Human Trafficking Series for Mental Health Professionals: Human Trafficking 101

This 3-part training series prepares mental health professionals with everything they need to know about human trafficking—what defines this crime, how to identify trafficked individuals, and how to provide specialized clinical, trauma-informed care.

Training Series Logistics:

• Eligibility for this training series is limited to licensed clinicians (LMSW, LCSW-C, LGPC, LCPC, etc.) with a minimum of 3 years of clinical practice experience, including internships.
• Registrations for individuals who do not meet these qualifications will not be approved. 
• The Human Trafficking 101 training will occur in person on April 11, 2025, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
• Those who complete the Human Trafficking 101 training will be eligible to attend the 201-level training scheduled for May 9 and July 25. 
• Those who complete the Human Trafficking 101 training and attend either one of the 201-level training dates will be eligible to attend the 301-level training and receive an invitation to join the Human Trafficking Clinicians Collaborative (HTCC). 

About the Human Trafficking Clinicians Collaborative (HTCC):

• The HTCC is a network of trauma-informed therapists from across Maryland who have 24 hours of specialized training in treating survivors of sex and labor trafficking.
• The HTCC facilitates a warm referral to trained providers to connect survivors with critical mental health services quickly. 

About the Human Trafficking 101 Training:

This training educates participants on the dynamics and elements of human trafficking by providing a scope of the crime through an explanation of: defining laws, vulnerabilities and recruitment processes, law enforcement engagement and investigative modalities and operating procedures, the role of complex trauma and trauma bonding, specialized service provisions, types of victimology, and methods of force, fraud and coercion.

About the Human Trafficking 201 Training:

An advanced clinical training meant for those direct service providers who attended 101 and are likely to come in direct clinical contact with survivors of human trafficking. Participants will understand and identify mental health risks associated with trafficking and barriers to treatment for survivors; understand the neurobiology of trauma and related treatment expectations; understand how traumatic bonding impacts the therapeutic alliance and ability to form and maintain relationships; learn about the impact of polyvictimization and the resulting effect on engagement in mental health therapy; learn trauma informed interventions to address safety, build rapport, manage emotional dysregulation, build skills and process grief; and acknowledge the role of self-care, system collaboration and transparency of decision-making in mental health with survivors.

• Dates: May 9, 2025 and July 25, 2025, 9 AM - 4 PM
• Location: Virtual
• Prerequisite: Licensed clinician & completion of 101 training from this series

About the Human Trafficking 301 Training: 

An advanced clinical training meant for participants who completed 101 and 201. Participants can expect a combination of didactic teaching, experiential learning, role-play case examples, and videos. The session will focus on the importance of brain development and how complex trauma exposures, such as human trafficking, complicate the brain’s ability to engage in traditional therapy modules. The presentation includes new information on the neuroscience of complex trauma and how therapists can pass “the therapist test.” Participants will learn to build rapport and maintain an alliance using motivational interviewing (MI) strategies; differentiate a bottom-up approach vs. top-down approach to clinical work; identify relevant body-based interventions; understand the role of micro-expressions in therapeutic work; and identify different “parts of self” related to dissociation and post-traumatic growth. 

• Date: August 15, 2025, 9 AM - 4 PM
• Location: University of Maryland SSW, Baltimore Campus
• Please Note: this is a highly interactive training that will require providers to participate in role plays and to be reflective and vulnerable
• Prerequisite: Licensed clinician & completion of 101 & 201 trainings from this series

For questions, please contact Briana McNemar, the University of Maryland School of Social Work's Clinical Research Specialist, Prevention of Adolescent Risks Initiative, via email: [email protected]  

*This training series is being hosted by the University of Maryland School of Social Work. *