The research on trauma, toxic stress, and ACEs prompts a critical examination of social policies including the challenges faced by those who are vulnerable, oppressed and living in poverty.  The Center for Child and Family traumatic Stress has adopted the following definition of Social Justice: Advocating for the needs of marginalized people (sexual, racial, linguistic, neurological, and economic disparities) in the context of individual and cultural diversity. The complexity of these issues makes it important to think of more creative ways to address the social justice problems of our day. The pursuit of social justice is embedded historically in philosophical and ethical foundations. To meet the crucial needs of under resourced people being served in a rapidly changing world, collaborative efforts and creative interventions are necessary. We can actively move from thinking about decreasing trauma and increasing resiliency on only an individual practice level to thinking about building strong communities and supporting policies that increase resilience and prevent trauma collectively. 

 The 7^th Biennial Trauma conference sponsored by the Center for Child and Family Traumatic Stress at Kennedy Krieger Institute aims to bring the voices of mental health providers together to examine how we conceptualize social justice within clinical practice, develop and expand confidence-building and advocacy skills and for employing practice approaches that support social equity and cultural democracy for those impacted by trauma across the lifespan.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES 

• Discuss the complexity of traumatic exposure to social injustice and recovery in children, adults, and families
• Describe effective trauma informed, evidence supported and contemporary interventions that can be used to incorporate a social justice lens in clinical and non clinical settings
• List specific confidence building and advocacy skills that can be used to address issues related to social justice and cultural democracy for those impacted by trauma

WHO SHOULD ATTEND  

Mental Health Professionals, Child Serving Professionals and Paraprofessionals, Criminal Justice Professionals, Faith-Based Providers, Medical and/or Forensic Professionals, Community Service Providers, Military Providers, Members of Community Organizations, Organizational Leaders, Citizens Providing Community Services

CLICK HERE FOR FOR MORE INFORMATION and REGISTRATION