Staff Perspective: Article Review
What defines competency for trauma-related mental health services? Cook and Newman (2014) wrote an article summarizing major findings from the New Haven Trauma Competency Consensus Conference in effort to provide a comprehensive model of “trauma-focused, empirically informed competencies” (p 300). The conference participants were nominated by peers for their expertise with trauma and varied in their professional backgrounds (e.g., psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers), roles (e.g., independent practice, medical settings, academic affiliation) and professional organizations. The main purpose of the conference was to have subject matter experts identify empirically informed knowledge, skills, and attitudes deemed critical to developing competency in working with traumatized adults and children.
