Registration Is Open

Level I training is offered twice a year: September-December (Fall Series) and March-June (Spring Series).

Level I will take place during spring 2023 online and in real-time on Zoom.

  • Login to Zoom at 8:30 am (ET).
  • Classes held from 8:45 am (ET) through 4:15 pm (ET).

The online training offers you an interactive experience to ask Lisa questions, participate in breakout rooms, and contribute to the semester’s content for which you will receive Category I CEUs.

Class recordings will be offered in the event that you miss an in-person class. 

You must watch the class recording and pass a brief multiple-choice exam for each live, real-time session you miss, for which you’ll receive Category II CEUs. *

Fall 2023 Level I Schedule

PART I: Understanding Trauma and its Reverberating Effects

Wednesday, March 1; Monday, March 13; Friday, March 31

Part II: Creatively and Effectively Treating Trauma

Tuesday, April 18; Friday, April 28; Tuesday, May 16

May 16 will cover: The Pharmacological and Non-Pharmacological Treatment of Anxiety and Depression

Part III: Trauma and the Therapeutic Alliance

Thursday, June 8; Wednesday, June 21; Friday, June 30

June 30 will also include: Ethics, Reporting, Deviations in the Standard Care and Termination (3 Ethics CEUs)

* You must participate in all nine classes to receive your final certificate at the end of the semester. You must also pass a final, open-book multiple-choice exam given to ALL participants the week between the 8th and 9th classes.

Program Cost

The cost for the entire training is $2,300, which includes a $50 NON-REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT to secure your spot. A minimum of $50 must be paid upon registration. The balance due will be automatically debited from your credit card in three installments on the following dates:

Wednesday, February 22 – $750

Tuesday, April 11 – $750

Thursday, June 1 – $750

  • PLEASE NOTE: If you register after Wednesday, February 22, you must make a minimum payment of $800, which is equal to your $50 deposit and the first $750 installment.
  • Individuals signing up for the training must pay by credit card. The three installment payments will then be automatically debited from your card on the dates listed above. If you intend to use a different credit card for any of the installments, you must contact us prior to the payment date.

Agencies that register staff may:

  • Register as a Group (see instructions on the registration form)
  • Pay by credit card or check made payable to The Ferentz Institute
  • Pay in full at registration or by the first class or by the three installment dates listed above

For agencies that split the tuition with their staff, the agency is ultimately responsible for all registrant balances not paid in full by the third installment date.

The cost of the training includes:

  • All handout materials — emailed to participants several days prior to each class
  • CEU certificates after each part of the training
  • Final certificate upon completion of the program
  • Access to all recorded sessions through Friday, July 7

Take the next step. Register today!

Cancelation Policy

Participants who wish to withdraw from the Level I training must notify The Ferentz Institute in writing via email or U.S. Postal Service.

Participants who withdraw from the program prior to the date of an installment payment (see Program Cost) will not be charged that payment or any subsequent payments.

Installment payments will not be refunded after they are charged to a participant. If a participant needs to drop out of the program at any time after it begins, he or she can use the payment, or payments, towards future attendance in the Level I or II program and will be guaranteed a seat. The participant will then be obligated to pay any outstanding installment payments not paid during the session from which he or she originally withdrew.

Learning Opportunities

Clinical social workers and other mental health professionals will gain an in-depth understanding of the myriad dynamics related to trauma and its reverberating effect on clients’ cognitions, affect, social functioning, and behavioral choices. The philosophical underpinning of the program is a depathologized, strengths-based approach to the assessment and treatment of adolescent and adult survivors of trauma, abuse, and neglect.

Symptoms will be reframed as inevitable, creative coping strategies that “make sense” when put into the historical context of trauma or a dysfunctional family-of-origin. Practitioners will learn many creative, effective, and empathic ways to help clients reclaim a sense of healthy empowerment, achieve a much higher level of functioning, and integrate the resources necessary for genuine healing.

Additionally, practitioners will explore issues of counter-transference and vicarious traumatization and will learn how to engage in self-care, enhance boundaries, and work in ways that improve efficacy and reduce professional burn-out.

The Certificate Program will also explore the challenges of tele-therapy and how to navigate safe, trauma-informed care while staying mindful of the inherent limitations of online therapy. Issues including privacy, boundaries, self-disclosure, Zoom fatigue, a lack of attunement and energetic connection will be explored. If dynamics related to the Pandemic are still impacting our communities we will also address the triggers that are specific to traumatized clients.

Methodology

All classes will be held on Zoom.us, live and real-time. Participants will receive Category I CEUs for all content. Participants will learn on both didactic and experiential levels. PowerPoint slides and handouts will be e-mailed in advance. Videotapes, experiential art and writing exercises, and a wide range of case presentations will all be incorporated into the program, thus accommodating a variety of learning styles.

CEUs, Requirements, and Registration

The certificate Program is comprised of 54 Category 1 Continuing Education Units (CEUs). This also includes three credit hours in Ethics, which can be used to meet the mandatory requirement in Ethics training.

This program has been approved by the Board of Social Work Examiners, the Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists, and the Board of Examiners for Psychologists in Maryland. Reciprocal approval is also granted to all mental health professionals in Washington D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Texas.

Participants who work in states other than those noted above will receive a Certificate of Attendance unless they can substantiate that they’re state of licensure will offer reciprocity as well.

Participants must have an MSW, or a comparable clinical degree, or currently be enrolled in graduate school, pursuing a clinical degree. The program is also open to professionals who interface with traumatized clients, including: victim advocates, clergy, and police officers.

In order to receive the Certificate in Advanced Trauma Treatment:

  • Participants must attend all nine classes on the indicated training dates or view recordings of missed classes and pass a multiple-choice exam related to each class’s content by Friday, July 7. Category I CEU’s will be given for each live real-time class. Category II CEU’s will be given for each recorded session. 
  • ALL participants are required to pass an open book, untimed, multiple choice exam that is administered online.