Course Description

In this training, participants will gain a basic understanding of trauma as well as the basic principles of Trauma Informed Care. We will discuss how trauma, including historical, intergenerational, and individual levels of trauma, plays a role for youth in becoming involved in gangs/gang activity. Participants will also explore ways to conceptualize and apply trauma informed care principles and interventions to this population while delivering supportive services, such as mental health or social services. While exploring ways to understand gang involvement through a trauma informed perspective, other important aspects related to gangs will also be reviewed, such as typical characteristics of gangs, the psychosocial and individual risk factors to becoming gang involved, motivation for joining gangs, and ways to build resiliency for youth that have become gang involved as well as their families. 

Class Objectives:

  1. Review a general understanding of the gang culture, including typical characteristics of gangs.
  2. Review ways in which trauma plays a role for youth who become involved in gangs.
  3. Identify trauma informed interventions and strategies, that can be applied in service delivery, that support youth in becoming engaged in services as well as begin their healing journey to reducing trauma symptoms as well as high risk behaviors.

Choose a Pricing Option

This course is pending approval for STRTP Administrator hours under CDSS. If this course is approved, an additional payment option will be added.

NOTE: Anyone seeking continuing education hours must attend the full training session and join the training in a timely manner to be given credit. No partial credits can be given according to continuing education guidelines.


For those not seeking continuing education hours, this course is offered for free.



Jeanette Lopez Urbina

Professor Lopez-Urbina is a licensed clinical social worker and has worked in the mental health field since the year 2000, in various settings in Northern and Southern California, including providing individual and family services through various models, such as Wraparound, community-based psychotherapy, and violence prevention work. Professor Lopez-Urbina has worked extensively with youth and families, especially in the area of trauma, including in specialized services that address gang involvement, childhood abuse/foster care, sexual exploitation, immigration trauma, and issues related oppression, racism, and acculturation issues.

Professor Lopez-Urbina, as a Spanish native speaker, has held partnerships with community agencies in supporting their service delivery by providing Spanish consultation services to support clinicians in practicing their bilingualism as well as to learn culturally responsive services that align with the LatinX community. Professor Lopez-Urbina also provides trainings throughout the Bay Area, in English and Spanish, on topics related to the LatinX population, trauma-informed care, and culturally responsive services.

Professor Lopez-Urbina currently holds a Private Practice in Berkeley and enjoys practicing mostly from a social justice, relational, and psychodynamic approach. Professor Lopez-Urbina has expanded her private practice with the effort to increase the representation of clinicians of color, especially bilingual LatinX providers, in the private practice setting by building a team of clinicians that are committed to providing linguistically and culturally responsive services.

In her personal time, Professor Lopez-Urbina enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter. She enjoys taking walks in nature, reading, and traveling.