Childhood trauma, neglect and resilience (DAA025)
Explore the impact of adverse early experiences on children and young people
This course is also available as part of a cost-saving course bundle.
This interactive online course – newly refreshed with improved accessibility and enhanced learning resources – will help you to make sense of the lives of children and young people who are struggling. You’ll learn how to identify the characteristics and effects of trauma, abuse and neglect and explore ways to shift behavioural patterns and build resilience.
Drawing on new understandings of trauma, abuse, neglect and how children cope with challenging experiences and taking a hopeful and optimistic stance, you will explore the behaviours that on the surface might seem annoying, upsetting, frightening or personally challenging.
You’ll explore key concepts through interactive content and videos, deepen your understanding via opportunities for reflection and consider case studies to help apply the theory to your work, collecting a certificate on completion.
By the end of this clear and accessible course, you will have explored ways to bring about change and build resilience through positive interventions and relationships.
Please note: this course was previously available as Trauma, neglect and building resilience.
Aims and learning objectives
On successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- identify different forms of maltreatment, including neglect, abuse and trauma in children
- describe disorganised attachment and distinguish between neglect and other forms of abuse
- analyse the potential long-term impacts of neglect and abuse on children’s development, wellbeing and relationships
- identify factors both within and beyond parents’ control that can affect parenting and understand the need to guard against parent blaming
- apply strategies that promote positive experiences and support resilience in children affected by trauma and neglect.
Who will I learn from?
Dr Graham Music, the writer and lead for this course, is a psychotherapist, trainer and author, working clinically with children, families and adults for over 30 years.
“I am excited to be offering the Understanding child development, attachment and resilience courses, of which this is one. They provide an indispensable synthesis of the latest clinical and scientific knowledge about children’s emotional development,” says Dr Graham Music. “They integrate longstanding clinical understandings from the Tavistock’s child psychotherapy traditions with a wealth of new and classical research from areas such as attachment theory, neuroscience, developmental psychology and cross-cultural studies.
“They unpack the most significant influences on the developing child, including the family and social context, looking at key developmental stages and covering important topics such as genes and environment, trauma, neglect, resilience and neurobiology. Full of fascinating findings, they provide answers to many of the questions people really want to ask about child development.
“By understanding why a child presents as they do, we can become less judgemental, and so more able to offer them the help that they need.”
Who is this course for?
This course is suitable for individuals, teams and organisations and we welcome anyone who has a keen interest in the subject area. In particular, this course is for you if you are working with children, young people and families, and wish to learn more about cutting edge research in this area, and how it can be applied to your work.
You may be working in social services, healthcare, education or youth work, the voluntary sector or you may be considering work with children in the future. It’s also suitable for practitioners working with Best Start Family Hubs or Healthy Babies services.
Course details
This online course runs continuously, meaning that you can sign up at any time. It offers 2.5 hours of self-directed learning which you can undertake at a time, pace and location that suits you.
You will have access to the course and its materials for one year. Access begins the next working day after you’ve booked, when you will receive your account details by email.
This course is also available as part of the Understanding child development, attachment and resilience course bundle, a cost-saving, convenient option that offers one year’s access to 9.5 hours of learning content over three complementary courses.
The three courses making up the bundle can also be studied individually. This course, Childhood trauma, neglect and resilience, and Attachment and early relationship patterns dive more deeply into those specific topics, each offering 2.5 hours of learning content. Children’s emotional, social and brain development offers a more general introduction to the topics over 4.5 hours of learning content.
You’ll explore a wide range of topics related to childhood abuse, neglect and trauma and at resilience and what can change. These topics include:
- understanding neglect, abuse and trauma
- the impact of maltreatment and abuse:
- trauma, survival responses and brain pathways
- disorganised attachment and complex trauma
- neglect and its consequences
- extreme neglect and institutional care
- long-term outcomes and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
- understanding parents without blame.
You’ll learn through a mix of:
- clear and practical learning objectives
- knowledge check questions and self-reflection prompts
- more than ten short video and audio clips
- a range of images, diagrams, charts and infographics
- engaging interactive activities and real-life case studies
- key takeaways and handy unit summaries.
There are no specific requirements for the course, although we suggest you are working with, or have an interest in working with children, or want to learn more about the effects of difficult early experiences on children’s minds and behaviours.
At the end of the course, you will find a multiple-choice question assessment to check your own knowledge and understanding. A certificate, listing the number of learning hours undertaken, is downloadable on completion of the course.
Training for organisations
Looking to enhance the skills of your team or workforce and create long-lasting impact?
We can offer discounts for group bookings, as well as packages tailored to your specific workforce requirements, including:
- an initial consultation to help identify your team’s training needs and knowledge gaps
- a flexible, bespoke training programme combining this self-study course with live elements such as reflective sessions or follow-up workshops for deeper learning
For more information on how we can support your organisation, please contact us.
Testimonials
Why study with us?
Tavistock Education and Training offers a wide range of life-changing CPD and postgraduate courses, drawing on over a century of work at the forefront of mental health and wellbeing. As part of North London NHS Foundation Trust, we ground your learning in the latest clinical practice and research, with each course developed by our expert clinician-tutors, in the only NHS Trust registered with the Office for Students. We have made our training accessible and available to everyone to explore in your own time, at your own pace.
Course facilitators
-
Graham Music
Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist
Book your place today
This course runs continuously. You can book a place at any time using our MyTAP booking system. Access begins the next working day after you’ve booked, when you will receive login details by email.
Save with our cost-effective bundles
This course is also available as part of a convenient, cost-saving bundle – providing you with one year’s access to three complementary online resources.
Related courses
CPD certificate 
Children’s emotional, social and brain development (DAA023)
CPD certificate 
Attachment and early relationship patterns (DAA024)
CPD certificate 
An introduction to complex trauma (DAA040)
CPD certificate 
Attachment, neurodevelopment and psychopathology (ANP)
CPD certificate 
Addressing emotionally-based school avoidance (CPD33B)
CPD certificate 
Working with care-experienced children and young people (CPD39)
Graduate diploma 
Emotional Care of Babies, Children, Young People and Families (EC1)
Graduate certificate 
Systemic Approaches to Working with Individuals, Families and Organisations (D4F, foundation)
Postgraduate certificate 