
NEUROBIOLOGY & TRAUMA INFORMED INTERVIEWING & INVESTIGATION
(4-hour program)
Traditional interview techniques used by campus professionals (Title IX staff, advocates, public safety, university police) do not always take into account the effect that trauma has on a reporting individual during their experience of interpersonal violence, as well as their memory thereafter and the ability to recall specific details. This approach increases the likelihood of alienating and further traumatizing a reporting individual, and misrepresenting or failing to recognize crucial evidence. Trauma Informed interviewing merges principles from child forensic interviewing practices and Neurobiology; the scientific study of how fear and trauma cause changes in the brain that impact a victim’s response during a traumatic event (i.e., sexual assault), and memory thereafter. This method is equally effective when interviewing the respondents (those accused of sexual misconduct). Trauma Informed training provides professionals with a profound understanding of how a trauma victim’s reactions and behaviors during and after a traumatic event, and their fragmented memory of it, are commonly miscategorized by untrained professionals. All too often, those misconceptions lead to victim alienation, and worse yet, to wrongful accusations of false reporting. Trauma Informed training provides professionals with knowledge and methods to accurately identify critical psycho-physiological evidence from interviewing victims of trauma (and the accused), maximizing accurate information and minimizing any further trauma. The Training in Neurobiology and Trauma Informed investigation and interviewing is essential for campus and criminal justice professionals to successfully conduct investigations.