(LA) What is Child Trauma and Child Traumatic Stress and What is the Impact on Children?

Presenter: Laura Alongi, LCSW

This presentation is designed to teach basic knowledge, skills and values about working with children who have experienced traumatic stress, specifically within the child welfare system. We will define traumatic stress and its impact on children, and begin to connect trauma reactions to how children may be inaccurately diagnosed or conceptualized. The overall objective of this presentation is to create and promote trauma informed practitioners and systems.

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will be able to define the essential elements of a trauma informed child social worker.
2. Participants will be able to understand the term child traumatic stress and know what types of experiences constitute childhood trauma.
3. Participants will be able to understand the relationship between a child's lifetime trauma history and his or her behaviors and responses.

Laura Alongi, LCSW received specialized training through the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, teaches at the UCLA Department of Social Welfare and is a field consultant with the California Social Work Education Center program, a statewide program that trains social workers to become professional public child welfare workers. She has worked primarily with emotionally disturbed children and their families, in individual, family and group modalities at South Bay Child Guidance, the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center, and Aviva Children and Family Services. Currently, she has a small private practice, and provides supervision and consultation to new and unlicensed social workers.