Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contacts: Andy Crocker, 806-677-5600, abcrocker@ag.tamu.edu
Rachel Brauner, 979-845-1553, rbrauner@ag.tamu.edu
AMARILLO – The Military Families Learning Network’s Military Caregiving program will host a free professional development webinar July 18 titled Opportunities and Possibilities: Posttraumatic Growth in Research and Practice.
This will be Part 1 of a two-part series, said Andrew Crocker, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist in gerontology and health, Amarillo. The second part of the series will be Aug. 8.
The Military Caregiving webinars are offered through AgriLife Extension’s Military Program to provide professional development and interactive resources for those unable to leave home for training, Crocker said.
The 90-minute webinar will begin at 11 a.m. and is open to anyone interested, but registration is required. To join the session or for more information, go to: https://militaryfamilieslearningnetwork.org/event/22082/.
Dr. Richard Tedeschi, professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, will be presenting. He is a licensed psychologist specializing in bereavement and trauma and also serves as a consultant to the American Psychological Association on trauma and resilience, and as a subject matter expert for the U.S. Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program.
With his colleague Dr. Lawrence Calhoun, he has published books on post-traumatic growth, an area of research that they have developed that examines personal transformations in the aftermath of traumatic life events.
“Dr. Tedeschi will discuss the theoretical model and research basis of post-traumatic growth, the process by which trauma survivors often find valuable changes in how they live life in the aftermath of trauma,” said Rachel Brauner, program specialist with the agency’s Texas Military Program in College Station.
He will outline a framework for therapeutic interventions that facilitate post-traumatic growth through a way of relating called expert companionship, Brauner said.
“This approach to practice incorporates a broad view of what constitutes trauma, including many experiences that are not typically considered traumatic in our current diagnostic system, but which are traumatic to people because they challenge core beliefs about oneself, other people, the future and the kind of world in which we live,” she said.
The MFLN Military Caregiving concentration will provide certificates of completion for participants interested in receiving training hours and 1.5 continuing education credits from the University of Texas Steve Hicks School of Social Work.
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