Effective Providers for Child Victims of Violence

The American Psychological Association’s Violence Prevention Office (VPO) received a grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime to develop the Effective Providers for Child Victims of Violence initiative, a national training program to increase victim service providers’ capacity to serve children and adolescents exposed to violence.

The EP Program’s objective is to increase mental health providers’ awareness and knowledge of the impact of victimization and trauma on children and adolescents and to help develop their skills for providing effective trauma-focused, family-centered, culturally sensitive, developmentally appropriate, evidence-based assessments and treatments.

By assembling the most effective and widely used trauma-focused, evidence-based assessments and treatments for use with victimized children and adolescents, the EP Program helps to reduce the burdens on busy mental health practitioners by offering them a simplified training package aimed to help them become more effective in building resilience and facilitating recovery. Our training provides mental health professionals across the service spectrum with the best available science on violence, victimization, and trauma’s impact on children and adolescents; practical strategies for selecting effective trauma-focused assessments and treatments; and user-friendly resources for accessing technical assistance and in-depth training on evidence-based treatment programs.

In conjunction with the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC), Childhelp, and the Office of Continuing Education in Psychology, VPO will offer nationwide training and APA-approved CE credits via in-person workshops, an online classroom and a training DVD.

Phoenix, AZ

February 3 & 4, 2012
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
Childhelp Children’s Center
2346 North Central Avenue

Phoenix, AZ 85004

T (602) 271-4500
Fee: only $45 (optional CE fee)
Enrollment Limit: 25
Application Deadline: January 20, 2012

Washington, DC

February 10 & 11, 2012
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
APA Headquarters
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
T (202) 336-5957
Fee: only $45 (optional CE fee)
Enrollment Limit: 25
Application Deadline: January 20, 2012

Chicago, IL

March 16 & 17, 2012 
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Argosy University Chicago
225 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60601
T (312) 777-7600
Fee: only $45 (optional CE fee)
Enrollment Limit: 25
Application Deadline: February 29, 2012

**Due to new restrictions regarding the use of grant funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice, lunch and refreshments will NOT be provided. Attendees are welcome to bring their own food for the mid-morning and afternoon breaks. In addition, attendees will take a one-hour lunch break.

The 2-day workshop will prepare mental health professionals to become EP Trainers and expand their professional opportunities by disseminating evidence-based, trauma-focused assessment tools and treatments for child and adolescent victims of violence. Participants will receive a simplified package of information that includes the current research findings on the impact of violence, victimization, and trauma on children and adolescents; an overview of innovative trauma-focused interventions and assessment tools; and user-friendly training and technical assistance resources. Benefits include income potential from workshop revenue, training materials, and an instructive DVD with links to embedded and online resources. In addition:

A) Participants will learn how to disseminate the EP program curriculum, including:

• Overview of five evidence-based treatment programs

• Overview of six validated trauma assessment tools

• An integrated family-centered, culturally sensitive, multidisciplinary treatment approach

B) Participants will learn effective strategies for:

• Organizing a workshop

• Teaching diverse professionals

• Community and professional collaboration

• Fundraising

• Marketing and recruiting

• Coordinating APA-approved CE credit certificates

Michael de Arellano, PhD

Professor and Licensed Clinical Psychologist 

National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center (NCVC), Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina

Dr. Michael de Arellano is a Professor and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center (NCVC), Department of Psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1996 with a degree in Clinical Psychology, and he completed an NIMH-Funded post-doctoral fellowship in Violence and Traumatic Stress Research at the NCVC. Dr. de Arellano's clinical work and research focus on developing and evaluating treatment services for child victims of traumatic events from traditionally underserved population groups (e.g., rural, economically disadvantaged, Latino, African-American). He is the director and founder of the NCVC Hispanic Outreach Program - Esperanza (HOPE) and the Community Outreach Program - Esperanza (COPE) Clinics, which provide community-based clinical services, advocacy, and intensive case management to underserved children and families who have been victimized by crime or other traumatic events. His research and clinical work also have focused on evaluating and adapting evidence-based interventions for use with Latino child victims of traumatic events.

Roy Van Tassell, MS, LPC

Clinical Supervisor and Trauma Specialist
Child Trauma Center, Family & Children’s Services
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Roy Van Tassell is a Clinical Supervisor for the Child Abuse and Trauma Services programs at Family & Children’s Services, which is a National Child Traumatic Stress Network Partner. He is also the agency’s trauma specialist. He has a Master’s in counseling from OSU and is an LPC licensure supervisor. He has a diverse background over the past 30 years, having worked with all ages from children to seniors in multiple settings. Van Tassell provides on-going F&CS staff trainings, consultation, and clinical supervision and treatment services for clients exposed to trauma. He provides local, state and national trainings and is a national trainer for trauma- focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT). Most recently, he was a faculty member for the Southern Regional Child Advocacy Center Learning Collaborative for TF-CBT. He is a trainer and consultant for TF-CBT in collaboration with the University of Oklahoma, for Therapeutic Foster Care contract providers in Oklahoma sponsored by the State of Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

• Experience with victimized children/adolescents and their families;

• Experience in conducting training for adult learners; and

• Organizational support to disseminate the EP Program in their localities. 

• Anthony Mannarino, PhD

  Director of the Allegheny General Hospital Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Michael de Arellano, PhD
  Professor and Licensed Clinical Psychologist 

  National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina

• Roy Van Tassell, MS, LPC
  Clinical Supervisor and Trauma Specialist
  Child Trauma Center, Family & Children’s Services
  Tulsa, Oklahoma

American Psychological Association

Founded in 1892, the American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's worldwide membership is nearly 160,000 researchers, practitioners, educators and consultants in business and industry.

For nearly half a century, psychologists have been at the forefront of research on aggression, violence, child development, and the relationship between psychological and social factors and behavior change. The Association has undertaken a number of projects designed to support research in the area of violence prevention and to bring what is learned in this research to a broad audience. These projects include books, monographs, special editions of scholarly journals, public information materials and developing and evaluating training programs on such issues as family violence, youth violence, violence against women and violence in the workplace.

Violence Prevention Office

Who We Are

This area of Public Interest Directorate is responsible for disseminating research-based knowledge and information on violence and injury prevention. It is the coordination point for the Effective Providers for Child Victims of Violence and ACT Parents Raising Safe Kids programs. We also work to integrate different approaches on violence in the family.

What We Do

We train and provide technical assistance and materials to professionals and community-based organizations to implement our programs. In addition, we develop publications and provide information and resources to professionals, policy makers and the general public on violence prevention issues.

National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC) & Childhelp

APA has partnered with the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC) and Childhelp to capitalize on their experience and capacity to reach out to thousands of professionals who are experts on children and youth victimized by violence, and to ensure that it meets the needs of victim service providers.

NCVC is the nation’s leading agency providing resources and advocacy for victims of violence and those who provide services to them.

Childhelp is a leading national non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of violence and abuse; its focus is on treatment, prevention and community outreach.

NCVC and Childhelp are involved with the development and implementation of the Effective Providers for Child Victims of Violence national training plan, training curriculum, and training materials.  In addition, they are collaborating with APA’s Violence Prevention Office to organize in-person workshops in communities nationwide. Their missions, longstanding experience working on behalf of victims and service providers, and commitment to partnerships that allow them to reach more victims and providers make them APA’s natural partners for this program.

Office of Continuing Education in Psychology

The Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP) offers a wide range of continuing professional education opportunities for psychologists. This office works with the Continuing Education Committee (CEC) which is responsible for overseeing the review and approval of CE Workshops and sessions at the annual convention. In addition, the CEP Office develops a variety of Independent Study programs, offers in-house workshops, and co-sponsors a range of other workshops, seminars and conferences for CE credit.

This workshop has been reviewed and approved by the APA Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP) to offer continuing education (CE) credits to psychologists. The APA CEP maintains responsibility for the content of the program.

This website is funded in part through grant number 2010-VF-GX-K008, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, policies, and any services or tools provided).