XCenter Series November 2024
Session 1: Trauma-Informed Care Live Panel Discussion of Lived Experience
In this panel discussion, we will discuss personal lived experiences with trauma-informed care. Hear from a trauma-survivor what role Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) plays in a person’s life and how getting therapy early is a tremendous advantage. Understand how patients that some people feel are ‘untreatable’ are often just mis-understood. Learn practical techniques to reframe childhood trauma. This session will also review what trauma is and why understanding trauma-informed care should be an essential skill for all advocates or individuals who want to receive appropriate care. This will include specific examples that reinforce the concepts of trauma-informed care and how patients can benefit from trauma-informed care.
Learning Objectives:
1) Differentiate between intergenerational and childhood trauma
2) Understand how a person may have been impacted by trauma whether they or their family is aware of it or not
3) Develop skills applying trauma-informed techniques to working people to help avoid triggering
4) Identify ways in which advocates can help facilitate interactions with health care professionals to reduce triggering medical PTSD
BCPA Type of CE Applying For:
1 Ethics/J.E.D.I. CE
This Community Conversation is FREE to attend. It is also available for 1.0 BCPA CE for $25 (HealthAdvocateX members) and $50 (non-members).
Please reach out to us at info@HealthAdvocateX.org if you have any questions.
About The Speakers –
Robin Shapiro believes in the near future health advocacy will be a common skill people learn to choose the best health possible. She is the bestselling author of The Secret Language of Healthcare: How to Ask for the Care You Deserve. She is founder of award- winning healthcare engagement companies and is the current Board Chair of HealthAdvocateX whose mission is to help people transform from patient to active participant in our own care.
Dr. Malynnda Johnson, PhD, BCPA is the Founder of Compassionate Care and an associate professor in the Department of Communication, teaching primarily health communication and media studies. She completed her PhD in 2012 at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee. Currently, she teaches interviewing and counseling, persuasion, interpersonal communication, health communication, media criticism, and cross-cultural communication. Additionally, she has recently launched her consulting firm, Compassionate Navigation LLC. There, she actively works within the medical field, offers consults for patient advocates, and helps patients and families navigate the difficult conversations they face. While she works with anyone in need, she often works with minority groups such as neurodiverse and LGBTQIA+ populations. When she is not writing, teaching, or serving her community, she is frequently found with her two dogs hiking or camping in the woods of Indiana.
Lee Mulert, MBA, MS, BCPA, CSA is the CEO & Founder of HealthACR, LLC, a private professional Health Care Advocacy firm with clients nationwide. With over 45 years of knowledge and experience in the healthcare industry, Lee brings her intuitive personality and problem-solving skills to help patients and families work through crises and identify options that meet their needs. In addition to her MBA, she earned her MS in Counseling, is a Board-Certified Patient Advocate (BCPA) and a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA). Her years of experience conducting negotiations help her to facilitate communications and mediate difficult situations for her clients. Her clients range from adolescents to older adults and address medical, psychosocial, mental health, trauma and/or substance use issues that affect them, their families and loved ones. Lee strives to ensure that her clients feel that they are empowered participants in every aspect of their own health care. Lee is on the Board of the Patient Advocate Certification Board (PACB). She is also a member of the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy (NAHAC), the Society of Certified Senior Advisors and the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates (APHA).
Dr. Sonja Sutherland PhD, LPC, BC-TMH, CPCS, ACS is a Clinical Associate Professor of Counseling at Adams State University and a Diversity Consultant & Trainer. In the field for over 25 years, she is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Georgia, a Board Certified Telemental Health Counselor (BC-TMH), and an Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS). Dr. Sutherland’s 25+ years of clinical and supervisory experience has been in private practice, psychiatric residential, in-home, and outpatient mental health settings.
Within the last 10 years, Dr. Sutherland has provided training, researched, and published in racial trauma, cultural competence development and training, the provision of culturally informed clinical intervention and supervision, and social justice advocacy. Dr. Sutherland is the founder and CEO of Legacy Changers Training Institute whose mission is to increase equitable mental health access for diverse communities by providing culturally responsive continuing education, training, and consultation for helping professionals and organizations across all helping disciplines.
Alexis Meza, Student and Advocate worked with Alameda County Pediatricians to implement Adverse Childhood Experiences in practices serving children throughout Alameda County. When addressing the screening challenges, approaching with a trauma-informed care mindset allowed for success across the organization. Tools such as “We Are Resilient” by Dovetail Learning and somatic exercises adapted for children were used and developed based on individual practice needs to mitigate toxic stress. She is passionate about tailoring solutions to develop best practices that will help patient-serving individuals shift from survival to thriving. Before pediatrics, she served as a patient advocate within a private hematology oncology practice. In that role, she served patients through grant assistance, financial counseling, and prior authorizations. Observing the patient’s journey has left her passionate about helping patients and providers.