The need for thorough and accurate assessment of trauma in the lives of children and adolescents has become extremely important for the implementation of appropriate interventions. This article reviews 35 measures, 25 in depth and 10 in brief, that are currently available for use by researchers and practitioners. Instruments were divided into four domains: those that screen for (1) both a history of exposure to traumatic events and the presence of symptoms of trauma; (2) only a history of exposure; (3) symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or Dissociations; and (4) multiple symptoms of trauma (i.e. depressions, anger, sexual concerns, as well as PTSD). Information about the type of instrument, how trauma is constructed, psychometric properties, and practical issues are addressed for each of the 25 measures. A brief analysis is also provided for each measure.

for Child Traumatic StressRecognition of the nationwide high prevalence of psychological trauma in children and adolescents, combined with increasing awareness of the far-reaching adverse consequences of childhood trauma, have led to calls to develop a trauma-informed mental health workforce. We describe the initial pilot test of the Core Concepts portion of the Core Curriculum on Childhood Trauma, as conducted in a large graduate school of social work. The Core Curriculum uses detailed case vignettes of trauma-exposed youth and families, combined with problem-based learning methods, to promote two primary learning aims: (a) to enhance the development of foundational trauma-related conceptual knowledge, and (b) to accelerate the acquisition of trauma-informed clinical reasoning and clinical judgment. Vignettes are presented in segments to simulate gathering, organizing, drawing meaning from, and making decisions based on information in professional practice. After each segment, the facilitator helps learners to summarize relevant facts, develop hunches and hypotheses, identify learning issues, and plan next steps. The Curriculum was very favorably received by students and was associated with marked increases in self-efficacy in applying the Core Concepts to work with trauma-exposed youth and families. We discuss ways in which the Curriculum can be used, especially as a foundation for training in specific evidence-based treatment protocols, to help prepare a national mental health workforce capable of implementing trauma-informed evidence-based practice.

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The high prevalence of trauma exposure in mental health service-seeking populations, combined with advances in evidence-based practice, competency-based training, common-elements research, and adult learning make this an opportune time to train the mental health workforce in trauma competencies. The Core Curriculum on Childhood Trauma (CCCT) utilizes a five-tiered conceptual framework (comprising Empirical Evidence, Core Trauma Concepts, Intervention Objectives, Practice Elements, and Skills), coupled with problem-based learning, to build foundational trauma knowledge and clinical reasoning skills. We present findings from three studies: Study 1 found that social work graduate students' participation in a CCCT course (N = 1,031) was linked to significant pre-post increases in self-reported confidence in applying core trauma concepts to their clinical work. Study 2 found significant pre-post increases in self-reported conceptual readiness (N = 576) and field readiness (N = 303) among social work graduate students participating in a "Gold Standard Plus" educational model that integrated classroom instruction in core trauma concepts, training in evidence-based trauma treatment (EBTT), and implementation of that EBTT in a supervised field placement. Students ranked the core concepts course as an equivalent or greater contributor to field readiness compared to standard EBTT training. Study 3 used qualitative methods to "distill" common elements (35 intervention objectives, 59 practice elements) from 26 manualized trauma interventions. The CCCT is a promising tool for educating "next-generation" evidence-based practitioners who possess competencies needed to implement modularized, individually tailored trauma interventions by strengthening clinical knowledge, clinical reasoning, and familiarity with common elements.

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The social work profession is facing a critical gap in its provision of effective services to an increasingly large number of clients who are affected by trauma. To explore for the presence of common components in evidence-based trauma treatments, a qualitative content analysis of 8 trauma treatment manuals was undertaken. Analysis resulted in the identification of 35 Intervention Objectives and 59 Practice Element codes. These were further organized into nine domains: trauma assessment, safety, engagement, attachment, core treatment interventions, attention to the social context, trauma processing, post trauma growth, and therapist self-care. Future work for the profession may involve synthesizing and integrating what has already been learned, and translating that knowledge into the classroom. Significantly, three domains which stress activities with the client in their social context were found to be common to trauma treatments, including safety promoting activities. Implications for social work education, practice, policy, and research are discussed.

Through this article the authors describe how schools of social work offering a child and adolescent trauma specialization actively partnered with their community-based field placement agencies to achieve a dual purpose: help agencies sustain the capacity for evidence-based trauma treatment (EBTT) and provide sufficient EBTT MSW student field placement sites that support preparation of trauma-informed practitioners by schools of social work. Development and description of the specific conceptual framework used to inform the trauma-informed organizational change initiative is described. Results of an Organizational Readiness assessment undertaken at six agencies reflect a strong alignment between implementation drivers identified in the literature (Fixsen, Blase, Naoom, & Wallace, 2009) and the conceptual framework. The manner in which these results are being used by schools of social work and their agency partners in sustaining the implementation of evidence-based trauma treatment is reviewed, and implications for future research, education, and practice is discussed.