Embark on a transformative learning journey with our 24.15-hour Child Abuse Advocacy Course, pre-approved for accreditation by the National Children's Alliance (NCA).
This intensive program is tailored for professionals and volunteers committed to advocating for the welfare of children who have experienced abuse. Our course is underpinned by trauma-informed and healing-centered approaches, ensuring that every interaction with a child is sensitive to their psychological and emotional needs, fostering resilience, and promoting healing.
Participants will delve into the complexities of child abuse dynamics, exploring the myriad forms of maltreatment and their potential long-term impacts on children's development and well-being. The course strikes a balance between theoretical knowledge and practical application, equipping advocates with the skills to effectively support and empower children and their caretakers through crisis situations and beyond.
This course aims to provide insights into how trauma can affect a child's life and guide participants in developing compassionate and effective strategies for advocacy. By emphasizing a healing-centered framework, we ensure that the course not only educates on the intricacies of the legal and social service systems but also focuses on the holistic recovery and empowerment of the child.
Throughout the course, participants will learn to navigate the multidisciplinary team approach championed by the NCA and will gain a deep understanding of the critical role of child advocacy centers. With a commitment to best practices and ongoing professional development, graduates of this course will emerge as informed and compassionate advocates ready to make a significant difference in the lives of children who have experienced abuse and to contribute to the creation of a more just and caring society.
Raising the Bar on Industry Standards
Professional Wellness and Self-Care
Professional ethics and boundaries
Cultural Safety and Implicit Bias
The physiological response to trauma on the body and brain
Trauma-Informed Services
Dynamics of Child Abuse
Crisis Assessment and Intervention Risk assessment and Safety Planning
Understanding Coordinated Multi-Disciplinary Response
The System
Tangible Case Management
Caregiver Resilience
Instructor: Myra Strand, MA, CA
Myra Strand, MA, CA, is the owner and advocate diplomat of Strand², where she provides training, education, and technical assistance. Her services are available in person, virtually, and on-demand. Since its inception in 2017, Strand² has worked with thousands of responding professionals.
Myra began working with people who live with trauma in 1995. She has experience working with youth who have complex trauma and/or serious mental illness, people with developmental disabilities, youth in competing war zones, offenders, with death notification, and with victims of all crime types. Myra places a special emphasis on holistic health as it relates to organizational trauma.
For nearly 10 years, Myra taught issues of violence, sexuality and applied intersectionality for over a decade at Northern Arizona University and/or Coconino Community College. She has also taught social justice classes in the Detention Center working on issues of violence and healing. She lives in upstate New York with her husband, Russell Strand. She is also a trauma informed yoga instructor and acrylic artist.