Survivor-Centered Approaches to Treating Complex Trauma: A Training for Mental Health Care Providers

This online certificate program is comprised of ten 90-minute live sessions led by expert trainers and includes approximately 50 minutes of engaging asynchronous content between each live session. The course is designed to encourage sharing current practices and experiences among mental health care providers from across the country.

Through live sessions and powerful asynchronous content, this course features an impressive array of leaders in the field including CSE experts with lived experience and leading mental health care practitioners, including those who identify as both. Designed by experts in online learning and My Life My Choice trainers, the depth and breadth of this course and its content contributors are unprecedented.

Participants will learn and explore traditional and non-traditional approaches for working with survivors of CSE. Spanning evidence-based modalities, best practices in building and maintaining effective client relationships, understanding the impact different forms of oppression have on clients with histories of commercial sexual exploitation, and the frameworks and approaches for creating equitable and inclusive therapeutic relationships with clients.

Course Facilitator

Christina (Tina) Valila, LICSW is the Senior Clinical Director for My Life My Choice. Joining My Life My Choice in 2014 as the organization’s first Assessment Coordinator, Ms. Valila has since helped lead the program to grow to serve more than 275 young people in Massachusetts each year. In her current role as Senior Clinical Director, Ms. Valila oversees My Life My Choice's Survivor Empowerment Program, which consists of a team of 20 Survivor Leaders and allies who provide a unique continuum of survivor-led services, including survivor-led mentoring, intensive case management, job readiness and leadership development, mental health services, prevention education, and consultation. Prior to joining My Life My Choice, Ms. Valila worked as a Clinical Social Worker in various settings, including working with male-identified people in the prison system, returning citizens, individuals in substance use treatment programs, people living with HIV/AIDS, and other populations pushed to the margins. Ms. Valila is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker with a master’s degree from Boston University. She is currently in the process of earning a Doctorate Degree in Social Work from Simmons University.

Course Facilitator

Ashley Guevara, LICSW is the Assistant Clinical Director at My Life My Choice. She is responsible for providing program coordination and clinical supervision to a team of Survivor Mentors and provides therapy services to several youth mentees. She has more than 17 years of professional experience working with, and on behalf of, trauma-impacted youth.  Prior to joining My Life My Choice, Ms. Guevara served as a CSEC Coordinator for the Suffolk County Children’s Advocacy Center's SEEN program, where she provided multi-disciplinary response coordination, mental health consultation, clinical services, and training. She has also served as a social worker in the Gynecology and Emergency Departments at Boston Children's Hospital, where she co-authored a textbook chapter on trafficking and exploitation. Prior to this, she served as Clinical Director for a short-term congregate care program serving adolescent girls.  Ms. Guevara received her Master’s degree in Social Work from Boston University in 2009 with a specialization in group work. 

Olivia is the Assistant Clinical Director at My Life My Choice. Since 2017, she has been empowering youth through therapeutic interventions. She oversees mentoring teams and clinical services, contributing her expertise to internal and contracted clinicians. Her extensive training includes Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and a forthcoming EMDR certification. Olivia's journey began as a Youth Harbors Case Manager in 2015, where she assisted young adults who had experienced homelessness. Her impactful work extended to her role as a Case Manager in Walden, where she collaborated with high schools, championing housing-first approaches and crisis management. Olivia's drive to advance her skills led her to a certificate program through JRI's Trauma Center, where she received specialized training in trauma-focused interventions. Olivia completed her Masters in Social Work from Simmons University in 2019.

Jennifer is an Assistant Professor in the UMass Chan Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (FMCH).  Dr. Bradford is board-certified in family medicine and addiction medicine. She also completed a Preventative Medicine Residency at UMass Chan where she developed the skills to take a public health approach to taking care of vulnerable populations. She is the Medical Director of Community Healthlink Detox program where she offers substance use disorder treatment in both outpatient and inpatient settings to adults and adolescents. She provides trauma informed primary care for individuals who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation. 

Akida is a former Senior Survivor Mentor and Groupwork Coordinator at My Life My Choice. She is a committed mentor and advocate who specializes in empowering youth who have been impacted by commercial sexual exploitation (CSE). Akida uses her vast experience to advocate for her mentees' well-being, utilizing her leadership skills to set goals, foster trust, and co-facilitate transformative groups. These groups cover vital topics including CSE prevention, growth, and employment opportunities, showcasing Akida's commitment to driving positive change. Her remarkable leadership abilities, collaborative strength, and unwavering dedication underscore her efforts to improve the lives of commercially sexually exploited youth, positioning her as a powerful force in creating impactful change within the lives of those she serves.

Tharyn Giovanni specializes in working with queer and gender expansive youth and young adults. His clinical interests include advocacy for youth and their families, working with trauma and substance use, and supporting other clinicians in providing affirming care.

Tharyn earned his MSW from the Smith College School for Social Work and has been practicing clinical social work for the last decade as a supervisor, therapist, and consultant. He has previously worked with youth and young adults in various capacities on programs focused on LGBTQ issues, specifically houselessness, commercial sexual exploitation, sexual health, substance use, and trauma.

Yolanda is the Sr. Vice President, Chief Clinical and Chief Medical Officer at Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health. Dr. Graham completed her undergraduate studies at Cornell University, received her medical degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and completed her residency and fellowship training at Emory University. She is double board certified in adult and child & adolescent psychiatry. Dr. Graham worked with Georgia’s Governor’s Office to develop a statewide response to address the needs of child sex trafficking victims and has received national recognition for her expertise in treating commercially sexually exploited youth. Dr. Graham also provided clinical input in the development of The STRIVE Curriculum, a trauma-informed curriculum designed specifically for the treatment of sexually exploited youth in residential and group home settings.

Charel (she/her) is the former Assistant Director of Prevention & Partnerships at My Life My Choice, bringing over a decade of expertise in combating exploitation and supporting marginalized youth. Charel joined our team in 2013 as a Survivor Mentor. In her current role, Charel plays a pivotal part in My Life My Choice's mission by spearheading exploitation prevention programming and coordinating training efforts at both local and national levels. Charel received her associate's degree from Roxbury Community College and is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree from Framingham State University.

Dr. Rachel Niemiec is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and former Director of Training & Partnerships at My Life My Choice. Prior to her work at My Life My Choice, she was a Pediatric Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner for the Massachusetts DPH, working within Children's Advocacy Centers as part of a multi-disciplinary response to child sexual abuse and exploitation. In addition to being part of the Massachusetts SANE Program for over 8 years, she has almost two decades of experience working with and advocating for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. As a survivor of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC), she is committed to using her lived and professional experience to help service providers respond compassionately to victims/survivors as they navigate our complex systems.

Kate is a senior research associate at a health and human services research and evaluation firm outside of Boston. A children's advocate, Price served on the National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) Child Sex Trafficking Expert Working Group. Her writing has been published in books, scholarly journals, blogs, and newspapers. Most recently, Price was featured in the Sunday Globe Magazine article “Kate Price Remembers Something Terrible." A culmination of a 10-year collaboration between Price and Boston Globe journalist Janelle Nanos, the article was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and won a Columbia School of Journalism Dart Award for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma. The story examines Price's family-controlled child sex trafficking history in Appalachia, as well as the science of traumatic memory and healing from interpersonal violence and commercial sexual exploitation.

Abita is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical school and the Medical Director of UMASS Memorial Health- Community Healthlink, child division and the Medical Director of UMASS Chan Medical School Student Counseling Services. Dr. Raj has a strong interest in providing addiction treatment to adolescents. She is focused on collaboration to help create and support systems of care for families and children struggling with substance abuse and mental health. Additionally, in her role at the Medical Director of Student Counseling she is focused on providing inclusive care and partnering with the school to improve students’ wellbeing and addressing burnout.

Nikki is the former Senior Director of Training and Partnerships at My Life My Choice and has worked with and on behalf of commercially sexually exploited youth since 2004. Nikki has been co-facilitating My Life My Choice Exploitation Groups for adolescent girls for ten years, training on behalf of My Life My Choice for eight years and joined the My Life My Choice team full-time in 2015. Nikki is a dynamic trainer, consultant, and advocate working on behalf of trauma-impacted youth. She received her master's degree in social work from Boston University in 2021. Nikki is also a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker.