Certificate in trauma counselling for mental health professionals: Level 1 trauma training

Strengthen assessment, intervention, and resilience strategies for trauma-informed care.

Our November 2026 cohort is now underway. Registration is now open for our next Certificate in trauma counselling for mental health professionals: Level 1, beginning April 12, 2027. Explore the upcoming program and registration details below.

This six-day certificate program explores the biopsychosocial impacts of trauma and strengthens mental health professionals’ ability to assess and respond ethically and appropriately to adults who have experienced traumatic events.

The trauma issues experienced by adult clients/consumers may include: early childhood trauma, violent crime, domestic violence, sexual assault and chronic and terminal illness. This trauma training will examine how workers and organizations are affected by and respond to working with traumatized individuals and develop trauma-informed approaches to work that enhance personal and professional resilience.

The program is facilitated by Natalie Zlodre Choy, MSW, RSW, Director of Community Resources and Initiatives, a Toronto-based trauma-informed consulting firm. Natalie provides clinical consultation and supervision to mental health professionals and organizations, with a focus on acute, complex and developmental trauma. Having delivered hundreds of presentations nationally and internationally, she brings a strengths-based, practice-informed perspective that connects trauma theory with clinical application.

Program overview and clinical focus by day:

Below is an overview of the daily structure and key clinical themes explored throughout the training.

Day 1: Neurobiology of Trauma

This session explores trauma reactions, how perceptions of near-death experiences contribute to PTSD, and how to distinguish trauma memories from relived experiences.

Day 2: Reactions to Traumatic Experiences

Participants will examine sensory triggers, state-dependent recall, emotional flashbacks and how coping mechanisms can contribute to traumatic reenactments. The session also explores dissociation and its role in maintaining trauma responses.

Day 3: Trauma Risk Factors and Flashback Management

This session explores three strategies for processing trauma imagery and approaches to addressing five cognitive stuck points, including guilt and shame.

Day 4: Trauma Stress Reactions and Bereavement, Link Between Childhood Trauma and Attachment Styles

This session explores traumatic bereavement, the intersection of grief and trauma, complex PTSD and developmental trauma, including the relationship between childhood trauma and attachment styles.

Day 5: Core Characterological Impacts of Chronic Trauma

Understand the impact of unmet childhood needs, attachment styles, rigid coping mechanisms and developmental arrests. Explore the relationship between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and developmental trauma, and review commonly used trauma assessment tools.

Day 6: Effective Treatments for Single Incident Trauma and Complex and Developmental Trauma

Review effective rapid PTSD treatment modalities and treatment approaches for complex and developmental trauma. Explore four pathways to maintain and enhance resilience among mental health professionals working with vulnerable populations.

Learning objectives:

Identify Reactions to Trauma

Participants will learn to identify and understand the range of reactions traumatized individuals may experience. These may include:

• Acute PTSD
• PTSD
• Grief and bereavement reactions
• Complex trauma
• Developmental trauma
• Chronic frustration and misery
• Dissociative reactions
• Anxious and disorganized attachment patterns

Assess Trauma Impacts

Participants will learn key questions to ask clients in both acute and complex situations to assess trauma responses and guide appropriate clinical interventions.

Explore Trauma-Informed Intervention Strategies

Participants will explore strategies that support adaptive coping and help clients address trauma-related difficulties, including:

• Hypo/hyperarousal
• Affect and sleep dysregulation
• Intrusive imagery, flashbacks, and nightmares
• Guilt, shame, and blame
• Client paralysis and therapeutic impasses

Treatment Objectives by Trauma Type

For individuals with single-incident trauma, the objective is to return to baseline functioning using psychoeducation and symptom management.

For clients with complex or developmental trauma, the goal is to address entrenched, maladaptive patterns by clarifying their origin and manifestations, and applying a systematic process to shift core belief systems and schemas.

Strengthen your ability to assess and respond to trauma with greater confidence. Explore the April 2027 certificate program and register now.

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