Please join us to explore this essential subject with Dr. Susan Chinitz PsyD, Clinical Co-Director of the Training and Technical Assistance Center for the NYC Early Childhood Mental Health Network

Trauma is a topic that increasingly appears in the discourse of practitioners in human service systems, and there is now a general consensus that programs and practitioners should be trauma informed. Despite the general understanding that trauma underlies many of the adverse conditions that impact clients, such as anxiety, depression, substance use disorders and involvement in the child welfare and criminal justice systems, practitioners may need a greater understanding of the exact meaning or dimensions of trauma, its causes and manifestation, and its impact on many domains of functioning.

This webinar offered a description of trauma as it is understood clinically, and will focus on how trauma manifests or is triggered during the perinatal period. Topics that were addressed included the relational impact of trauma, the impact of pregnancy on dynamics of domestic violence, the infant mental health concept of “ghosts in the nursery”, parental attributions toward their unborn or newborn babies, the impact of a history of sexual abuse on prenatal care and delivery, and the impact of trauma on clients’ support systems. Programmatic supports for clients contending with traumatic stress disorders during the perinatal period were offered.

Participants of this webinar were able to:

• Identify and describe three primary emotional responses to, or sequelae of, traumatic experiences
• Identify and describe the transitions and normative developmental tasks of pregnancy 
• Recognize and understand the trauma triggers that may be inherent to the perinatal period
• Explain the ways that traumatic experiences in the past may manifest during the perinatal period

Date & Time

Tuesday, April 30th, 2024

12 pm - 1:30 pm