Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

1. Present to groups and/or individuals involved in the treatment of and recovery from addiction the effect childhood trauma and/or parental stress has on the neurobiology of attachment and reward systems.
2. Present to groups and/or individuals involved in the treatment and recovery from addiction the lifelong propensities early childhood trauma and/or parental stress can create for intimate relationships.
3. Employ effective trauma-informed and wellness-informed interventions targeted towards groups and/or individuals in addiction treatment presenting with relational issues.
4. Articulate strategies which focus on childhood trauma, relational repair, trauma-informed care including medication-assisted treatment and peer-wellness services specific to the needs of people impacted by addiction.

1. Written assignments designed to integrate course material into personal experience or relationship experiences of others.
2. Exams comprised of essay and/or objective questions which require integration, application, and critical examination of course concepts,issues, and
themes.
3. Participation in class discussions, role?plays, case studies, work?shops, or other group exercises geared toward critical analysis of course concepts.
4. Individual or group presentations.
5. Design and implementation of research projects.
6. Participation in and critical analysis of relationship issues or concepts related to addictive disease.
7. Attendance at, or participation in lectures, workshops, or other community or campus events related to the field of intimate relationships.

1. Incidence of Childhood Trauma and/or Parental Stress and its relationship the neurobiology of attachment and reward systems.
a. Kaiser/CDC Adverse ChildHood Experiences Study and its correlational findings.
b. Neurobiology of reward.
c. Neurobiology of attachment.
2. Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, Developmental Stress Disorder and Complex Childhood Trauma.
a. Signs and Symptoms
b. Manifestations in Relationships – Being Triggered
c. Interference in functioning – effects on Brocha Area and Memory Centers.
d. Fight, Flight, Freeze and Learned Helplessness
e. Assessment Tools
f. Presentation of Information to Treatment Groups
3. Relational Issues and their interaction with relapse potentials.
a. Stress Induced Relapse
b. Place Preference and Environmental Induced Relapse
c. Attachment Disorders and Relapse.
4. Skill?based strategies targeted to relational repair.
a. Positive Psychology and Wellness Approaches to Preventing PTSD.
b. Somatic Psychology and trauma treatment and trauma informed service interventions.
c. Yoga and other indirect methods of trauma intervention.
d. Group approaches for relational skill building.
5. Prevention techniques and how they can be applied in familial situations.
6. Evidenced based practices as related to child hood trauma, relational repair and trauma informed and wellness informed services.