FourC Occupational Trauma

Dates and Times

This is a four-session series. Registration enrolls you in all four sessions, and attendance at all four is required.

• Session 1: Thursday, December 10, 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET
• Session 2: Thursday, January 7, 2027, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET
• Session 3: Thursday, January 21, 2027, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET
• Session 4: Thursday, February 4, 2027, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET

Registration closes December 9, 2026.

CE Credits

7 General Continuing Education Credits available

Content Level

Intermediate

Program Description

FourC Occupational Trauma is a four-session training aimed at improving well-being and building resiliency in the workforce using an evidence-based approach to improving individual and organizational responses to stressful conditions.

This live, interactive training is delivered over Zoom. Each session combines brief instruction with experiential practice, including breathing and mindfulness exercises, guided imagery, reflection and mapping exercises, live polling, small group discussion, and role play.

Target Audience

Social workers and other helping professionals whose work exposes them to trauma indirectly, including those in mental health, health care, child welfare, education, criminal justice, and first response, along with the supervisors and leaders who support them.

Learning Objectives

Across the four sessions of this training, participants will be able to:

1. Apply self-regulation techniques that support emotional processing and attentional control during the peri-traumatic phase.
2. Use cognitive coping strategies to manage intrusive thoughts and reframe unhelpful appraisals in the peri- and post-trauma phases.
3. Identify positive, energy-enhancing workplace supports that improve a worker's relationship to their work.
4. Describe individual and organizational strategies for managing occupational stress, including ways to recognize and marshal personal strengths and resources.

Agenda

Session 1: Calming (December 10)

• Before 11:00 Complete the FourC Calming Assessment
• 11:00 to 12:00 Welcome; overview of the FourC model; Connect to Self
• 12:00 to 12:05 Break
• 12:05 to 12:55 Attention to the Positive, Letting Go, and Making a Work Connection
• 12:55 to 1:00 Course evaluation and sign-out

Session 2: Cognitive Coping (January 7)

• 11:00 to 11:15 Homework check-in, FourC Cognitive Assessment, and the MIND framework
• 11:15 to 11:50 Managing Intrusive Thoughts; Identifying Unhelpful Appraisals
• 11:50 to 12:00 Break
• 12:00 to 12:55 Challenging Unhelpful Appraisals; Noticing, Naming, and Accepting; Determining an Organizational Response
• 12:55 to 1:00 Homework, course evaluation, and sign-out

Session 3: Connections (January 21)

• 11:00 to 11:05 Sign-in and FourC Connections Assessment
• 11:05 to 12:50 Practice check-in; Healthy Help-Seeking; Belonging; Engage with Supervisors; Lowering Exposure While Connecting; Promote Peer Support
• 12:50 to 1:00 Q&A, course evaluation, and sign-out

Session 4: Competency (February 4)

• 11:00 to 11:08 Practice follow-up and Competency pretest
• 11:08 to 12:05 Professional competency; Communication; Problem-Solving
• 12:05 to 12:10 Break
• 12:10 to 12:47 Enhancing Skills through strengths; individualized action plan
• 12:47 to 1:00 Posttest, course evaluation, and sign-out

Presenters

Ginny Sprang, PhD, LCSW, is a tenured professor in the College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry at the University of Kentucky, and executive director of the UK Center on Trauma and Children. She holds the Kay Seely Hoffman Research Professorship. Dr. Sprang is a principal investigator of a Centers for Disease Control funded randomized control trial to prevent child sex trafficking in middle schools. She is also the Principal Investigator of the SAMHSA funded Category II Secondary Traumatic Stress Innovations and Solutions Center. She serves as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Traumatic Stress, the official publication of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Her work involves the creation of translational tools, and the development, testing, and implementation of evidence-based treatments and practices to treat those exposed to direct and indirect traumatic experiences.

Jessica Eslinger, PhD, LCSW is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and a clinician, trainer, and researcher at the Center on Trauma and Children. Dr. Eslinger has over 25 years of clinical experience working with children and their families affected by trauma in community mental health, inpatient, and private practice settings. Her work includes direct clinical services, training, and a broad scope of research related activities, including the development and monitoring of research protocols and the coordination and supervision of data collection. Dr. Eslinger's scholarly work has focused on examining factors that influence evidence-based mental health treatment outcomes, treatment attrition, and secondary traumatic stress.

Alex Clark, MA, MDiv, LMFT is the Project Coordinator for the SAMHSA funded Secondary Traumatic Stress Innovations and Solutions Center (STS-ISC), a category II site of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) (Sprang, PI). In this role, he supports the goals and objectives of the STS-ISC grant related to developing, implementing and testing interventions to address secondary trauma to a variety of organizations, supervisors, resource parents, and other professionals nationwide. Alex is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with clinical experience working with trauma, early childhood, adolescents, adults, couples, and families across various settings including psychiatric residential treatment facilities, outpatient community mental health centers, children's advocacy centers, and private practice settings. Alex earned his Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy and Masters of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary.

Stephanie Gusler, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma and Children. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Medical University of South Carolina where she implemented evidence-based interventions for trauma, including Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). She received her Doctorate in Clinical Child Psychology from the University of Kansas in 2021. Dr. Gusler's work includes providing trauma-informed interventions and training as well as supporting ongoing research such as that of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Innovations and Solutions Center (STS-ISC). Her academic work has focused on examining the effects of trauma on families, including psychopathology, difficulties with emotion regulation, and risk for intergenerational trauma.

Course Completion Requirements

To receive a certificate of completion for 7 CE credits, participants must:

• Register in advance and sign in using the link provided at the start of each session
• Attend all four sessions in full
• Join with your camera on and a working microphone, so that the session stays interactive and participation can be verified
• Participate in the interactive elements of each session, which include live polling, reflective exercises and discussion
• Complete the course evaluation at the end of each session

Assignments: Between sessions, participants may be asked to complete brief practice activities.

Certificates: Certificates are emailed to eligible participants within five business days of the final session.

Technology Requirements

This training is delivered live over Zoom. Participants need a computer, tablet or smartphone with a stable internet connection, a working camera and a working microphone. Cameras stay on, since participation is part of earning credit. Live polling uses Mentimeter, which runs in any web browser or by scanning a QR code shown on screen.

Registration Information

Register: https://bsc.ctac.app/register/be7c237e85fe8096a4a1b8c41b2b671b

Registration deadline: December 9, 2026

Space is limited to 298 participants.

Cost: Due to current grant support, this training is being offered at no cost to participants.

Cancellation policy: Because there is no fee, no refunds apply. Registrants who cannot attend are asked to cancel through the link in their confirmation email, or by contacting Joshua Fisherkeller at jafish0@uky.edu, so that the seat can be offered to someone else. If CTAC has to cancel or reschedule a session, registrants are notified by email of the new date.

Accessibility Accommodations

The University of Kentucky is committed to providing an accessible and inclusive learning environment. Live captioning, materials in alternative formats and other accommodations are available on request. To allow time to arrange them, please contact Joshua Fisherkeller at jafish0@uky.edu or 859-218-6941 at least seven business days before the session.

Grievance Policy

CTAC is committed to resolving concerns about program content, presenters, continuing education credit or administrative matters. Participants who wish to raise a concern should contact Joshua Fisherkeller, Training and Education Manager, at jafish0@uky.edu or 859-218-6941. Concerns are acknowledged within five business days and reviewed with CTAC's social work consultant, who is involved in the resolution of all grievances related to continuing education. Participants who are not satisfied with the outcome may request further review by the Executive Director of the Center on Trauma and Children.

Disclosures

There is no commercial support for this activity, and the presenters do not promote, offer or sell any product or service in connection with this training.

References

• Deblinger, E., Pollio, E., Harrison, J. P., Cooper, B., Martelli, F. L., Schuler, N., & Steer, R. (2026). Refining the PRACTICE course for trauma professionals across organizational roles to enhance well-being and TF-CBT competency. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 19(1), 5–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-025-00787-x
• Holt-Lunstad, J. (2024). Social connection as a critical factor for mental and physical health: Evidence, trends, challenges, and future implications. World Psychiatry, 23(3), 312–332. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.21224
• Sprang, G., & Steckler, Z. (2023). Traumatic stress symptom expression following indirect exposure: A multidisciplinary investigation. Traumatology, 29(2), 224–232. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000386
• Strolin-Goltzman, J., Breslend, N., Hemenway Deaver, A., Wood, V., Woodside-Jiron, H., & Krompf, A. (2024). Moving beyond self-care: Exploring the protective influence of interprofessional collaboration, leadership, and competency on secondary traumatic stress. Traumatology, 30(1), 69–76. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000244
• Vukčević Marković, M., & Živanović, M. (2022). Coping with secondary traumatic stress. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), Article 12881. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912881

See full reference list

Continuing Education Approval

University of Kentucky Center on Trauma and Children, provider #2706, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 8/12/2026 - 8/12/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 7 general continuing education credits.

Kentucky social workers: The Kentucky Board of Social Work accepts continuing education approved by ASWB without further review (201 KAR 23:075, Section 3). Social workers licensed outside Kentucky should verify acceptance with their own licensing board.

Center on Trauma and Children is approved by the Kentucky Board of Examiners of Psychology to offer continuing education for Psychologists.

KY EILA (pending)

Questions?

University of Kentucky Center on Trauma and Children
3470 Blazer Parkway, Lexington, KY 40509
Joshua Fisherkeller, Training and Education Manager
Email: jafish0@uky.edu
Phone: 859-218-6941
Website: ctac.uky.edu/events