As an EFT practitioner, educating yourself about psychological trauma is essential. Some practitioners may be working with clients who are obviously traumatized, such as those who have survived natural disasters, war, or personal tragedies.
In other cases, clients seek the services of practitioners for reasons that seem unrelated to trauma, like sports coaching, relationship support, or financial success coaching. Yet when the powerful techniques of energy psychology are applied to these life areas, trauma is often discovered underneath.
For this reason, it is vital that energy psychology practitioners have an understanding of trauma. This course has been carefully designed to familiarize you with the signs and symptoms of trauma, as well as how it can be addressed. Once you have completed the required reading, you’ll take a quiz to demonstrate your knowledge of the material.
This course is not designed to train you to work with traumatized clients. Instead, it’s designed to provide you with the background information to understand psychological trauma. Once you’ve completed the course, you can then go on to practical hands-on training in working with clients.
The Psychological Trauma Course and Exam is designed to make EFT practitioners aware of the:
– Indications of psychological trauma
– The symptoms of trauma described in the DSM
– The importance of referral to appropriately trained professionals in potential trauma cases
– Psychological coping mechanisms of traumatized individuals
– Neurological correlates of trauma
– Three “Gentle Techniques” used in EFT for trauma
– Indications of the integration of traumatic events into the psyche
– Way the brain processes traumatic memories differently
– Research findings on energy psychology with traumatized populations
The Psychological Trauma Course and the Exam are Based on 2 Books:
1. Psychological Trauma: Healing Its Roots in Body, Mind and Memory.
2. The Clinical EFT Handbook Volume 1 (Chapters 8 – 17)
A. Required chapters from The Clinical EFT Handbook Volume 1 include:
John Arden, PhD, Kaiser Permanente: PTSD, Neurodynamics, and Memory
Willem Lammers, PhD, Logotherapy Institute: Resolving the Frozen Forms of Parents and Children: Energy Treatment Focused on Archaic States and Their Triggers
Fred Gallo, PhD, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center: Energy for Healing Trauma: Energy Psychology and the Efficient Treatment of Trauma and PTSD
Mary Sise, LCSW, Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology: Energy Psychology for Comorbid Complex Trauma
Barbara Stone, PhD, and Lori Leyden, PhD, Project Light: Energy Psychology with Rwandan Orphans.
Carrie McCabe, EFT Global: EFT-Centered Humanitarian Work: Opportunities and Challenges for Nonprofit Organizations
Rob Nelson, MS: The Physiology of Trauma: The “Freeze” Response and the Trauma Capsule
Yves Wauthier-Freymann, PhD, Center for Brief Therapy: The Use of the Affect Bridge in EFT
Alina Frank, EFT Universe: How Childhood Experiences Shape Adult Attachment
Judith Frost, EFT Universe:
Larry Burk, MD: How Childhood Experiences Shape Adult Attachment
Please be very familiar with the material in these books before taking the Psychological Trauma Exam, and have copies of the books nearby when you take the exam.
Link to the Psychological Trauma Exam page.
Supplemental Reading
The following 2 books are very useful as supplemental reading, but their essential content is covered in the 2 other required books, so they are not part of the exam.
1. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk.
2. Treating Psychological Trauma and PTSD edited by John Wilson, Matthew Friedman, & Jacob Lindy.
Recommended chapters from the anthology Treating Psychological Trauma and PTSD include:
– John Wilson, Matthew Friedman, & Jacob Lindy: A Holistic, Organismic Approach to Healing Trauma and PTSD (2)
– Alexander McFarlane: Dual Diagnosis and Treatment of PTSD (10)
– Kathleen Nader: Treatment Methods for Childhood Trauma (12)
– Laurie Harkness & Noka Zador: Treatment of PTSD in Families and Couples (13)
– Jacob Lindy & John Wilson: Respecting the Trauma Membrane: Above All, Do No Harm (17)
Supplemental Audio
Dawson Church and Bessel van der Kolk in Dialog
Learning Objectives of the Psychological Trauma Course
Participants will be able to:
– Name at least two characteristics of traumatizing events.
– Describe what is meant by the term “trauma capsule” and describe two attributes of the capsule.
– List at least 5 of the symptoms of PTSD identified in the DSM-IV.
– Name all three of EFTs Gentle Techniques.
– Describe one difference between traumatic and non-traumatic memories.
– Identify the primary location in the brain responsible for processing fear.
– Identify the adaptive value of dissociation.
– Name at least two demographic groups used in studies of energy psychology for PTSD.
– Identify two or more adult health sequela to childhood trauma.
Time-frame for Completing the Psychological Trauma Course
90 minutes is allotted for the Psychological Trauma Exam with a passing score of 75%.
Any questions or concerns about the exam, including requesting accommodations for individuals with disabilities, please contact us by submitting a support request by clicking here.
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