This talk is part of a sexual health series co-hosted by the Philadelphia Area Sexual Health Initiative (PASHI)--a program of Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) and the Center for Human Sexuality Studies at Widener University. The audience for this discussion includes psychotherapists, sexual health educators, social workers, human service workers and anyone interested in sexual health.
The lecturer is Shanna M. Williams, LCSW, MEd, Executive Director of Social Work Counseling Services (SWCS), which is affiliated with Widener University.
Lecture Description
The cognitive and physical wellbeing of individuals are often determined by physical, emotional health and parenting behaviors of parents during infancy and early childhood. Recent literature notes that family involvement is essential to the parent-infant dyad’s potential for achieving long-lasting positive effects on infant development. Trauma can potentially manifest itself in symptoms which not only increase parent and family system distress, but it may ultimately impact a parent’s ability to parent their newborn. Human service providers often feel ill equipped to assess and address manifestations of trauma, including birth trauma, when working in the areas of parent and infant health. Information about trauma informed care specific to the needs of parents of infants and their support systems can alleviate the effects of traumatic experiences on bonding experiences within the parent-infant dyad. The connection between trauma history, including the emergent understanding of the impact of birth trauma, as it relates to the parent- infant family system will be examined. Specific examples of interventions to alleviate the impact of trauma on families and their infants will be discussed as it relates to the work of direct human service professionals, including social workers in the field of maternal-infant health, and perinatal work.
Objectives
Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Explain the connection between trauma and its effects on parent-infant family systems
- Identify at least one aspect of trauma symptomology in the Prenatal, Birth and Postpartum periods
- Identify at least two effects of trauma on the parent-infant family system
- Identify at least two strategies which can be utilized to support birth parents and families experiencing symptoms related to trauma history or birth trauma
Presenter Bio
Shanna M. Williams, LCSW, MEd is the Executive Director of Social Work Counseling Services (SWCS), an organization affiliated with Widener University’s School of Human Service Professions. She also serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Center for Social Work Education where she teaches classes in Generalist Social Work Practice, Trauma Therapy and Family Therapy. She has over 20 years of experience in the field, specifically in the areas of sexuality education and counseling, diversity education, case management and psychotherapy. She is a member of several professional organizations including the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists, The National Association of Black Social Workers, and the National Association of Social Workers. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Social work at Widener University, where her research interest is black women and the impact of trauma on their breastfeeding experiences. She maintains an integrative Doula & Clinical Counseling practice serving families in the Greater Philadelphia Region.
If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please contact Lee F. Carson by email at [email protected] or by phone at (215) 985-2098.