Tangible Strategies for Reducing Burnout and Vicarious Trauma (CE-CERT) Training

This training comes in two variations:

  1. CE-CERT Clinical for licensed behavioral health clinicians and clinical supervisors and
  2. CE-CERT Non-Clinical for those in fields of human services work that do not necessitate clinical licensure who, through their jobs, may be exposed to clients with a history of trauma.

Training Features

  • Target Audience: 
    • Licensed behavioral health clinicians (and those undergoing clinical supervision for licensure),
    • Supervisors, and
    • Other direct client services providers (only eligible for CE-CERT Non-Clinical).
  • Target Treatment Population: clients of all ages who have experienced trauma and/or who have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
  • Clinical Focus: training in a suite of skills designed to support well-being in professionals who are exposed to secondary trauma. 
  • Training Structure:
    • Two 5-hour training days (CE-CERT Clinical only).
    • One three-hour booster training  for clinical supervisors (CE-CERT Clinical only).
    • Three 3-hour training days (CE-CERT Non-Clinical only)
  • Post‑Training Consultation:  Optional bi-monthly to monthly closed group consultation calls for supervisors (CE-CERT Clinical only).
  • Delivery Format: Virtual.

Full Description

Compassion Fatigue. Burnout. Vicarious Trauma. Secondary Trauma. These are terms that overlap and yet are somewhat different. However, all these concepts have one thing in common – they describe the emotional toll exacted upon workers in the human services who deal intensively and empathically with children and adults who are in engaged in an emotional personal struggle. It is a privilege to work in a profession in which caring about those who suffer is the main tool of our work. But caring also takes a toll. Being close to ground zero when people struggle affects the emotional life of those of us who care.

The Tangible Strategies for Reducing Burnout and Vicarious Trauma training follows the Components for Enhancing Clinician Experience and Reducing Trauma (CE-CERT) model, which is designed for professionals who provide trauma services to clients and their supervisors. CE-CERT, is a suite of skills designed to support well-being in professionals who are exposed to secondary trauma. The goal of CE-CERT is not merely to help professionals survive this work. Rather, the goal is to support professionals to have a vocation that is uniquely and deeply satisfying. CE-CERT goes beyond the usual discussion of secondary traumatic stress and burnout to provide specific, practical skills that can be applied to the very real stress that is produced by this work.

CE-CERT foundational principles and skills are covered in a 2-day (Clinical) or 3-day (Non-Clinical) training open to clinicians or other non-clinical services providers who provide trauma services to clients, as well as their supervisors. Additionally, supervisors learn how to incorporate CE-CERT into their supervision model with their supervisees via a one-half day booster training. This training also offers the opportunity for supervisors to attend 6 one-hour small group consultation calls scheduled once to twice per month with the CE-CERT trainer.