Credit Available - See Credits tab below.
Total Credits: 2 Virginia, 2 Approved credit for Guardians ad litem for children, 2 Reciprocity States, 2 Self-reporting states, 2 Approval
This training, "Recognizing Child Abuse and Engaging with Care: A Trauma-Informed Guide for Lawyers," equips legal professionals with the knowledge and tools to identify signs of child abuse and neglect and engage with children in a trauma-informed manner. Lawyers often encounter cases involving children in various settings, including family law, child welfare, and criminal defense. This training helps attorneys recognize abuse signs, understand developmental considerations, and navigate delicate conversations with children, all while ensuring a trauma-sensitive approach.
Training Objectives:
Understand the importance of recognizing signs of child abuse and neglect in legal cases.
Learn how to engage with children in a way that minimizes retraumatization and promotes psychological safety.
Identify the different forms of abuse and neglect (physical, sexual, emotional) and their signs.
Understand developmental stages and how they impact how children communicate and respond to questions about abuse.
Learn practical, trauma-informed strategies to effectively communicate with children in legal contexts.
This course offers 2 regular MCLE credit(s) and 0 ethics credits and 0 well-being credits.
This training has been approved by the Office of the Executive Secretary, Supreme Court of Virginia, for continuing education credit for qualified guardians ad litem for children.
Attorneys in these states may be able to receive CLE credit for this course through reciprocity as this course has been approved for 2 regular and 2 MCLE credit(s) in Virginia.
This course may be eligible for CLE credit in states that allow for self-certification for attorneys who have verified that this course would qualify under your state's rules.
This course may also be eligible for CLE credit in states that approve courses on an exception basis.
| Handout for Recognizing Child Abuse and Engaging With Care (348.7 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| Guardian ad litem certificate for Virginia GALs (152.5 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
Dr. Rebecca L. Mathews is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the department of Counseling and Educational Development at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She loves helping professionals apply sound psychological principles to their practice and regularly trains mental health professionals, lawyers, educators, and physicians.
Rebecca has worked in the mental health field for 17 years and is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisor in North Carolina and a Licensed Professional Counselor and board-approved supervisor in Texas. She is also a Certified Humanistic Sandtray Therapist, Certified Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapist, and a Certified QPR Gatekeeper Trainer. Rebecca has worked in inpatient, outpatient, private practice, and criminal justice settings, including work as a substance abuse counselor for a Texas drug court where she received the 2015 Drug Court Counselor of the Year award.
Rebecca is an Executive Board Member for the Association of Child & Adolescent Counseling and is a member of the editorial review board for the Trauma & Counseling journal, published by the International Association for Resilience and Trauma Counseling. She was the recipient of the Mental Health Advocate Award by the Association of Child and Adolescent Counseling.
She received her Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling from Texas A&M University-Commerce, her Master of Arts in Psychology from Midwestern State University, and her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Brigham Young University.
Lisa Mathews is the proud owner of Mathews Law, PLLC, a law firm based in Alexandria, VA, and is an experienced family law and estate planning attorney. She has litigated family law cases in courts across Northern Virginia and served hundreds of clients in her estate planning practice. She previously served as Guardian ad litem in Virginia and is certified as a mediator by the Supreme Court of Virginia. Lisa has also litigated criminal defense matters, having served as a court-appointed attorney for low-income defendants, and civil matters, particularly representing small businesses.
Lisa is an adjunct professor at George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School for the LL.M. program. She is a proud member of the Virginia State Bar and the Maryland State Bar Association and is licensed in both states.
?Prior to becoming a lawyer, Lisa worked for Fidelity Investments for 12 years where she led large-scale process improvement initiatives which saved the company hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. She served as a director of operations, responsible for the design of processes and policies for a 240-person business unit with operations in both the United States and India.
Lisa holds a Juris Doctorate from George Mason University where she graduated cum laude, a Master of Business Administration from Indiana University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Brigham Young University, where she majored in political science.
During law school, Lisa interned for Judge Contreras of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, published two articles in law journals, and interned at the Department of Justice - Office of Immigration Litigation, Appellate Division, and the Senate Judiciary Committee, Office of Senator Hatch. She also served as Articles Editor of the George Mason Law Review.