Psychological Trauma PGCert

Do you work in a sector or role where adversity and potentially traumatic events are frequent and want to feel more prepared and able to manage your own response and that of others? Are you an experienced professional working with traumatised individuals and want to enhance or confirm your evidence-based knowledge? Join our diverse community of professionals and learners and enrol for our multiprofessional Postgraduate Certificate in Psychological Trauma.

The PGCert in Psychological Trauma is a Level 7 one-year online course. Evidence-based and evidence-informed knowledge, as well as key current debates, will be explored in lectures but also group activities fostering experiential learning. As all learners enrolling for this course already have experience in the field of trauma, you will learn from both experienced lecturers and your peers. The course is designed so that you integrate what you learn into your professional work and to ensure your ability and confidence in navigating trauma research and practice landscape.

You will be taught in a trauma-informed way, which means that your safety and well-being remain paramount. Most professionals working in the field of trauma are likely to experience trauma themselves in various forms (previous life experiences, vicarious trauma). This is taken into consideration, from induction day to completion. You will always have two tutors during teaching days. You will also have a personal tutor and access to all University support services. Module content and activities will also leave room for personal reflection and self-care.

The underlying philosophy behind the course is an inclusive holistic view of trauma, focusing on the contributions of neurological, psychological and sociological views of psychological trauma throughout. You will be introduced to identified best practice (national and international guidelines) in terms of working with specific traumatised individuals (veterans, survivors of abuse), but also within specific contexts or types of trauma (natural disasters, childhood trauma, interpersonal violence etc.).

The course is designed to do the following: 

• Provide an online intellectual setting within which you can develop an understanding of the appropriate response to psychological trauma, and improve your analytical skills. For instance, some of our past students have published articles.
• Critically examine current research related to post-traumatic stress, post-traumatic stress disorder and dissociation to inform best practice
• Familiarise you with a range of therapeutic approaches to working with psychological trauma, current understanding of the effectiveness of these approaches, as well as current debates (phasic vs non-phasic approach debate)
• Develop skills in managing traumatic incidents focusing on planning and preparedness
• Examine the models of managing traumatic incidents and the different contexts in which these might apply.

The Postgraduate Certificate in Psychological Trauma aims to enhance your critical knowledge and skills in understanding how to work with those who have experienced psychological trauma.

What our learners say (from anonymous module/programme evaluation survey):

• "What I love is how much teaching time we have on this course with the tutors, and that there is most two tutors with us all day. This is a fabulous course."
  
  
• "It worked nicely with two tutors as you knew there was support if needed in such a delicate subject at times, as you could be triggered by your own trauma."
  
  
• "The programme worked so well, I wish I was at the start of learning all over again."