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Three people in a room, two on a couch and one on a chair with a clipboard, possibly in a counseling session.

Supporting an individual during a crisis event may include interacting with family members. It is not unusual for parents and caregivers to demonstrate troubling behaviors, challenging a crisis worker’s ability to respond with empathy. Increased awareness of the neurobiological mechanism of intergenerational trauma can shift a service provider’s perspective and lead to an increased capacity for empathic responding. This training explores how early childhood adversity and stress can impact key neurological systems that regulate stress, reward and relational capacity in the adult caregiver. Participants will learn strategies to develop their empathic responding skills when working with clients' caregivers and family members.

What You'll Learn

After completing this training, participants will be able to...

  • Identify how early childhood adversity and stress can impact brain development and future capacity to regulate stress. 
  • Describe how a caregiver’s history of trauma, adversity and stress can impact parenting capacities and lead to intergenerational cycles of adversity.
  • Recognize the value of empathic responding when interacting with family members in crisis situations. 

What You'll Earn

This training is approved for 2 CE clock hours for counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists, as well as for prevention professionals in domain P6 - professional growth & responsibility and substance use counselors in domain C5 - family dynamics in the state of Ohio.

Additional Information

Development Date: October 2024 

Target Audience: 988 crisis call line staff and other human services professionals

Content Level: Beginner

Training Outline

  • Families and crisis response
    • Participants’ experiences with challenging parent or caregiver behaviors
    • Professionals’ understanding of challenging family member behaviors
  • Intergenerational trauma and brain development
    • Early childhood development of stress & reward and relationship neurobiology
    • Impact of childhood adversity and chronic stress on stress, reward, and relationship neurobiology
    • Parenting responses of adults who experienced early childhood trauma: parental stress response and parental capacity for neural reward
    • Parental reflective functioning
    • Implications for effective parenting
  • Why empathy matters
    • Perspective change can enhance empathy, empathic response and psychological safety, and empathy as a safety cue
    • Strategies to increase empathic responding: calm yourself; listen to understand, not to respond

Presenter

Pamela Scott, PhD, LISW-S

Director of Professional and Clinical Development, The Buckeye Ranch

Pamela "Pam" Scott, PhD, LISW-S, is the director of professional and clinical development for The Buckeye Ranch. She earned both her MSW and Ph.D. in social work from Arizona State University. Prior to entering the social work profession, she worked in early childhood education, focusing on the impact of poverty on early childhood development. At The Buckeye Ranch, she has worked across the agency training supervisors, clinicians and graduate students in clinical work, as well as participating in program development and oversight of the ongoing quality of the services offered to children and families. She currently directs the Professional Development Department, overseeing the professional development of all agency employees. Scott has taught in the social work programs of Arizona State University, Capital University and The Ohio State University. 

Continuing Education Approvals 

The Ohio State University College of Social Work provides approvals for continuing education for counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists that are accepted by the state of Ohio Counselor, Social Work, and Marriage and Family Therapist (CSWMFT) Board.

The Ohio State University College of Social Work has been approved by the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals (CDP) Board as a provider of Continuing Education, approval number: 50-24068.

Certificates & CE Reporting 

CE certificates will be available for download in your learner portal within 1 business day after submitting the evaluation survey.

Hours for those with Ohio licenses that are submitted with the evaluation survey will be reported to CE Broker every 14 days (twice per month). 

⚠️ Note: You may only complete this training once for CE credit. You may revisit the content, but only one certificate will be issued and credit will only be reported to CE Broker one time.

Cancellations, Refunds, Grievances, Accessibility Requests & Learning 

Please visit the Policies section of our website for more information on our processes for cancellations, refunds, grievances, training completions & certificates, participant conduct, and accessibility requests and learning accommodations. 

We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. If you require an accommodation to participate in this training, please contact CSW Accessibility as early as possible and in advance of the training start date by email at csw-accessibility@osu.edu or call 614-688-1657. Requests received at least 14-days prior to the date you plan to begin a training will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the College will make every effort to meet requests that we receive regardless of lead time. 

Contact Us

For questions about the enrollment process, payment options, technology, or training records, please submit an inquiry and our Enrollment Support team will assist you within 24 hours during business days.

Submit an enrollment inquiry

If you have any questions, concerns or feedback about the training content or delivery format, please contact the CSW Office of Continuing Education at cswce@osu.edu. For questions related to the training content, our office will facilitate communication with the training instructor on your behalf and connect you, if applicable. Presenter contact information will be provided within the training for questions, feedback, or comments. 

The Ohio State University, College of Social Work, Office of Continuing Education, 302 Stillman Hall, 1947 College Road, Columbus, OH, 43210.

Phone: (614) 292-3032

Email: cswce@osu.edu 

Website: csw.osu.edu/continuing-education/  

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Enroll Now - Select a section to enroll in
Section Title
Intergenerational Trauma: Building a Case for an Empathic Response to Caregivers & Family
Type
Online
Dates
Jul 01, 2025 to Mar 31, 2026
Delivery Options
Course Fee(s)
Free Course $0.00
Drop Request Deadline
No drop request allowed after enrollment
Transfer Request Deadline
No transfer request allowed after enrollment
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