This course examines the critical and often overlooked intersection between personal and systemic bias and the development of secondary traumatic stress (STS) among professionals, especially those in high-impact fields. Participants will explore how implicit and explicit biases—shaped by culture, identity, and lived experience—influence the way trauma is perceived, processed, and responded to.
Through a combination of theoretical frameworks, self-assessment, and real-world case studies, participants will learn how biases can exacerbate secondary trauma. The course also highlights how unexamined biases impact both the quality of care provided and the provider’s own vulnerability to STS. Emphasis is placed on building trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and equity-centered practices that support both client outcomes and practitioner well-being.
