A Trauma-Informed Approach to Caring for Yourself While Caring for Others
In this interactive course, volunteers will learn fundamentals of mental health and wellness, exposure to secondary trauma as a volunteer, and risk and resiliency factors. Facilitators will offer comprehensive
resources for individualized self-care and advocating for collective-care on a macro level, to be utilized in and out of each session.

The course will be facilitated by two mental health professionals and former full time postgraduate volunteers, Christina Jeffords-Rodriguez (Covenant House, 2012-2013) and Maggie Moore (Sixteenth Street Community Health Center, 2014-2015). This course is designed specifically for current volunteers of CVN member programs.

About the Course
Registration
Facilitators
Questions?
Other Courses

About the course

This course will consist of four 90-minute sessions, culminating in a fifth follow-up session to reconnect and share collective wisdom:

  • Session 1: Fundamentals of Mental Health, Putting this Course into Context
    Learning Objective: Introduce the course: How is this topic relevant to service? Define key concepts related to mental well-being.
  • Sessions 2: Exposure to Trauma as a Volunteer
    Learning Objective: Understand the effects of firsthand and secondhand exposure to trauma, and the ways in which traumatic stress impacts the brain, body, and behavior.
  • Session 3: Risk Factors and Resilience
    Learning Objective: Continue to explore your mental health landscape by identifying personal risk factors and “red flags.” Reflect on personal resilience factors, identify coping strategies, and best practices for supporting others in your community
  • Session 4: “Bigger Picture” Approaches to Coping and Sustaining Wellbeing
    Learning Objective: Consider how your mental health is influenced by the systems in your environment, i.e., your volunteer program, your work site, societal values. Explore strategies to advocate for the wellbeing of yourself and others, including communication skills, boundary-setting, and managing expectations.
  • Session 5: Regroup and Reconnect
    Learning Objective: Reconnect after the course to share collective wisdom around self-care and implementation of course concepts. Time and date to be determined by group participants.

Registration

Registration will be open for current volunteers of CVN member programs until Friday, January 22nd. Facilitators will use feedback from the registration form to customize course content to participants' needs, so please register as soon as possible.

Schedule
Course content builds progressively from one session to the next, so participants should plan to attend all four required sessions. Each session will take place on Tuesdays from 8:00-9:30pm EST.

  • Session 1: Tuesday, February 2nd
  • Session 2: Tuesday, February 16th
  • Session 3: Tuesday, March 2nd
  • Session 4: Tuesday, March 16th
  • Session 5:  Optional, TBD

Cost

Cost of course participation is intended to be covered by CVN member programs. Cost is determined by number of volunteers who register for the course per program. CVN will invoice member programs once registration closes, based on the following sliding scale. If volunteers have any questions regarding cost of participation, they should consult their program staff before registering. 

Sliding Scale for CVN Member Programs:

  • 1-10 volunteers registered: $50
  • 11-30 volunteers registered: $75
  • 30+ volunteers registered: $100
Registration Closed

Facilitators

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Christina Jeffords, MA, APCC

Christina Jeffords is a mental health therapist whose work currently supports children and young adults through challenges related to trauma, depression, and anxiety in a community mental health setting. She has specialized training in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills, domestic violence, and mindfulness practices. Prior to her career in mental health, Christina was the Program Coordinator for LMU Ignatian Service Corps where she supported post-graduate volunteers throughout their service year and maintained partnerships with their service sites. Christina is also proud to have served as a post-graduate volunteer for Covenant House Faith Community in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

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Maggie Moore, MA, APCC

Maggie Moore is a bilingual mental health therapist, currently focused on early childhood trauma and its impacts across the lifespan. She has specialized training in Trauma-Informed Care, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Advocacy, and Violence Intervention and Prevention in LGBTQ communities. Maggie has experience facilitating leadership programming for youth in the wilderness setting, and providing training and supervision to college-age staff in youth programs. Maggie is grateful to have served for one year with Americorps Community Healthcorps, providing patient advocacy at Sixteenth Street Community Health Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Questions?

Questions can be directed to Katie Delaney, Manager of Strategic Learning & Evaluation, at kdelaney@catholicvolunteernetwork.org.

upcoming courses

Stay tuned for an upcoming course on racial justice and diversity.