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square bulletImplementation, Training & Education Updates January 2017

January 30, 2017

From Ana Hristić, MA, MSW, CSWA, Training and Education Coordinator, Trauma Informed Oregon

A New Staff Member for Trauma Informed Oregon

Greetings! My name is Ana Hristić and I recently joined the Trauma Informed Oregon team as the Training and Education Coordinator. I appreciate the opportunity to introduce myself and also give a brief overview of some of the projects I will be working on in 2017.

My experience with Trauma Informed Care, or lack thereof, in this case, began personally when my family and I immigrated to the US from Serbia in the early 1990’s. Encountering multiple systems—including education, medical, and social services void of safety, valuing the individual, and transparency—provided me with a glimpse into the experience of so many individuals. Later, while working direct service with children, teens and families in special education, acute residential care, therapeutic wilderness camps, foster care and adoption, and outpatient behavioral health, I came to appreciate the tremendous benefits and responsibility of being a trauma informed practitioner. Most recently, I had the opportunity to inform organizational change as Clackamas Behavioral Health Centers embarked on its journey of becoming Trauma Informed.

Area of Interest

I am especially interested in what’s known as parallel process within Trauma Informed Care—the notion that realizing the widespread impact of trauma on the workforce and the organization itself is just as important as recognizing the signs and symptoms of trauma and responding with service users. With a background in Social Psychology and Social Work, and a personal interest in contemplative practice, I enjoy facilitating dialogue that promotes collaboration and healing while also confronting the impacts of systemic oppression, burnout, and secondary stress.

Projects for 2017

In 2017, I will focus some of my efforts on finding creative ways to 1) increase training capacity and 2) increase training access. At this time, we are developing a pilot program to “Train the Trainer” and build a community of facilitators to meet the continued training demands in various sectors around Oregon. In addition, we hope to continue to improve our website resources, including piloting online learning modules, so that individuals and groups have open access to trainings online.

I look forward to collaborating on these and other efforts in the coming year!