Introduction
Date course created: May 2026
Trauma speaks a language all its own – one that goes far beyond words. While survivors may use humor, deflection, or a calm tone to share their stories, their true experience is often communicated through subtle, nonverbal cues. For therapists, learning to hear what isn’t being said is the key to unlocking deeper healing.
This workshop dives into the unspoken world of trauma communication. Attendees will explore how to move beyond the explicit narrative to detect trauma-related patterns in voice, movement, and affect. The training also places a critical focus on the therapist’s own presence, demonstrating how your tone, pacing, and attunement can create the safety needed for clients to process their most difficult experiences.
Participants will learn how to:
- Recognize and interpret trauma-related patterns in language, voice, and nonverbal cues.
- Listen “beneath the surface” to understand the true meaning behind a client’s coping strategies.
- Master your own therapeutic presence, using tone and pacing to foster safety and trust.
- Apply practical strategies to respond with greater attunement, diagnostic precision, and effectiveness.
With real-world examples, clinical discussions, and practical exercises, this training will equip you to transform your therapeutic conversations – moving from simply hearing words to truly understanding the survivor’s experience.
This is a 2.5-CE noninteractive, self-paced online video course delivered in home study format via an industry-standard online learning platform
Agenda
00:00 – 00:45 → Introduction, Communication Styles, Impact of Trauma on Communication
00:45 – 01:20 → Paralinguistic Indicators, Stress Voice and Auditory Overwhelm, Disfluencies, Silence in Therapy
01:20 – 02:00 → Nonverbal Cues, The Use of Humor, Linguistic Shifts in Trauma Narratives, Minimization in Therapy
02:00 – 02:42 → Transference and Countertransference, Co-Regulation, Active Listening, Cultural Considerations
Objectives
This training will provide participants clinical knowledge and tools to:
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After completing this training, participants will be able to identify verbal and nonverbal communication patterns commonly seen in trauma survivors, including paralinguistic markers.- After completing this training, participants will be able to analyze the role of humor and other coping strategies in trauma narratives.
- After completing this training, participants will be able to assess the impact of the therapist’s affect on the processing of trauma narratives and therapeutic outcomes.
Target Audience:
The target audience for this event includes psychologists, social workers, counselors, MFT’s, psychiatrists and other clinical mental health professionals.
Instructional Level: Intermediate
Instructor(s): Corey Petersen, PhD, LCMFT
Material Author(s): Corey Petersen, PhD, LCMFT
For additional information about this course, the instructors, or the material authors, please contact Content Assistance at content@onlinececredits.com.
Course Materials & Delivery Method:
- Course Materials – The course is composed of a recorded presentation and written materials (e.g. a slide deck and/or other worksheets, manuals, or handouts as provided by the instructor). The slide deck and any additional worksheets or handouts (as provided by the instructor) are made available inside the Lesson module after a course is purchased.
- Delivery Method – This course is a recorded asynchronous, self-paced webinar training, and there is no access time limit or due date to complete it once enrolled. The enrolled learner will stream the recorded presentation and view the materials from their internet connected device via an industry-standard online learning platform.
CE Approvals:
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
Online CE Credits has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6795. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Online CE Credits is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)
Mind Works Professional Education, Inc. DBA Online CE Credits, #1974, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: July 23, 2025 – July 23, 2028. Social workers completing this course receive 2.5 clinical continuing education credits.
Other Helpful Information:
Refund & Cancellation Policy – You may review this policy at any time by clicking here.- Accessibility Accommodations – If you require a reasonable accommodation for any reason, please email your request to cc@onlinececredits.com.
- Course Completion Requirements – 1.) View the entire Lesson module (accessible from the main course page), to include the embedded and/or linked presentation video(s), slide deck, additional materials, and/or links to any shared video clip(s) that may have been edited from the presentation video(s) to comply with copyright laws. 2.) Click into the Quiz module accessible from either the main course page or the Lesson page and complete the Quiz with an 80% or better pass rate. 3.) Complete the Course Evaluation – you’ll be sent to the Evaluation automatically once you successfully pass the Quiz.
- Posttest Requirements – You must answer 80% or more of the Quiz questions correctly to pass. If you fail to pass the first time, you may attempt the quiz again until you are able to pass with a score of 80% or better. Quizzes are graded instantly and automatically by the learning management system once your attempt is submitted.
- Certificate of Completion – Certificates of Completion are automatically generated – downloadable from your Dashboard and emailed to you – once you view the Lesson Materials and complete the Quiz and the Course Evaluation.
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