Technical Assistance and Training

TA and Training Overview
Meet the Trainers
How to Apply for TA and Training

In order to facilitate trauma-informed services that support trauma survivors and consumers through the healing process, NCTIC offers free or low-cost trauma training and coordinates technical assistance to publicly-funded health and human service systems and programs in the United States.

This trauma training is focused on developing a commitment to change within organizations, programs, and service providers from a traditional management orientation to a trauma-informed philosophy of management. This new philosophy extends through the provision of trauma services, relationships with consumers and survivors, and relationships with allied providers in other human services agencies. This commitment of trauma-informed care further involves the adoption of universal trauma screening practices, trauma-sensitive training and education of staff at all levels, and a review and revision of existing agency or program policies and procedures to help the system become trauma-informed.

The goal is to develop a sensitivity to the centrality of trauma and its ongoing role in the lives of consumers and survivors seeking services. Trauma-informed management is important not only in providing effective services, but also to ensure that survivors and consumers are not further traumatized in their efforts to break out of the isolation of trauma and move ahead in the healing process.

A trauma-informed approach is based on the recognition that the symptoms expressed by survivors and consumers are directly related to traumatic experiences and often precipitate or cause a wide variety of problems that need to be addressed across the public health spectrum. Whether in mental health, primary health care, substance abuse, criminal justice, victim assistance, peer support, education, vocational rehabilitation, child welfare, or other types of publicly-funded systems and programs, NCTIC tailors its training and technical assistance to support your organization in taking this important step forward. NCTIC also provides implementation support and other related resources to assist your organization in integrating trauma-informed concepts and trauma-specific interventions into agency or program management in a productive and sustainable manner.

With a better collective understanding of trauma, more survivors and consumers will find their path to healing and wellness. And with a greater public commitment to trauma-informed programs and systems for survivors, we lessen and prevent a wide range of health, behavioral health, and social problems for generations to come.

Back to the top

Wanda Finch
Joan Gillece
Jenny Howes
Kevin Huckshorn
Ruta Mazelis
Jacki McKinney

Back to the top

CMHS’s National Center for Trauma Informed Care (NCTIC) offers free or low-cost technical assistance and training to publicly-funded health and human service systems and programs in the United States. Technical Assistance (TA) is available from NCTIC through the National Technical Assistance Center for State Mental Health Planning (NTAC) to support improvement in planning, delivering, and evaluating trauma-informed care services. Technical assistance includes local and regional training events, speakers for presentations at national conferences (see also Speakers Bureau), and linkage to resources (see also Resources). Typically, on-site technical assistance consists of 1-2 days of expert consultation in trauma-informed care working with the State Mental Health Agency. If funds are available, follow-up to on-site technical assistance may also be available.

Application Requirements

NCTIC requests that applicants submit a letter of no more than two (2) single-spaced pages, signed by the State Mental Health Agency (SMHA) director and including the following information:

• Name, title, address, phone, fax, e-mail numbers of contact person for TA request;
• Systems issue(s) to be addressed and immediacy of need;
• Type of TA requested (e.g., on-site consultation, local/regional training event, training subsidy);
• Participation of key stakeholders (e.g., SMHA staff, consumers, families, and state planning and advisory council members);
• Anticipated outcome(s) (see Guidelines for TIC Planning (PDF));
• Plan for how agency will implement lessons learned from TA;
• Number of people to be trained;
• Any previous TA on this issue and its impact;
• Readiness of the agency to support or match NCTIC resources; and
• Description of how this request for TA relates to the state mental health plan and/or planning process.

Application Deadlines

Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a continuing basis. Whenever possible, applicants will be notified of results within 60 days of receipt of application. NCTIC reserves the option to offer regional training/technical assistance in lieu of individual state TA.

Selection Criteria

Selection is based on:

• Potential of technical assistance to have a positive impact on the issue(s);
• Immediacy of need;
• Apparent readiness of agency to effectively utilize TA;
• Extent to which TA is aligned with the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health Final Report goals and recommendations and the goal of mental health transformation;
• Potential significance of the issue to other states;
• Evidence of partnerships with key stakeholders (e.g., SMHAs, consumers, families, and state planning and advisory councils); and
• Applicant’s financial/in-kind support for TA.

Application Submission and Questions

CMHS’s National Center for Trauma-Informed Care
c/o National Technical Assistance Center (NTAC)
Justin Harding, Coordinator
66 Canal Center Plaza, Suite 302
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 682-5182 / Fax: (703) 548-9517 E-mail: justin.harding@nasmhpd.org

Back to the top