About this certificate program
Dates: January 25, 26, February 1, 2, 8 and 9, 2027
Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET
Facilitators: Ian Robertson, MSW, RSW
CE hours: 36 hours
This training is suitable for:
- Mental health professionals including psychotherapists, counsellors, psychologists, and social workers.
Client age category: For professionals who work with adult clients.
Level of training: Intermediate/Advanced
Prerequisite: It is recommended that participants complete the Certificate in Trauma Counselling for Mental Health Professionals: Level 1 offered by SickKids CCMH Learning Institute, OR have strong equivalent work experience, as this training builds on the theories, concepts, models, and methods introduced in the Level 1 program.
Trigger Warning: Participating in this training may evoke disturbing feelings and may trigger unresolved trauma responses. Participants are encouraged to ensure they have adequate personal supports in place prior to participating.
Please note: This is a five-module/webinar certificate program. You must complete all five modules within a year to obtain the certificate. Each of the modules may be taken on their own as a stand-alone training.
Description: The Certificate in Trauma Counselling for Mental Health Professionals: Level 2 is an advanced clinical training designed for professionals who provide psychotherapy and counselling to clients who have experienced traumatic exposures.
Building on foundational trauma concepts, this training provides deeper exploration of clinical attachment processes, trauma assessment, case conceptualization, treatment planning, and advanced therapeutic approaches for trauma-related conditions.
Participants will develop a structured clinical framework for working with trauma, moving from understanding relational dynamics within the therapeutic relationship to conducting trauma-informed assessments, developing case formulations, and implementing advanced treatment strategies.
The program introduces key therapeutic approaches including polyvagal-informed interventions and ego state therapies, such as schema therapy and structural dissociation models, providing clinicians with practical strategies for supporting clients experiencing complex trauma presentations.
This training is designed as an applied clinical learning experience, incorporating lectures, breakout discussions, dyads, and experiential practice opportunities that allow participants to engage directly with the theories and therapeutic models presented.
Learning objectives:
- Understanding the role of clinical attachment as the foundation of safety in trauma therapy
- Recognizing transference reactions in clients with PTSD and managing the risks of negative countertransference responses
- Applying structured trauma assessment approaches to guide case conceptualization and treatment planning
- Developing individualized treatment formulation strategies for trauma-related presentations
- Applying polyvagal-informed therapeutic approaches to support regulation of the autonomic nervous system
- Understanding and applying ego state therapeutic approaches including schema therapy and structural dissociation models
This program is offered as an open module series, allowing the flexibility to register for any of the five individual modules or the entire series, depending on your learning objectives. Whether you choose to join one module or all five, this series aims to provide advanced knowledge and practical clinical skills in trauma counselling.
Modules:
- Module 1 | January 25, 2027: Transference and countertransference in trauma therapy
- Module 2 | January 26, 2027: Stabilization, trauma assessment, and treatment planning
- Module 3 | February 1 and 2, 2027: Introduction to polyvagal theory and clinical applications in trauma treatment
- Module 4 | February 8, 2027: Working with dissociative parts of the self in trauma therapy
- Module 5 | February 9, 2027: Schema therapy for trauma and PTSD
Equip yourself with essential skills to confidently assess, formulate, and treat trauma survivors. Register now to elevate your trauma-informed practice and improve client outcomes.
Individual module overview
Module 1: Transference and countertransference in trauma therapy: Understanding therapeutic attachment dynamics and managing countertransference in trauma work.
January 25, 2027 | 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET
This module explores how transference and countertransference reactions influence therapeutic attachment, treatment outcomes, and the wellbeing of professionals working in trauma-focused therapy.
Participants will examine how empathic engagement, trauma reenactment, and the dynamics of clinical attachment shape the therapeutic relationship. The training also addresses the emotional impact of trauma work on professionals, including vicarious trauma, secondary trauma, and compassion fatigue.
Participants will learn strategies for recognizing, managing, and responding effectively to countertransference reactions while maintaining ethical and sustainable trauma-informed practice.
Learning objectives:
- The manifestation of transferences and countertransferences
- “Use of self” as an approach and yet the challenges and even risks with this approach
- The historical evolution to the understanding of countertransference as a concept
- Overview of Transference Reactions and PTSD
- Overview of Countertransference Reactions - Type 1 & 2
- The benefits and messiness of empathy in the clinical work from a TR/CTR lens
- Empathic Strain including withdrawal, repression, enmeshment, disequilibrium and overidentification
- Power of healthy clinical attachment from a TR/CTR perspective
- Trauma Reenactment Syndrome
- The countertransference “traps” in the treatment of trauma
- Overview of strategies for the helping professional to recognize, contain & heal event counter-transferences
Module 2: Stabilization, trauma assessment, and treatment planning: Structured assessment approaches for PTSD and developing individualized trauma treatment plans.
January 26, 2027 | 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET
This module explores the early phases of trauma treatment, focusing on stabilization strategies, structured trauma assessment, and the development of individualized treatment plans.
Participants will examine the relationship between trauma and addictive behaviours, explore neurobiological responses to trauma exposure, and learn structured methods for assessing trauma-related symptoms including dissociation, avoidance, and somatic responses.
Clinical tools such as traumagram mapping, histogram mapping, and problem list development will be introduced to support case conceptualization and treatment planning.
Learning objectives:
- Addictive behaviours as adaptive responses to trauma
- Where addiction and trauma intersect neurobiologically
- Stabilization of addictive behaviours, and other symptoms as Phase One for trauma work.
- Introduction of the clinical assessment process in trauma treatment
- Introduction of structured assessment tool for symptom severity, degree of dissociation, avoidances, and physical symptoms
- Histogram mapping
- Traumagram mapping
- Pulling it all together to create a case conceptualization/formulation
- Developing the “Problem list” for individualized treatment planning
Module 3: Introduction to polyvagal theory and clinical applications in trauma treatment
February 1 and 2, 2027 | 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET
Day 1 | February 1, 2027: This module introduces polyvagal theory as a framework for understanding the autonomic nervous system’s role in trauma responses.
Participants will explore the three organizing principles of polyvagal theory and examine how adaptive responses to safety, danger, and life-threat shape trauma-related symptoms.
The training will introduce practical ways to integrate polyvagal-informed approaches into the early stages of trauma treatment.
Learning objectives:
- Three organizing principles of polyvagal theory
- Understanding the adaptive response patterns to safety, danger and life-threat
- Applying the three autonomic nervous states of polyvagal theory within the stage one treatment of trauma in practice
- Integrating the polyvagal mapping process into practice
- Applying polyvagal strategies to shift autonomic states
Day 2 | February 2, 2027: Building on the concepts introduced in day one, this session focuses on the practical application of polyvagal-informed therapeutic interventions.
Participants will explore strategies for identifying autonomic nervous system triggers, mapping nervous system responses, and developing resourcing plans to support nervous system regulation.
The module includes practical exercises designed to strengthen ventral vagal functioning and support clients in developing greater physiological regulation.
Learning objectives:
- Mapping out the nervous system
- Exploring triggers to the autonomic nervous system (ANS) triggers
- Developing a resourcing planning for the ANS
- Exercises that strengthen the ventral vagal nerve
Module 4: Working with dissociative parts of the self in trauma therapy: Understanding dissociation and applying ego state approaches to support integration.
February 8, 2027 | 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET
This module explores the role of dissociation in trauma and introduces therapeutic strategies for working with dissociative ego states or “parts.”
Participants will examine how trauma can lead to fragmented aspects of identity and explore the role of phobic reactions between parts of the personality.
The training introduces strategies and therapeutic exercises designed to support integration, inner coherence, emotional regulation, and the development of self-soothing capacities.
Learning objectives:
- Conceptualizing inner states
- Singular vs. split subconscious states
- Dissociation as a division of the personality
- Dissociative parts of personality
- The role of “phobic reactions” within parts
- Understanding the “self-protective” roles of different parts or ego states including shame
- Tools to support relationship with fragmented ego state/parts of one’s inner world, foster a means to integration, inner coherence, regulation, and the capacity for self-soothing
- Treatment interventions for overcoming the phobia of dissociative parts
- Specific interactive strategies and exercises working with ego state parts
Module 5: Schema therapy for trauma and PTSD: Applying schema-based approaches to shift maladaptive coping patterns in trauma recovery.
February 9, 2027 | 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET
This module introduces schema therapy as an approach for understanding and treating trauma-related patterns in PTSD. Participants will explore schema assessment processes, schema model mapping, and therapeutic interventions designed to shift maladaptive coping patterns and strengthen the “healthy adult” mode.
The training includes cognitive and experiential strategies, imagery techniques, and relational interventions that support long-term trauma recovery.
Learning objectives:
- Schema therapy: concept model
- Schema assessment
- Schema model mapping
- Altering behavioural patterns of the child, inner critic, and coping modes.
- Cognitive techniques
- Imagery experiential strategies
- Building the healthy adult mode
- The therapy relationship
Please note: Once the online registration is complete, any modifications to a registration must be done by contacting Mary Anne Van Rooyen via email at mvanrooyen@sickkidscmhlearning.ca
Continuing Education (CE) Information:
SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health Learning Institute is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) to offer continuing education (CE) hours. Full-day programs equal six CE hours; half-day programs equal three CE hours; for less than half-day programs, one hour of programming equals one CE hour. SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health Learning Institute maintains responsibility for the programs.
Other licensing boards and professional organizations will grant continuing education credits for attendance at their own discretion; participants will need to submit the course outline and Certificate of Participation for their consideration.
Accessibility
We strive to ensure our online learning programs are easy for everyone, everywhere. If you have any accessibility requirements (automatic transcripts, closed-captioning, ASL interpreters, advanced access to program materials), please email Mary Anne Van Rooyen at mvanrooyen@sickkidscmhlearning.ca to let us know how we can best support your learning experience.
Photography is being used for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted in the content is a model, except where indicated.
Continuing Education (CE) Information: SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health Learning Institute is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) to offer continuing education (CE) hours. Full-day programs equal six CE hours; half-day programs equal three CE hours; for less than half-day programs, one hour of programming equals one CE hour. SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health Learning Institute maintains responsibility for the programs.
Other licensing boards and professional organizations will grant continuing education credits for attendance at their own discretion; participants will need to submit the course outline and Certificate of Participation for their consideration.