I have completed the CCTP (Certified Clinical Trauma Professional) certification, to acquire the base-level certification I demonstrated knowledge of the following principles at a professional level:

History of Trauma

• Identify the events and seminal figures that contributed to the development of the field of traumatic stress.
• Awareness and understanding of major research, treatment interventions, and important literature in the field of traumatic stress.

“Active Ingredients” in Healing Traumatic Stress

• Compare and contrast evidence-based interventions, common factors, and emerging trends for effective treatment of traumatic stress.
• Identify the common factors for healing traumatic stress
• Comprehend the importance of therapeutic relationships and positive expectancy (relational factors) for positive outcomes in treatment.
• Articulate the role of reciprocal inhibition, relaxation, self-regulation, exposure, and narrative in the treatment of traumatic stress.
• Understand concepts and procedures for enhancing therapeutic relationships as method for increasing positive outcomes.
• Appreciate the potential deleterious personal effects associated with treating traumatic stress.

Assessment

• Learn the DSM-V diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder.
• Demonstrate working knowledge of prominent clinical assessment tools and instruments.
• Discern the role of scoring and interpretation of assessment and its application to case conceptualization.
• In-depth understanding of the administration, scoring, and interpretation of the Clinician-Administered PTSD scale (CAPS).

Interviewing

Identify the elements of various interview protocols (e.g., semi-structured interview, mental status exam, PIDIB) as they apply to the treatment of traumatic stress.

Appreciate both the science and the artistry of the interview process with the knowledge that the interview is an intervention.

Safety & Stabilization

• Recognize the importance of the Tri-phasic Model as the standard of care when treating traumatic stress.
• Learn basic psycho-educational components of early treatment of traumatic stress.
• Conceptualize the roles of perceived threat, stress, PNS/SNS, and somatization in the symptoms of traumatic stress and their management.
• Identify the six (6) empirical markers for Phase I of the treatment.
• Develop a procedural understanding of the early intervention and stabilization skills of self-regulation, grounding, containment, and expression.
• Discover the application of the Anti-Regression Protocol as an alternative to hospitalization.

Remembrance & Mourning

• Identify and discuss the effective treatments for traumatic stress
• Comprehend the importance of the Instinctual Trauma Response-its role in the formation and treatment of posttraumatic stress.
• Demonstrate procedural understanding of the use of IATP, LLC Five Narrative Model for Desensitization and Reprocessing of traumatic memories.
• Recognize how common factors/active ingredients are integrated into various models and protocols for the treatment of traumatic stress.
• Understand the importance of mourning in healing symptoms of traumatic stress.
• Identify key activities and rituals for Phase III, the Reconnection Phase of treatment.