PHILADELPHIA, PA – Chestnut Hill College will host training for The Soldiers Project on “Compassion Fatigue, Vicarious Traumatization, and Self Care for Mental Health Professionals” on Thursday, March 21 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the East Parlor, St. Joseph Hall.
Nadine Bean, Ph.D., LCSW, associate professor of social work at West Chester University and Jocelyn Spencer Sagrati, LSW, CYT will present the training. Bean is a disaster mental health services volunteer with the American Red Cross and has served during several disasters, including Hurricane Katrina. She is also a trainer for the Red Cross in psychological first aid for military families and was president of the NASW-PA (National Association of Social Workers for Pennsylvania) Chapter from 2005 to 2007.Jocelyn Spencer Sagrati, LSW, CYT is a licensed social worker who utilizes a strengths-based, empowerment approach to therapy that incorporates mindfulness and yoga breathing techniques into clinical interventions for traumatized individuals.
The training is open to social workers, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors and those in the medical field. CEU credits are available for psychologist in addition to CEU’s for social workers, marriage and family therapists and professional counselors.
The training will discuss the latest research findings on the neuro-psychological and socio-emotional manifestations of compassion fatigue and vicarious traumatization. Participants will learn how to recognize the signs that one might be struggling with compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatization, or secondary traumatic stress disorder. Various self-care techniques will be explored for mitigating the effects of compassion fatigue and vicarious traumatization.
The Soldiers Project was started in 2004 by psychiatrist Judith T. Broder, M.D., who believed that it was her professional obligation to help returning troops and their families to manage the myriad of war-related mental health issues. In conjunction with the Ernest S. Lawrence Trauma Center in Los Angeles, they jointly started a program to help veterans. The program provides free care for service men and women and their families. Now nearly five years since its inception, The Soldiers Project in the Southern California area alone has more than 200 volunteer clinicians with over 400 in the entire country.
Registration is required at least two weeks in advance for all members and guests who plan to attend the workshop. Please email Sister Nancy DeCesare, IHM, Ph.D., associate professor of human services, at decesaren@chc.edu to register and to receive CEU credits for the training. CEU credits are free for members of The Soldier’s Project, and there will be a $25.00 charge for CEU’s for non-members. Checks should be made payable to Chestnut Hill College.
