Trauma Counselling

This unit provides a basic conceptual framework and skills for counselling people who are suffering from trauma-related stress. The unit builds upon the counselling skills and techniques covered in foundation units in counselling skills. Upon completion of this unit, students will have the skills to counsel people who exhibit relatively clear-cut, short-term reactions to trauma. In cases involving more complex trauma reactions, students will have the skills to recognise the limits of their experience and make an appropriate referral. It is not envisaged that students will provide specialist counselling for trauma; such counselling requires intensive training, supervision and experience that is beyond the scope of this unit.

Learning Outcomes

  • Identify the terminology and concepts associated with trauma
  • Identify the situations in which trauma may occur
  • Identify the physical, emotional, cognitive and behavioural symptoms of trauma-related stress
  • Identify the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
  • Identify the major components of trauma that impact on communities
  • Identify the stages in recovery from trauma
  • Demonstrate the appropriate application of counselling techniques to ameliorate the symptoms of short-term trauma-related stress
  • Identify the advantages of workplace education regarding the impact of trauma
  • Identify the limits of your expertise regarding the treatment of trauma-related stress
  • Identify appropriate referral resources for clients suffering from trauma-related stress

Content Areas

  • Introduction to Trauma
  • Physiological and Psychological Reactions to Trauma
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Grief
  • Community Trauma – Natural Disasters
  • Community Trauma – Man-Made Events
  • Workplace Trauma and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing
  • Childhood Trauma – Experiences and Impacts
  • Approaches to Counselling Children
  • General Principles for Counselling Traumatised Clients
  • A Model for Counselling Traumatised Clients
  • Trauma Counselling Strategies and Techniques
  • Being a Counsellor, Responding to Trauma

Unit Duration and Workload

This unit involves a total of 36 hours of face to face delivery of self directed study including educator contact in flexible delivery modes, generating a further 54 hours of self-study per unit including research and related study activities, including assessment. This translates to 7.5 hours per week for the unit.