Solution-Focused Brief Crisis and Trauma Interventions Course

The Solution-Focused Crisis and Trauma Interventions course provides transdisciplinary, practical, and evidence-based skills to prepare practitioners for sudden and unpredictable crises. Millions of medical professionals, first-responders, and a multiplicity of other providers respond to crises. Solution-Focused Brief Therapy is well-suited to treat trauma-related conditions as it provides a brief, compassionate, and effective treatment that supports traumatized individuals to make positive changes. This course teaches actionable interventions without requiring painful retelling of details and past traumatic events.

This course includes an overview of Solution-focused crisis and trauma interventions and a variety of written case studies utilizing core solution-focused (SF) techniques. Video lectures and over a dozen demonstrations complement each of the seven sections. Taken together, this course provides practical guidance and “how-to” techniques to give practitioners the confidence and SF skills they need to immediately benefit current and future clients.

Last Updated: February 2025

Target Audience: Social workers, psychologists, mental health counselors, educators, and medical professionals;  appropriate for all levels of knowledge.

The specific Learning Objectives of the course are as follows. After completing the course, you will be able to:

1. Identify the principles of solution-focused crisis interventions and determine their appropriate application in various clinical case scenarios.
2. Recognize key solution-focused skills that enhance engagement during crisis and trauma interventions by selecting their correct application in case-based exercises and video observations.
3. Determine the most effective solution-focused skills for goal negotiation while gathering assessment information in crisis and trauma settings, based on structured reading materials and scenario-based multiple-choice assessments.
4. Select appropriate solution-focused scaling techniques that enhance client agency and self-efficacy during crisis and trauma interventions, using video-based learning and structured case applications.
5. Identify appropriate solution-focused safety assessment interventions by differentiating them from traditional risk assessment approaches in case-based multiple-choice exercises.
6. Recognize solution-focused interventions that support client progress in follow-up sessions after trauma or crisis, selecting best practices from case studies and structured assessments.

Course Outline

1. Welcome and Course resources
   1. Full written materials
   2. Core solution-focused questions and assumptions
   3. Solution-focused framework
   4. Research updates 2025
2. Foundations of Crisis and Trauma Interventions
3. Solution-focused engagement: Agency and Resource Activation
4. VIP Mapping – Relationship Agency Activation
5. Goal Negotiation- Best Hope Mapping
6. Solution-Focused Scaling
7. Solution-Focused Safety Assessment
8. Follow-up Sessions and Treatment Graduation

This course consists of the following components. The program must be completed in order, and your certificate of completion will only be given once all components are complete.

1. Course Introduction
2. Written Material (PDF)
3. Video Lecture
4. Exam Instructions and Exam Preview
5. Course Exam
6. Course Evaluation
7. Certificate of Completion

There will be a 68-item exam that is designed to assess your understanding and ability to apply the course material. You may take the exam multiple times until you pass the exam.

After you have completed all of the sections, passed each of the section exams, and completed the course evaluation, you will receive your certificate of completion for the course. You will be able to save and print the certificate.

8.5 CE Credit/Clock Hours are available for this course.

Please see our Continuing Education Information page for information about CE credits and clock hours, and our accreditations and approvals for psychologists, social workers, counselors, and marriage & family therapists.

Students should check with their professional licensing boards to make sure that a specific course will be accepted toward their continuing education requirements.

To receive continuing education hours, the student must:

• Enroll in the course
• Read the leaning content
• Watch the entire online lecture
• Complete the course exam, and receive a passing grade of 80%
• Complete the course evaluation

Upon successful completion of the course, the student may download and print his or her Certificate of Completion.

Once enrolled, you may begin your course at any time.

Our complete list of policies can be viewed here.