School of Social Work Co-Hosts Training Session

The University of Southern Mississippi School of Social Work and the Gulf Region Health Outreach Program (GRHOP) co-hosted a two-day training on Integrated Treatment of Complex Trauma for Adolescents (ITCT-A) on Oct. 23-24.

More than 100 licensed social workers, field instructors and graduate students attended and received advanced clinical training. “The training strengthens and extends the skills of our field instructors, helping our School and helping clients,” said Dr. Tim Rehner, director of the School of Social Work.

The session, held at the Fleming Education Center on the University's Gulf Park campus, was led by Dr. Cheryl Lanktree. She is the developer of the Integrated Treatment of Complex Trauma and a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Southern California. Lanktree specializes in psychological trauma and loss in adults, adolescents and children.

The training was funded by a grant from the Mental and Behavior Health Capacity Project. This project falls under the umbrella of the Gulf Region Health Outreach Program (GRHOP) that resulted from the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster. One goal of the project is to integrate primary care, mental and behavioral interventions.

Lanktree integrated issues relevant to Mississippi including chronic illness and disaster.

“Dr. Lanktree did a great job relating trauma to issues that social workers face every day in their jobs. I hope that this training will help clinicians be more effective in their day to day work with clients,” said Rehner.

For more information about the School of Social Work, visit: http://www.usm.edu/social-work.