密蘇里大學圣路易斯分校

The BA in Applied Psychology of Child Advocacy Studies is designed for undergraduate students seeking training to become trauma-informed professionals in child-serving fields such as victim services, child protection, social services, mental health, health care, law enforcement and public policy.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to have the AP-CAST degree approved by the University of Missouri Board of Curators and the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development,” said Clinical Professor Jerry Dunn, who serves as the executive director of Children’s Advocacy Services of Greater St. Louis. “It will allow us to deepen and expand the foundation we’ve built with our CAST minor and certificate. It means that more professionals will be available to do the difficult but necessary work to help the community protect kids.

“We are so appreciative of the support we have received from university administrators throughout this process. Everyone from the faculty of the Department of Psychological Sciences, to the Dean’s Office of the College of Arts and Sciences, to the Academic Affairs teams on our campus and at the University of Missouri System level have been behind this proposal since the very beginning over a year and a half ago. We couldn’t have done this without them.”

Students will learn about the types and effects of child trauma and how to respond appropriately. They will also learn to advocate for the best interest of children, build relationships with children and families and work cooperatively with professionals in other child-serving sectors.

The program’s training will be an extension of the existing Child Advocacy Studies certificate and minor program, which employ a set of principles called TIERS, or trauma informed experiential reasoning skills.

TIERS help students develop critical-thinking and decision-making competencies that will be deployed in the field. The skills are taught through exercises and “problem-based learning simulations” that mimic situations they will face in the field.