What is Project ECHO?
Project ECHO is a collaborative model of education and care management approach that empowers professionals to use evidence and expert mentoring. This Project ECHO series will focus on trauma-informed practices to enhance staff well-being.
The ECHO model uses a telementoring model of learning and skill acquisition to improve access to the specialty-focused expertise needed to address difficult and complex conditions.
This program is being supported by a SAMHSA grant through the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma and Children.
Project ECHO Faculty
Ginny Sprang, Ph.D.
Ginny Sprang, Ph.D., is a 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 is the Principal Investigator of the SAMHSA funded Category II Secondary Traumatic Stress Innovations and Solutions Center, the Category III Child and Adolescent Trauma Treatment and Training Institute, and Chair Emeritus of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Collaborative group. She has or currently holds national leadership positions in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network as a steering committee member and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies Special Interest Group Chair for the Terrorism and Disaster committee. Dr. Sprang has over 125 publications on topics such as child trauma, trauma informed care, the commercial sexual exploitation of minors, implementation and sustainability, disaster response and secondary traumatic stress. 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 these traumatic experiences.
Jessica Eslinger, Ph.D.
Jessica Eslinger, Ph.D., 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.
Stephanie Gusler, Ph.D.
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.
Alex Clark, MDiv, LMFT
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.
Tracy Clemans, PsyD, CSW
Tracy Clemans, PsyD, CSW is the AWARE Project Manager for the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma and Children (CTAC). She received her Masters of Social Work in 2000 and has worked with children and adults in hospital settings, hospice/palliative care, elementary schools, and community mental health. In 2010 Dr. Clemans received her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the American School of Professional Psychology and completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the STRONG STAR PTSD Consortium specializing in the assessment and treatment of traumatic stress, insomnia, and suicidal behaviors. Dr. Clemans managed a randomized control trial examining clinical interventions for reducing suicidal behaviors with military personnel and was a co-investigator on a multi-site study examining suicide prevention screening. Dr. Clemans spent several years researching the impact of trauma, PTSD, and traumatic brain injury on suicidality among Veterans and service members. Dr. Clemans was the Primary Investigator of an international pilot study in Cambodia that examined a modified version of group Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD among adolescent survivors of sexual exploitation. In 2018, Dr. Clemans began working for the Center on Trauma and Children where she provides training to school personnel and educators, community mental health agencies, healthcare organizations, and youth-serving agencies, as well as clinical services for children, parents, and caregivers.