ESTSS General Certificate in Psychotraumatology
The ESTSS Board approved the introduction of the ESTSS General Certificate in Psychotraumatology in December 2007.
1. Eligibility
All members of the ESTSS with a mental health or counselling qualification of at least diploma level will be eligible to register for the certificate programme.
2. Registration Process
Members can register for certification for a one-off fee (currently 50 Euros and 20 Euros for lower income countries) payable upon completion of their first qualifying workshop. This fee will cover the administration of the certification process and any costs incurred in assessing the suitability of workshops for approval for the certificate. If you plan to register for the certificate please complete the registration details form in the MembersOnly section of this website and you will be invoiced for the one-off fee when your attendance at your first workshop has been confirmed.
3. Criteria for Certification
In order to receive the ESTSS General Certificate in Psychotraumatology members will have to meet the following criteria:
- Attendance at a one day ESTSS approved introductory workshop to traumatic stress studies.
- Attendance for four full days at other ESTSS approved half-day workshops covering the topics listed at Annex A
- Satisfactory completion of an online assessment for each workshop attended.
- Completion of training log online.
- Completion within three years of attendance at first qualifying workshop.
Convenors of the workshops will confirm attendance of individuals registered for certification. This will be required in order for an individual to be awarded the certificate.
4. Eligible Workshops
The initial topic list is at Annex A. Additional topics can be added to the list if approved by the certification subcommittee. Eligible workshops can be provided by any individual who has been approved as having the necessary qualifications to deliver training by the certification subcommittee. The content of proposed workshops must be approved in advance by the ESTSS certification subcommittee to be eligible. In order to be approved workshops must address the topic learning outcomes listed below and be consistent with the current evidence base and the aims of the ESTSS. If you have a workshop you would like to be considered for approval please e-mail Jonathan Bisson on bissonji@cardiff.ac.uk
5. Confirmed Workshops
13 June 2008 - Early Intervention following Traumatic Events - London
15 June 2008 - Introduction to Traumatic Stress Studies - London
23/24 October 2008 - Psychological Treatment of PTSD - Uppsala
23/24 October 2008 - Neurobiology and Pharmacological Treatment of PTSD - Uppsala
11/12 December 2008 - Introduction to Traumatic Stress Studies - Cardiff
11/12 December 2008 - Disaster Management - Cardiff
11/12 December 2008 - Formulation and Treatment Planning for Psychologically Traumatised Individuals - Cardiff
More information on these workshops in the listing on our Future Events page. »
Annex A - Workshop topic list and learning outcomes
a. Introduction to Traumatic Stress Studies (One Day)
On successful completion of the workshop, students will be able to:
- Describe the range of normal reactions following traumatic events and their natural course.
- Describe problematic reactions following traumatic events including PTSD and other common disorders according to the DSMIV and ICD-10.
- Explain the principles of the theoretical basis of PTSD from neurobiological, psychological and social standpoints.
- Describe the basic epidemiology of traumatic stress disorders
- Explain the principles of an evidence based approach to the prevention and treatment of post traumatic disorders
- Describe an accurate overview of the current evidence base for the prevention and treatment of PTSD.
b. Psychological Treatment of PTSD (Half Day)
On successful completion of the workshop, students will be able to:
- Describe the theoretical basis underlying the commonly used trauma focused psychological treatments including exposure therapy, cognitive therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing and brief eclectic psychotherapy.
- Describe non trauma focused approaches including stress inoculation training, anxiety management, psychodynamic therapy and hypnotherapy.
- Discuss the current evidence base for the effectiveness of psychological treatment approaches for PTSD.
c. Neurobiology and Pharmacological Treatment of PTSD (Half Day)
On successful completion of the workshop, students will be able to:
- Describe the neurobiological theories of PTSD
- Describe the theoretical basis underlying the commonly used pharmacological treatments including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, other antidepressants, anticonvulsants, antipsychotics and benzodiazepines.
- Discuss the current evidence base for the effectiveness of pharmacological treatments for PTSD.
d. Early Intervention following Traumatic Events (Half Day)
On successful completion of the workshop, students will be able to:
- Describe the commonly used approaches to early intervention following traumatic events and the rationale behind them including blanket intervention, targeted interventions and the timing of them.
- Describe specific interventions including critical incident stress debriefing, psychological debriefing, psychological first aid, critical incident stress management, trauma risk management, supportive counselling and trauma focused cognitive behavioural therapy.
- Discuss the current evidence base for the effectiveness of early interventions following traumatic events.
e. Traumatic Stress Reactions in Children and Adolescents (Half Day)
On successful completion of the workshop, students will be able to:
- Describe the normal and pathological reactions that children may experience following traumatic events and their age and developmental specific mechanisms.
- Describe the basic epidemiology of traumatic stress disorders in children and adolescents.
- Discuss the current evidence base for the prevention and treatment of PTSD in children.
f. Treatment of PTSD of PTSD in children and adolescents (Half Day)
On successful completion of the workshop, students will be able to:
- Describe the commonly used psychological and pharmacological treatments with children and adolescents including age-appropriate applications of cognitive behavioural therapy, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing, play therapy, family therapy and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
- Describe the theoretical basis and healing elements of treatments for PTSD in children and adolescents.
- Describe the current evidence base for the effectiveness and underlying mechanisms of the treatment approaches for PTSD in children and adolescents.
g. Treatment of complex PTSD (Half Day)
On successful completion of the workshop, students will be able to:
- Describe the common presentations of complex PTSD sufferers.
- Discuss the theoretical basis as to why alternative management approaches may be beneficial for complex PTSD compared to simple PTSD.
- Describe the current evidence base for the effectiveness of treatments for complex PTSD.
h. Disaster Management (Half Day)
On successful completion of the workshop, students will be able to:
- Describe the principles of developing a multiagency psychosocial care plan to be delivered following a disaster.
- Describe the specific roles of multiple agencies in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, the short, medium and longer terms.
- Describe the current evidence base for the effectiveness of approaches to disaster management.
i. Traumatic Stress and Specific Populations (e.g. refugees and asylum seekers, abuse survivors, military veterans, older people etc) (Half Day)
On successful completion of the workshop, students will be able to:
- Describe presentations following traumatic events in specific populations and differences between them and the general population.
- Describe specific approaches to the management of traumatic stress in specific populations, including phased management and testimony.
- Describe the current evidence base for the effectiveness of management approaches in specific populations.
j. Human Rights Issues and Traumatic Stress (Half Day)
On successful completion of the workshop, students will be able to:
- Describe human rights in the context of traumatic events.
- Describe approaches to ensure the human rights of traumatised individuals are met.
- Describe legislation that protects traumatised individuals' human rights.
k. Community Interventions for Traumatised Populations (Half Day)
On successful completion of the workshop, students will be able to:
- Describe the theoretical basis behind providing community interventions for traumatised populations.
- Describe alternative approaches to providing community interventions for traumatised populations.
- Describe a worked example of a community intervention for a traumatised population.
l. Psychological Treatment of PTSD (specific techniques) (Half Day)
On successful completion of the workshop, students will be able to:
- Describe in detail the theoretical basis underlying a specific evidence based psychological treatment for PTSD (e.g. prolonged exposure therapy, cognitive therapy, cognitive processing therapy, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing and brief eclectic psychotherapy).
- Describe in detail the session by session components and delivery of a specific evidence based psychological treatment for PTSD.
- Discuss in detail the current evidence base for the effectiveness of a specific evidence based psychological treatment for PTSD.
m. Formulation and Treatment Planning for Psychologically Traumatised Individuals (Half Day)
On successful completion of the workshop, students will be able to:
- Describe the essential components of a full assessment of a psychologically traumatised individual.
- Describe the principles of formulation and treatment planning.
- Discuss the importance of understanding an individual's presentation before commencing treatment.