Professional Diploma in Traumatology & PTSD

Format: Live-online Lecturer Led Classes (Virtual-Classroom) via Zoom

Length: 10 Weeks

Online Live Attendance: 30 Hours

Self-Directed Learning: 30 Hours

Total CPD Credits: 60 Credits

Assessment: Formative & Summative

Award: Accredited Professional Diploma

Course Accreditation:

Professional Development Consortium
Provider of Excellence
CPD Standards Office
Irish Counselling & Psychotherapy Association (ICPA)
​

Module 1: Foundations of Psychological Trauma

Definitions and classifications of trauma: acute, chronic, complex, developmental, intergenerational
Historical and contemporary models of trauma theory
Trauma as an adaptive survival response
Module 2: Neurobiology of Trauma & the Nervous System

Brain structures in trauma: amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex
Autonomic nervous system, vagal pathways, and stress physiology
Polyvagal theory and neuroception of safety and threat
Module 3: Attachment, Developmental Trauma & Early Relational Wounds

Attachment theory and trauma bonding
Developmental trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
Trauma across the lifespan and relational imprinting
Module 4: PTSD and Complex PTSD (C-PTSD)

DSM-5 vs ICD-11 diagnostic frameworks
Symptom clusters: intrusion, avoidance, hyperarousal, affect dysregulation
Trauma memory, flashbacks, and time-collapse phenomena
Module 5: Trauma-Informed Assessment & Clinical Formulation

Trauma-sensitive intake, pacing, and history-taking
Risk assessment, stabilisation thresholds, and contraindications
Case formulation using developmental, attachment, and neurobiological lenses
Module 6: Phase-Oriented Trauma Treatment Model

Safety and stabilisation as the foundation of trauma therapy
Processing and integration phases
Working within client tolerance and window of capacity
Module 7: Somatic Regulation & Body-Based Interventions

Somatic awareness, interoception, and tracking
Grounding, titration, pendulation, and resourcing
Bottom-up regulation and restoring embodied safety
Module 8: Cognitive, Narrative & Meaning-Making Approaches

Trauma-focused CBT principles
Cognitive restructuring and trauma narratives
Identity repair, coherence, and post-traumatic meaning
Module 9: Dissociation, Shame & the Fragmented Self

Dissociative spectrum and structural dissociation
Emotional numbing, parts work, and fragmentation
Shame, self-criticism, and cultivating self-compassion
Module 10: The Therapist’s Role, Ethics & Post-Traumatic Growth

Therapeutic presence, embodiment, and relational safety
Vicarious trauma, countertransference, and burnout prevention
Facilitating resilience, integration, and post-traumatic growth