Hope for the Heavy Heart: Recognizing and Healing Secondary Traumatic Stress
The ability to professionally care for those impacted by trauma requires compassion, empathy, and skill. These strengths also make us tenderly susceptible to Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS). Come share in a community learning environment where we will acquaint ourselves with what STS is (and is not) as we explore the ways in which holding and witnessing suffering in our work can show up in our personal and professional lives. Using quiet individual reflective opportunities, small group activities, case vignettes and large group learning, we will discuss how to notice STS in ourselves, our colleagues, and our work from a place of both risk and wellness. More importantly, we will consider how to mitigate the impact of STS and find hope amid the suffering.
MN BoSW approved. BBHT approval pending.
After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Recognize signs, symptoms, and risk factors for Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS)
- Understand how culture, race, gender, other identities, lived experiences, systemic oppression, and implicit bias impact STS
- Learn strategies to reduce the impact of STS
- Identify how to support yourself, your team and/or supervisees in safely sharing the emotional experience of trauma work
After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Recognize signs, symptoms, and risk factors for Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS)
- Understand how culture, race, gender, other identities, lived experiences, systemic oppression, and implicit bias impact STS
- Learn strategies to reduce the impact of STS
- Identify how to support yourself, your team and/or supervisees in safely sharing the emotional experience of trauma work
About the Presenter
Katrina Cisneros, LICSW
Katrina Cisneros, LICSW is a full-time Senior Teaching faculty member at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities School of Social Work. She is a bilingual clinical social work practitioner and has expertise in working with chronically stressed individuals and families in a variety of complex practice areas including public child welfare, adoption, youth homelessness, community mental health (both outpatient and in-home) and international humanitarian mental health work. She has provided years of both individual and group clinical supervision and is a consultant, trainer, and speaker. Katrina is on a lifelong journey of unlearning and learning.