Trauma, Brain Science & Title IX Complaints
Length: 2 Hours
Course Description
The Title IX grievance process is often rife with trauma, and it can impact everyone involved.
In this two-hour webinar, Dr. Chris Wilson, a trauma expert and retired psychologist, and Liz DeChellis, an experienced Title IX professional, will look at trauma from the perspective of threat to status and discuss practical ways to reduce its impact in the grievance process.
Dr. Wilson will bring you up-to-speed on how trauma sensitizes the brain’s perception of and reaction to threat. He will then discuss the very real effects of threat to status and how it can affect not just the complainants and respondents, but also the hearings officer. Liz will draw upon her expertise as an investigator and hearing officer to explore how threat to status is manifested during the grievance process both for the parties and Title IX professionals.
Together, they will provide specific approaches to reducing the impact of the experience of threat to status inherent in sexual assault complaints with the goal of creating a less stressful process for everyone.
Presenter
Dr. Chris Wilson is a licensed psychologist from Portland, Oregon. For the past twenty years he’s worked with victims and survivors of trauma. He currently runs Being Trauma Informed (BTI), an organization dedicated to making the science of trauma accessible to all. Prior to starting BTI, Dr. Wilson had a private practice conducting evaluations, psychotherapy, and providing training, with a focus on domestic violence and sexual assault. Dr. Wilson is a guest faculty member at the US Army’s Special Victim Capabilities Course, where he teaches military criminal investigators about the neurobiology of trauma. He formerly served as a curriculum consultant for The National Center for Campus Public Safety. He is also the co-author of the article “Understanding The Neurobiology of Trauma and Implications for Interviewing” (an abbreviated version of which was provided for Danish law enforcement in 2017) and “Judges’ and Juries’ Common Misperceptions About Domestic Violence Victims’ Behaviors.” He’s provided training, plenary, keynote, and breakout sessions for conferences and organizations across the United States, Canada, Italy, and Denmark, including the National District Attorney’s Association, US Department of Justice, the US Department of the Interior, the US Navy, Marine Corps, Army, and Air Force, the US Office for Victims of Crime, End Violence Against Women International, the National Organization for Victim Assistance, the National Crime Victim Law Institute, and the New York Police Department. Dr. Wilson received his doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Pacific University in 2002. He was licensed as a psychologist in the state of Oregon in 2005 and for six years served on the Board of the Oregon Psychological Association. He is also a member of the American Psychological Association.
Liz DeChellis serves as Van Dermyden Makus’ Title IX Program Director, overseeing all Title IX investigations and hearings. She also frequently conducts Title IX trainings as a faculty member of T9 Mastered. Trained in Trauma Informed Forensic Interviewing, Liz is also an experienced investigator in Title IX sexual misconduct claims. Liz understands best practices in the Title IX arena, and the challenges facing schools and parties when sexual violence allegations surface. She has conducted investigations for K-12 Districts, as well as higher education institutions. Liz is an expert in conducting Title IX Hearings. She has served as a Hearing Officer for multiple schools, applying a variety of policies and practices, and is familiar with both “new regulation” cases and cases falling outside the new regulations. In this role, Liz serves as the final adjudicator, completing the complaint and investigation process. She also serves as an Appeal Officer when students challenge the process, the outcome, and/or the sanction. Liz has overseen cases involving dating violence, drug abuse, sexual assault, and incapacitation. She has experience questioning parties using trauma-informed techniques, making admissibility and relevance decisions, and issuing well-reasoned, thorough decisions. She is licensed to practice law in the State of California, and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).
Audience
While this webinar focuses on Title IX complaints, it will benefit anyone who works with people who have experienced trauma.
Registration
- Regular Registration: $250
Registering a group or paying by check? Contact T9 Mastered for assistance!