
Trauma is difficult to understand. It can’t be viewed narrowly but must be understood broadly and take into account biological, psychological, interpersonal, community, and societal factors. In this lecture, we’ll explore several definitions and key concepts of trauma.
Emotional and psychological trauma isn’t as cut and dry as we once thought. In this lecture, we will highlight the objectives for this course.
Several definitions of trauma exist. Trauma can be described as any event that overwhelms a person’s capacity to cope and has long-lasting impact. In this lecture, you will learn about the many types of situations and events that are traumatic.
Trauma affects our bodies and physiology in a number of ways. In this lecture, we will explore several systems of the body and uncover the effects of trauma.
One of the most important and significant ways to be Trauma-informed is to have an understanding of the signs and symptoms of trauma. In this lesson, we’ll explore the signs and symptoms of trauma as well as an understanding of the reactions and responses to trauma by a victim.
ACE stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences. In this lesson, we’ll examine the ground-breaking ACE study and explore how adverse childhood traumatic experiences affect health later in life.
In this lecture we will explore the groundbreaking Adverse Childhood Experiences study.
In this lecture we’ll introduce you to the concept of Trauma-Informed Care. In healthcare and human services settings, emotional and psychological trauma often goes unnoticed, ignored, or unaddressed. Providing trauma-informed care is powerful and can set an individual on a path toward healing from past traumatic experiences.
In this lecture, we’ll explore the 6 fundamental principles of Trauma-Informed Care.
In this lecture, we’ll explore the 10 implementation domains of Trauma-Informed Care.
Caring, appropriate, and empathic responses to those who share their past traumatic experiences can be beneficial and healing to the victim. In this lecture, we’ll help you be supportive, encouraging, and compassionate during trauma disclosures.
In this lecture, we’ll condense and highlight the important points so that you can effectively implement Trauma-Informed Care in your practice.
One of the most important tasks you have to accomplish in helping a trauma victim is to manage your own trauma and stress. In this lecture, we’ll explore vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion fatigue.
In this lecture we’ll review the concepts learned. Understanding trauma and its impact on lives and society as a whole is perhaps our generation’s new germ theory. It is up to us to share the information about this public health concern of trauma.
Have you ever wondered why someone reacted the way they did — and it just didn't seem to fit the situation?
Trauma doesn't always look like what we expect. It can hide behind anger, silence, people-pleasing, or a "that's fine, I'm fine" that isn't fine at all. And when we don't understand what we're looking at, it's easy to ask the wrong question: "What is wrong with this person?" — instead of the one that actually opens the door to healing: "What might have happened to this person?"
That single shift in perspective is what this course is built around.
I'm a registered nurse with more than 20 years in emergency and trauma care, and in that time I watched people who were already hurting get hurt again — not by bad people, but by good people who simply didn't understand trauma. This course is what I wish every nurse, teacher, parent, manager, and friend had been taught a long time ago.
In this course, you'll learn how to:
Recognize what trauma actually is, and the many forms it can take
Understand how trauma reshapes the brain, body, and stress response — sometimes for years afterward
Understand the landmark ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) Study, and why it changed how we think about health
Apply the core principles of trauma-informed care in everyday interactions
Recognize what retraumatization looks like — and how to avoid causing it, even by accident
Know what to say (and what never to say) when someone trusts you with their story
Protect your own heart: recognize compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma before they take over
This course is for you if you're:
A parent, caregiver, or family member trying to understand someone you love
A nurse, social worker, teacher, first responder, or service professional who works with people every day
Someone who has experienced trauma yourself and wants to understand your own story more clearly
Anyone who wants to become a safer, more compassionate presence in someone else's life
No clinical background is required — just an open mind and a willingness to see people differently. Healthcare professionals can also apply the concepts here toward continuing education requirements.
Join over 5,600 students (4.7★ average rating) who've taken this course and come away seeing the people in their lives — and themselves — with new understanding.