Applying 'Trauma-Informed Care' Concepts to Legal Services Work

Description

Many legal services clients have experienced multiple traumas in their lives. Childhood abuse, loss of a loved one, domestic violence, hunger, exposure to drug-addicted parents, to name just a few. Recent social science has developed a better understanding of the direct impact of trauma on the mental health and overall well-being of those who experience it. Those who work with survivors of trauma have recognized we need to provide “trauma-informed” approaches to people coming for services. This webinar will help you understand what we mean by trauma; its impact on the client; how to offer support to a client experiencing emotional distress; and how lawyers can implement strategies for providing a trauma-informed legal services. Our presenter, Laurie Thompsen, works in the field of Domestic Violence, but the lessons of Trauma-Informed knowledge apply to our work with any client who is a survivor of trauma.
Laurie Thompsen, MSW is the Health & Behavioral Health Coordinator at the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WVCADV). Her work includes training, policy development and assessment, technical assistance and other efforts at local, state and national levels. Thompsen coordinates the WVCADV Behavioral Health and Domestic Violence Initiative and the Health Partnership, both of which foster provision of trauma-sensitive services to people experiencing domestic violence. Ms. Thompsen sits on the WV Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and is on clinical faculty at WVU Behavioral Medicine in Charleston. She is on the Advisory Board for the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma and Mental Health. Laurie Thompsen trains extensively throughout West Virginia and nationally.