as see them demonstrated. This is a practice day. The presenter engages attendees in an encapsulated demonstration of the major sensory structured processes. Attendees will also participate in additional activities and, by days end, will feel comfortable using any of the TLC intervention programs. A brief presentation of the TLC evidence-based research and outcome will support the value of TLC’s structured sensory programs in schools and agencies. The complete intervention programs are available to conference attendees at a reduced price. The Trauma Intervention Program is a comprehensive individual program for children 6-12 years old and adolescents 13-18 years old. I Feel Better Now! Intervention Program is a group program for 6-12 years olds. What Color is Your Hurt? is an individual program for preschoolers 3-6 years old. If you would like to order any of these intervention programs for pick-up at the conference, please check the appropriate boxes on the registration form. When participating in the TLC Certification Program, the TLC book, *Structured Sensory Interventions for Traumatized Children, Adolescents and Parents* will be given to all attendees.

Trauma Debriefing in Schools and Agencies Level-1 (Clinical Specialist and School Specialist requirement) Educational objectives and syllabi	The TLC Debriefing Model fits with the uniqueness of school and agency settings. The models address the developmental issues, time and resource constraints, needs of staff as well as students/clients, administrative issues and trauma response issues. Five models are demonstrated: Debriefing for adolescents and adults, Defusing for K-5th grade, Operational Debriefing for all staff, Debriefing the Debriefers, Crisis Team members or first respondents and Classroom Presentation which is different than debriefing and usually initiated before the start of debriefing. The TLC Debriefing Model is the outcome of work with over 1,500 professionals who have participated in debriefing training. The purchase of the Debriefing Handbook, although recommended, is optional. It answers over 100 questions frequently asked about debriefing in schools and agencies and presents each model into a 5" x 8" format for duplication in a card format to be used during debriefing sessions. It is available at the conference for a reduced price of $20.

Crisis Intervention Level-1 All Levels (Fulfills guest lecture requirement for Specialist, School Specialist, Consultant and Supervisor) Educational objectives and syllabi	Learn what to do in the days following a trauma when crisis intervention may be needed. Tragedies, like Hurricane Katrina and 9/11, leave behind devastation and destruction. Because victims are constantly reminded of the trauma, their state of crisis is prolonged and heightened. Very specific intervention techniques will be demonstrated which are designed to stabilize those in crisis in the days that follow exposure, at a time when specific trauma intervention would not be appropriate.

Supporting Students with Special Needs Level-1 (School Specialist requirement) Educational objectives and syllabi	All students need support following a death or traumatic event. The needs of students in special education are unique due to their physical, cognitive and/or emotional disabilities. Educators and support staff have the opportunity to positively impact these students' lives when they have the skills and education that this workshop will provide. Participants will learn about the specific needs of grieving and traumatized students with special needs, effective ways to communicate between home and school and practical ways to support students with special needs in the classroom, in small groups and in one-on-one settings.

Play Therapy All Levels (Fulfills guest lecture requirement for Specialist, School Specialist, Consultant and Supervisor) Educational objectives and syllabi	This presentation provides the participant trauma-specific play therapy strategies. Strategies (puppets, sand tray, and other mediums) will be demonstrated and critical therapeutic guidelines related to their use will be highlighted. A review of the most current trauma-specific books for use in sessions will also be presented. Participants will also take part in activities using some the materials discussed.

Guest Lecture All Levels (Fulfills guest lecture requirement for Specialist, School Specialist, Consultant and Supervisor) Educational objectives and syllabi	Always different, this presentation brings nationally recognized leaders in trauma intervention. TLC has hosted Denis Donovan, Babette Rothschild, Linda Peterson, Beverly James, Lenore Terr, Alan Wolfelt, Al Siebert, Ileana Gill and others. Some descriptions include: Ready...Set...R.E.L.A.X. and Children in Distress: Screening Children's Art

Psycho-Physiology of Trauma Level-1 (Specialist requirement) Educational objectives and syllabi	AVAILABLE ONLINE This presentation focuses on understanding the physiology of trauma by understanding the normal life-preserving survival responses of “flight/fight/freeze” in an individual and how they fulfill nature’s species-preserving function. Investigating the disturbance of these responses forms the essential foundation for understanding symptoms that results in Post-Traumatic Stress and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Trauma is fundamentally a highly activated incomplete psycho-physiological response to threat, frozen in time. What is significant in the resolution of trauma is the completion of incompleted responses to threat and the ensuing discharge of the energy that was mobilized for survival. Cost of taking this course online is $100 which includes CEUs. Upon successful completion of assignments tests and evaluation, a certificate will be sent out. This course provides 6 continuing education contact hours. AVAILABLE FALL 2008!

Managing & Discharging Activation Level-2 (Consultant requirement) Educational objectives and syllabi	This presentation will focus on the instinctual survival roll of activation/arousal and the mechanisms that perpetuate it once the traumatic incident or threat has passed. Procedures that will directly aid in managing and reducing and discharging activation that occurs during a traumatic incident will be demonstrated and discussed. Understanding how to reduce and allow for gradual discharge of Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) hyperarousal enhances the success of resolving the trauma and aids in restoration of homeostasis and balance, and a return to normal functioning.

Art/Play Therapy & Other Expressive Therapies Level-1 (Clinical Specialist requirement) Educational objectives and syllabi	Art and drawing help traumatized children externalize and concretize their experience in a language that can then be cognitively reframed. Sensory-based interventions are key in facilitating trauma debriefing, re-enactment, and resolution. This course provides a foundation for why drawing and art activities enhance trauma intervention and our understanding of PTSD in children. Participants will learn how to recognize the signs of PTSD in children’s art and specific interventions for use in schools, shelters, hospitals and clinics.

Using Children's Drawings in Art and Play Therapy Level-2 (Consultant requirement) Educational objectives and syllabi	Learn advanced skills in using drawings and art activities with children and families who have experienced trauma or loss. Through case material, discussion, and short experientials, participants will learn intervention strategies for PTSD reactions and specific trauma populations including abuse, medical illness, loss, and violence. Emphasis is on advanced understanding of drawing and art activities as sensory tools and how these interventions support integration and resolution of the trauma experience.

Suicide Intervention Level-1 (School Specialist requirement) Educational objectives and syllabi Educational objectives and syllabi for online course	ONLINE COURSE This presentation will identify warning signs and high risk factors leading to suicidal attempts. Characteristics of potentially suicidal child/youth, specific interventions strategies and skills including legal responsibilities, assessment of risk and what is necessary to help prevent contagion following an actual completion. Develop specific intervention skills with survivors of suicide including organized responses necessary in school settings and the ways grief following suicide differs from grief following non-suicidal losses. Purchase of the TLC book, A Handbook of Intervention Following Suicide or Trauma in Schools is optional, but recommended, and available to conference attendees at the reduced rate of $20. Cost of taking this course online is $100 which includes CEUs and the TLC book, Handbook of Intervention Following Suicide or Trauma in Schools, which will be shipped to the participant. Upon successful completion of assignments tests and evaluation, a certificate will be sent out. This course provides 6 continuing education contact hours. Click here to go to the TLC Bookstore to register to take this course online.

Case Study Level-3 (Consultant Supervisor requirement)	The Case Study documents that the participant has had extensive training in the TLC outcome-based interventions for traumatized children, adolescents and parents. It formally documents the participants ability to integrate knowledge with practice.

Ready...Set... R.E.L.A.X. All Levels (Fulfills guest lecture requirement for Specialist, School Specialist, Consultant and Supervisor)	Ready...Set...R.E.L.A.X. with Roger Klein Provides 5 contact hours of CE's for Social Workers pain symptom management requirements in addition to the CE credits listed here. Stress affects children, as well as adults. This workshop examines the physiological and psychological effects of stress on children, and details a program designed to reduce anxiety and improve self-concept in children. The program includes self-guided stories, discussion questions and activities, and emphasizes imagery and relaxation. Workshop participants learn specific interventions to use with individual children or groups of children in schools, health care facilities, clinical settings and the home. Lecture, demonstrations (live and video), discussions and time for practicing the techniques are all included in the day’s activities.

Guest Lectures All Levels	TLC is pleased to bring you Guest Lectures of varied topics. July 15, 2008: Creative Interventions for Sexually Abused and Traumatized Children Liana Lowenstein, presenter This is designed to familiarize participants with an innovative model for working with sexually abused and traumatized children. The presenter will provide participants with creative, structured assessment and treatment interventions. This will include interventions that can be used in individual or group therapy sessions with preschool, latency and adolescent victims of sexual abuse. A brief overview of trauma research will be provided. Liana Lowenstein, MSW, RSW, CPT-S is a an author, international workshop presenter, and clinician specializing in treating children with a variety of emotional difficulties. She currently sees children of all ages in private practice and provides clinical supervision and consultation to mental health practitioners. She has a reputation as a dynamic workshop leader and is on the teaching faculty of the Canadian Association for Child and Play Therapy. She is author of numerous publications. Her newest books are Creative Interventions for Children of Divorce (2006), and Creative Interventions for Bereaved Children (2006). November 7, 2008: Grief...Trauma...Action: With Playback Theatre Dottie Ward-Wimmer, presenter CE credits listed here. This workshop brings together an understanding of childhood grief and trauma with Playback Theater, an improvisational technique which honors personal story. Participants will review the developmental aspects of traumatic loss. Then, they will learn, practice, and perform the techniques of Playback to express feelings and tell stories. Playback Theatre was developed in 1975 by Johnathan Fox and is used in educational, community and clinical settings around the world. *Dottie Ward-Wimmer RN, MA, LPC, RPT-S* a pediatric nurse, Certified Professional Counselor and Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, has been working with and for children, teens and their families for over 40 years. In 1980, she began working in the field of death and dying and in 1986 moved to Washington, DC where she helped establish the Special Immunology Service at Children’s National Medical Center. She has published and taught about the issues of loss, life threatening illness, transition, violence and abuse and has testified to two Presidential Commissions on the impact of HIV/AIDS on children and families. In 1991 she joined the staff at the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing (formerly St. Francis Center) where she serves as a senior therapist.

Assembly Workshop All Levels	TLC is pleased to bring you Assembly Workshops of varied topics dealing with trauma and loss, helpful interventions for infants, children, adolescents, and families, art, play, helping the helper, and others. Presenters typically come from all over the country, work in the trauma field, and are eager to share their experience and knowledge with Assembly attendees.

Essay Exam Level-1 Optional	AVAILABLE ONLINE The Essay Exam is not a requirement for Certification. It is offered as an option for those who do not have the funding or time to travel to a TLC training to attend the remaining two required courses for Level-1 Certification. Anyone who has taken the following four prerequisite courses is eligible to take the Essay Exam in order to complete their Level-l Certification: Children of Trauma Structured Sensory Interventions, and Trauma Debriefing Crisis Interventions There are two exams available. One is for those who are applying for Clinical Specialist Certification and another for those applying for School Specialist Certification. The cost is $125 to take one exam. The exam does NOT provide CEU's. Level-1 Clinical Specialist Essay Exam will take the place of the following courses only: Art, Play and Other Expressive Interventions Psycho-Physiology of Trauma Level-1 School Specialist Essay Exam will take the place of the following courses only: Suicide Interventions Special Needs Student About the exam: It is a comprehensive essay exam that will take anywhere from 4 to 8 hours to complete, depending upon the person. It can be submitted to TLC for credit up to 6 months from date of purchase of the exam. TLC's book, A Handbook of Interventions following Suicide or Trauma in School, is included in the School Specialist Exam. All other materials needed to complete the exam can be found online and in articles on our web site. Participants will also use information from the SITCAP book, which they will already have already received from the course, Children of Trauma. The Essay Exams are available online. Click here to sign up to take the exam online. You may also call the TLC office toll-free at 877-306-5256 to register for the exam and have it mailed to you.

Essay Exam Level-3 Required	AVAILABLE ONLINE This exam is the final step in obtaining Level-3 TLC Trauma and Loss Consultant Supervisor Certification. CEUs are not available for this exam. The Essay Exams are available online. Click here to sign up to take the exam online. You may also call the TLC office toll-free at 877-306-5256 to register for the exam and have it mailed to you.

Reaching and Teaching Stressed and Anxious Students Teacher: Barbara Oehlberg Educational objectives and syllabi	AVAILABLE ONLINE In every classroom there are students who have experienced grievous losses. For some, these losses have been multiple; for some, they have been sudden and shocking, throwing the entire family into crisis. The feelings that may be experienced under the umbrella of fear include a sense of abandonment, betrayal, helplessness, shame, hopelessness, disappointment, sadness, grief and depression. While these feelings emerge out of perceptions or interpretations, not reality, the feelings are very real to youngsters and ultimately drive their behaviors, that is, until the feelings are transformed. The appropriate behaviors cannot be resolved until the children have had an opportunity to symbolically process and integrate their loss. The good news is that there is a wealth of sensory activities that permit children to connect with the overwhelming memories in order to externalize the imprint of terror and helplessness and over come it. This course will provide the information and interventions needed for teachers to reach and teach these students. Cost of taking this course online is $100 which includes CEUs. Upon successful completion of assignments tests and evaluation, a certificate will be sent out. This course provides 6 continuing education contact hours. Click here to go to the TLC Bookstore to register to take this course online.

Zero to Three: Trauma Intervention Teacher: Caelan Kuban, MSW Educational objectives and syllabi	AVAILABLE ONLINE This course will provide you with the background and tools needed to work with infants and toddlers and their caregivers after they have experienced a traumatic situation. You will learn how to educate parents, facilitate secure attachments and reduce arousal reactions so that healing can occur. Cost of taking this course online is $100 which includes CEUs and the TLC book, Handbook of Trauma Interventions: Zero to Three, which will be shipped to the participant. Upon successful completion of assignments tests and evaluation, a certificate will be sent out. This course provides 6 continuing education contact hours. Click here to go to the TLC Bookstore to register to take this course online.

Tragedy Protocol: Confronting Grief in Schools and Agencies Teacher: Dave Opalewski Educational objectives and syllabi	AVAILABLE SOON ONLINE Thousands of school-age children die each year and thousands more experience the death of a parent, sibling, or grandparent. The purpose of this practical and interactive course is to help school and agency professionals be a proactive team, to teach them how to handle crisis, and provide them with an understanding of grief from the perspective of a child or adolescent. In addition, techniques to effectively guide children and adolescents through grief will be demonstrated. We cannot fix a tragedy, but when handled properly we can grow from it. AVAILABLE SOON!

Creative Interventions for Sexually Abused and Traumatized Children Teacher: Liana Lowenstein	This is designed to familiarize participants with an innovative model for working with sexually abused and traumatized children. The presenter will provide participants with creative, structured assessment and treatment interventions. This will include interventions that can be used in individual or group therapy sessions with preschool, latency and adolescent victims of sexual abuse. A brief overview of trauma research will be provided. Liana Lowenstein, MSW, RSW, CPT-S is a an author, international workshop presenter, and clinician specializing in treating children with a variety of emotional difficulties. She currently sees children of all ages in private practice and provides clinical supervision and consultation to mental health practitioners. She has a reputation as a dynamic workshop leader and is on the teaching faculty of the Canadian Association for Child and Play Therapy. She is author of numerous publications. Her newest books are Creative Interventions for Children of Divorce (2006), and Creative Interventions for Bereaved Children (2006).

Adolescent Grief Teacher: Dave Opalewski	AVAILABLE ONLINE Adolescents are not supposed to experience death. Although it should never happen, the harsh reality is that it does, and when it does, it is a terrible shock for the adolescent. This course will help you, as the caring adult, be a guide through this troubling time by helping you understand what the adolescent is going through and giving you comprehensive techniques to address the situation. This is a time when a caring, unassuming adult can make a positive difference in a young person by fostering growth and maturity. Cost of taking this course online is $100 which includes CEUs. Upon successful completion of assignments tests and evaluation, a certificate will be sent out. This course provides 6 continuing education contact hours. Click here to go to the TLC Bookstore to register to take this course online.

Working Through an Ethical Lens Teacher: Tana Bridge	AVAILABLE ONLINE With a commitment to providing best practice interventions, ethical perspective and decision-making remain paramount. This presentation allows practitioners the opportunity to review their professional code of ethics and learn where ethical dilemmas impact both the populations we serve and those issues present with complicated grieving and trauma interventions. A framework to work through and arrive at the most ethical response will be presented. Cost of taking this course online is $100 which includes CEUs. Upon successful completion of assignments tests and evaluation, a certificate will be sent out. This course provides 6 continuing education contact hours. This online course fulfills Michigan Social Workers requirements. Click here to go to the TLC Bookstore to register to take this course online.

Pain Management Teacher: Cae Kuban	This online course fulfills Michigan Social Workers requirements. Available soon!

Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth in Children Teacher: Cae Kuban	AVAILABLE ONLINE This course defines posttraumatic growth and resilience. It provides participants with a working knowledge of factors commonly associated with resilience and posttraumatic growth in children. Strategies and sensory-based activities to help identify and support resilience and encourage posttraumatic growth in children are presented. Cost of taking this course online is $100 which includes CEUs. Upon successful completion of assignments tests and evaluation, a certificate will be sent out. This course provides 6 continuing education contact hours. Click here to go to the TLC Bookstore to register to take this course online.