Staying Inside the Window of Tolerance: An Advanced Training on Secondary Traumatic Stress and Resiliency Live Interactive Webinar (Synchronous, delivered via Zoom)

Dates and Times

• Wednesday, November 11, 2026, 10:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. ET. Registration closes November 9, 2026.
• Friday, February 19, 2027, 10:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. ET. Registration closes February 18, 2027.

Both sessions cover the same content. Register for whichever date suits your schedule.

CE Credits

2 General Continuing Education Credits available

Credit is based on 120 minutes of live instruction. The session runs two hours and fifteen minutes to allow for a ten minute break and a five minute evaluation, neither of which counts toward continuing education credit.

Content Level

Intermediate

Program Description

Educators and school personnel hear about violence in students' homes, sit with children in the aftermath of harm, and carry the weight of what they cannot fix. That exposure is indirect, it is cumulative, and it has a name: secondary traumatic stress. This live, interactive webinar introduces secondary traumatic stress as an expected occupational hazard of school-based work, then uses the Window of Tolerance as a practical framework for recognizing dysregulation in yourself and responding to it.

Participants will distinguish secondary traumatic stress from burnout and moral distress, examine the factors that shape individual risk, review individual screening tools and the Secondary Traumatic Stress Informed Organizational Assessment, and practice individual, peer and supervisory strategies for moving back inside the window of tolerance. A case study set in a school and a guided planning exercise close the session, so that participants leave with the beginning of a plan of their own.

The session is interactive throughout. Participants respond to live polling, take part in reflective exercises and discussion, and administer an organizational assessment in real time.

Target Audience

Teachers, school social workers, school counselors, school psychologists, administrators, paraprofessionals, and other school and district personnel who work with students affected by trauma. The session is also appropriate for social workers and mental health professionals who support school communities.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:

1. Enact skills to self-monitor and move inside the window of tolerance when dysregulated
2. Utilize peer and supervisory support strategies to address secondary traumatic stress and build resilience
3. Apply evidence-based strategies to the school or organizational context to improve others' ability to stay inside their window of tolerance
4. Develop an initial secondary traumatic stress action plan for their school or district using data-driven assessment and response strategies

Agenda

• 10:00 to 11:00 Understanding secondary traumatic stress and the Window of Tolerance. What secondary traumatic stress is and why it matters in schools, the sources of indirect exposure educators encounter, signs and symptoms across the four diagnostic domains, how secondary traumatic stress differs from burnout and moral distress, a video segment and large group discussion, and the Window of Tolerance model with a reflective exercise on current challenges.
• 11:00 to 11:10 Break.
• 11:10 to 11:45 Screening and assessment. Considerations for screening in a school setting, individual assessment tools including the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale, the ProQOL and the Moral Distress Scale-Revised, and live administration of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Informed Organizational Assessment followed by organizational reflection.
• 11:45 to 12:10 Response strategies and planning. Individual, peer and supervisory strategies, evidence-based treatments, low impact processing, a school-based case application with small group discussion, and individual action planning.
• 12:10 to 12:15 Course evaluation.

The break and the evaluation are not counted toward continuing education credit. Instructional time totals 120 minutes, and the first 60 minutes are uninterrupted.

Presenter

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.

Course Completion Requirements

To receive a certificate of completion for 2.0 CE credits, participants must:

• Register in advance and sign in using the link provided at the start of the session
• Attend the full 120 minutes of live instruction
• 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 the session, which include live polling, reflective exercises and discussion
• Complete the course evaluation at the end of the session

Attendance verification: Attendance is documented through advance registration and the webinar platform's attendance report, which records each participant's first and last name and the exact times of arrival and departure. Participants who join late or leave early, so that they are present for less than the full 120 minutes of instruction, are not eligible for continuing education credit.

Certificates: Certificates are emailed to eligible participants within five business days of the session, after the evaluation has been received.

Technology Requirements

This session is delivered live over Zoom. Participants need a computer, tablet or smartphone with a stable internet connection, a working camera and a working microphone. Because the session is interactive and participation is part of earning credit, cameras stay on. Participants who cannot meet this requirement should contact the training team before the session so an alternative can be arranged. Live polling is conducted through Mentimeter and can be reached from a web browser on any device or by scanning a QR code shown on screen. A second device is helpful but not required. Participants who need to test their setup in advance may contact the training team using the information at the end of this listing.

Registration Information

Register for the November 11, 2026 session: https://bsc.ctac.app/register/d94ce974a72f68763f67899cae91d951

Register for the February 19, 2027 session: https://bsc.ctac.app/register/94ab557dca7d070ac8e7fc4915e90903

Registration deadline: November 9, 2026 for the November session, and February 18, 2027 for the February session.

Cost: There is no fee for this training and is made available though a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to the Kentucky Department of Education and the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma and Children.

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 and offered a seat at the other 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

This training is funded in part by a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. There is no commercial support for this activity, and the presenter does not promote, offer or sell any product or service in connection with this training. The assessment tools discussed, including the Secondary Traumatic Stress Informed Organizational Assessment, are available at no cost.

References

• Bride, B. E., Robinson, M. M., Yegidis, B., & Figley, C. R. (2004). Development and validation of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale. Research on Social Work Practice, 14(1), 27-35.
• Corrigan, F. M., Fisher, J. J., & Nutt, D. J. (2011). Autonomic dysregulation and the window of tolerance model of the effects of complex emotional trauma. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 25(1), 17-25.
• Hamric, A. B., Borchers, C. T., & Epstein, E. G. (2012). Development and testing of an instrument to measure moral distress in healthcare professionals. AJOB Primary Research, 3(2), 1-9.
• Miller, B. (2021). Reducing secondary traumatic stress: Skills for sustaining a career in the helping professions. Routledge.
• Miller, B., & Sprang, G. (2017). A components-based practice and supervision model for reducing compassion fatigue by affecting clinician experience. Traumatology, 23(2), 153-164.
• National Child Traumatic Stress Network, Secondary Traumatic Stress Collaborative Group. (2018). Using secondary traumatic stress core competencies in trauma-informed supervision. National Center for Child Traumatic Stress.
• Siegel, D. J. (1999). The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are. Guilford Press.
• Sprang, G. (2020). The diagnostic and clinical utility of the secondary traumatic stress clinical algorithm [Conference presentation]. 36th Annual Conference of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.
• Sprang, G., Lei, F., & Bush, H. (2021). Can organizational efforts lead to less secondary traumatic stress? A longitudinal investigation of change. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 91(4), 443.
• Sprang, G., Ross, L., Miller, B. C., Blackshear, K., & Ascienzo, S. (2017). Psychometric properties of the Secondary Traumatic Stress-Informed Organizational Assessment. Traumatology, 23(2), 165.
• Sprang, G., & Steckler, Z. (2023). Traumatic stress symptom expression following indirect exposure: A multidisciplinary investigation. Traumatology, 29(2), 224.
• Stamm, B. H. (2010). The concise ProQOL manual (2nd ed.). ProQOL.org.
• Whitt-Woosley, A., & Sprang, G. (2023). Analysis of implementation drivers of secondary traumatic stress (STS)-informed organizational change and experiences of STS and burnout in child welfare. Child Abuse & Neglect, 141, 106194.

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 2 general continuing education credits.

CTAC is approved by the Kentucky Board of Social Work as a sponsor for continuing education for Social Work (SW# KBSWSP 202536).

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

Educators seeking professional development credit should confirm acceptance with their district or the Kentucky Department of Education before registering.

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