New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center and KVC Health Systems, Inc. have collaborated to create the NYU Langone Medical Center & KVC Midwest Trauma Training Center. The Center is designed to serve youth and families in the Midwest by training psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, early childhood program administrators, educators, counselors, therapists, law enforcement, juvenile justice staff, nurses and anyone serving individuals who have experienced traumatic events.

“KVC is excited to partner with NYU Langone Medical Center, who are leaders in the field of treating traumatized children,” said Kelly McCauley, Director of Evidence Informed Initiatives at KVC Health Systems, Inc. “This new Trauma Center, which is the first of its kind in the Midwest, is important because it will provide training, backed up by cutting-edge research, on how to care for children who have had traumatic experiences. This ensures traumatized children have a better chance of healing, which leads to shorter stays in out-of-home care, increased placement stability, and improved wellbeing for children in the child welfare system. ”

Child abuse and neglect is a significant problem in the United States and particularly in the Midwest, where services and training in treating and assessing traumatized children are lacking. The new NYU Langone Medical Center & KVC Midwest Trauma Training Center will address this problem head on by partnering with those working in physical and mental health, child welfare, education, and juvenile justice settings.

“We’re pleased to bring our proven strategies and training programs for treating traumatized children to the new joint center in the Midwest to help train practitioners who work with children who have been abused and neglected in the child welfare system, a significantly underserved population,” said Adam Brown, PsyD, clinical assistant professor, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Langone’s Child Study Center. “We hope to continue to expand this partnership effort to become a model for other organizations and health systems across the United States, and truly make an impact on the lives on these vulnerable children.”

To introduce the new Center, KVC Health Systems, Inc. will be hosting training seminars in Lincoln, NE on October 1, 2013 and a second training in Topeka, KS on October 9, 2013. The workshops are free of charge for professionals serving youth and families and interested participants can register online at www.kvc.org/nyukvcseminar.

The trainings will present an overview of the impact of childhood trauma on youth, families, professionals, organizations, and systems. There will be an emphasis on definitions, prevalence and the complicated emotional, behavioral, cognitive, interpersonal and systemic ramifications of the epidemic of child traumatic stress. An overview of prevalence, scope of the problem, and an introduction to assessment treatment will be presented, as well as the impact of secondary stress on caregivers and child and family-serving staff.

The seminars will feature Adam Brown, PsyD from NYU Langone and Kelly McCauley from KVC Health Systems. Brown is a clinical psychologist and Clinical Assistant Professor in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, where he provides training and technical assistance in Trauma Systems Therapy, as well as being the clinical coordinator of the trauma service in the faculty group practice. McCauley has extensive training in Trauma Systems Therapy, Child-Parent Psychotherapy, Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, Trauma Focused–Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and substance abuse treatment.

The NYU Langone/KVC Midwest Training Center is connected to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) through a grant funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

For more information, contact Jenny Kutz at 913-322-4994 or visit www.kvc.org/nyukvcseminar.