SAQA

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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

REGISTERED UNIT STANDARD THAT HAS PASSED THE END DATE:

Provide trauma support under supervision

SAQA US ID	UNIT STANDARD TITLE
120083	Provide trauma support under supervision
ORIGINATOR
SGB Victim Empowerment
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY
-
FIELD			SUBFIELD
Field 07 - Human and Social Studies			People/Human-Centred Development
ABET BAND	UNIT STANDARD TYPE	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	CREDITS
Undefined	Regular	Level 5	Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5	8
REGISTRATION STATUS		REGISTRATION START DATE	REGISTRATION END DATE	SAQA DECISION NUMBER
Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"		2018-07-01	2023-06-30	SAQA 06120/18
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2024-06-30		2027-06-30

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.

This unit standard does not replace any other unit standard and is not replaced by any other unit standard.

PURPOSE OF THE UNIT STANDARD

This Unit Standard will equip learners with the relevant knowledge, skills and values to identify clients exposed to traumatic events and provide trauma support services in the immediate aftermath of traumatic events, under supervision of an appropriately trained/registered mental health professional. Learners will also be able to refer clients to other services if and when necessary including trauma counselling and therapy. Learners will conduct themselves in complete compliance with all ethical practices.

Clients in this context refer to individuals, families and communities affected by traumatic events such as natural and manmade disasters, violent crime, accidents and human rights abuses, etc. It is envisaged that the provision of effective trauma support services in the immediate aftermath of traumatic events will enable clients to cope more effectively with the consequences of traumatic events.

Potential learners include service providers working in all sectors (Government, private, Non-Governmental, community-based organisations and faith-based organisations where service providers are employed on a full time, part time or volunteer basis).

Learners accredited with this unit standard will be capable of:

Describing traumatic exposure and its impact on individuals, families and the community

Describing the role and responsibilities of Trauma Support workers

Assessing people's emotional state and circumstances in the immediate aftermath of traumatic events

Providing support under supervision in the immediate aftermath of traumatic events

Applying referral skills to facilitate access to other relevant services

Applying the principle of "self care" to reduce the incidence of vicarious/secondary traumatisation

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

It is assumed that a learner will be competent in:

Communication at NQF level 3 or equivalent.

Mathematical literacy at NQF level 3 or equivalent.

The Unit Standard entitled Conduct basic lay counselling in a structured environment.

UNIT STANDARD RANGE

Range of key concepts include, but are not limited to: trauma, stress and crisis & the differences between these concepts, traumatic event, traumatisation, different types of trauma e.g. once off/simple trauma, multiple trauma, complex trauma, different types of victims e.g. direct and indirect victims, secondary victimisation, cultural diversity/sensitivity and protective and stressor/ risk factors which may influence an individual's response to a traumatic event, Prevention relating it to the public health approach, etc.

Range of services required include basic education and awareness with regard to the impact of traumatic events, victim support, trauma support, Trauma counseling, trauma therapy, in patient care, etc.

Range of signs and symptoms should relate to both adults and children in order to provide age appropriate services. Descriptions should also distinguish between impact of a once off traumatic event compared to continuous trauma - exposure to number of traumas over lifetime; and complex PTSD associated with prolonged exposure to traumatic events such as child abuse.

Range of principles include, but are not limited to: empowerment, restoration of faith, normalisation of trauma responses, individuality and recognition of natural coping abilities/resilience/resourcefulness of individuals and communities to deal with consequences of traumatic events, community participation, ethics, etc.

Range. Cultural sensitivity includes recognition, understanding and tolerance of diversity of social contexts and cultural customs and beliefs of victims/ survivors especially re ways different cultures deal with trauma, loss/grief & burial rituals, etc.

Range of relationship building skills includes, but are not limited to: Creating safe spaces and introductions, building rapport, dealing with issues of confidentiality, communicating a non-judgemental attitude, etc.

Range of interpersonal and interviewing skills include, but is not limited to: empathy, listening, reflection of content, feelings, meaning, clarifying, questioning, summarising, etc.

Range of trauma support skills include, but are not limited to: attending to the client's immediate physical and psychological safety concerns, psycho-education, problem solving, mobilizing social support and community resources and referral.

Specific Outcomes and Assessment Criteria:

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 1

Understand trauma and its impact on individuals, families and the community.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

Key concepts in the field of trauma are defined according to relevant sources of reference.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Range of key concepts include, but are not limited to: trauma, stress and crisis and the differences between these concepts, traumatic event, traumatisation, different types of trauma e.g. once off/simple trauma, multiple trauma, complex trauma, different types of victims e.g. direct and indirect victims, secondary victimisation, cultural diversity/sensitivity and protective and stressor/ risk factors which may influence an individual's response to a traumatic event, etc.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

The impact of traumatic events on individuals, families and the community are explained with specific reference to the South African context.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Impact of traumatic events includes emotional, social, cognitive, behavioural, physical and spiritual aspects.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

The different phases of trauma are described and specific physical, practical, emotional and information needs of clients are identified with examples.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 4

Different services required following exposure to traumatic events are described according to the South African Institute for Traumatic Stress 5 level trauma model.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Range of services required include basic education and awareness with regard to victimization and the impact of traumatic events, victim and trauma support, trauma counseling, trauma therapy, in patient care, etc.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 5

The symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Responses and - Disorder (PTSD) are identified/described according to the relevant sources of reference.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Range Sources of reference should include the Multidisciplinary Glossary for the Victim Empowerment sector and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM IV-TR). Signs and symptoms should relate to both adults and children in order to provide age appropriate services and referrals. Descriptions should also distinguish between impact of exposure to a once off traumatic event compared to continuous trauma - exposure to number of traumas over life time; and complex PTSD associated with prolonged exposure to traumatic events such as child abuse.

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 2

Describe the role and responsibilities of Trauma Support workers.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

The rationale, purpose and principles of Trauma Support in the South African context are described with examples.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Range of principles include, but are not limited to: empowerment, restoration of faith, normalisation of trauma responses, individuality and recognition of natural coping abilities/resilience/resourcefulness of individuals and communities to deal with consequences of traumatic events, community participation, ethics, etc.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

The difference between victim support, defusing, debriefing, early intervention, crisis intervention, trauma support, counselling, trauma counselling and trauma therapy/psychotherapy are described using appropriate examples.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

The limitations and boundaries of Trauma Support are highlighted with examples.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 4

The role and responsibilities of Trauma Support workers are explained with examples.

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 3

Describe people's emotional state and circumstances in the immediate aftermath of traumatic events.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

The concepts, stressors, risks and protective factors are defined with examples.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Stressors and risk factors refer to circumstances which may limit the individual's ability to cope with the specific event, e.g. prior history of victimisation, exposure to abuse in childhood, extreme poverty, persecution, lack of a support network, while protective factors refer to those factors which may help to resduce stress and improve the individual's coping ability e.g. supportive family environment, social networks, personality resources, ideological /religious consciousness.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

The client's responses and personal circumstances are described to identify stressors and protective factors based on case studies.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Range of responses include physical, emotional,behavioural and thinking patterns/cognitive reactions to the traumatic event.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

Resilience and natural coping responses of people following exposure to traumatic events are identified with examples.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Range of Resilience and natural coping responses include protective social networks, family and community support, personal capacities, skills and characteristics, as well as belief systems.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 4

Clients are interviewed in a culturally sensitive manner in accordance ethical and organisational requirements.

Cultural sensitivity include recognition, understanding and tolerance of diversity of social contexts and cultural customs and beliefs of victims/survivors especially re ways different cultures deal with trauma, loss/grief and burial rituals, etc.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 5

Further interventions required by the client are identified as per organisational policies and procedures.

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 4

Provide support under supervision in the immediate aftermath of traumatic events.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

Relationship building skills are applied to create an appropriate context for trauma support according to ethical and organisational requirements.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Range of relationship building skills include, but are not limited to: Creating safe spaces and introductions, building rapport, dealing with issues of confidentiality, communicating a non-judgemental attitude, etc.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

Interviewing and interpersonal skills are applied to provide support in accordance with ethical and organisational procedures and guidelines.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Range of interpersonal and interviewing skills include, but is not limited to: empathy, listening, reflection of content, feelings, meaning, clarifying, questioning, summarising, etc.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

Trauma support skills are applied to facilitate recovery in accordance with organisational policies and procedures.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Range of trauma support skills include, but are not limited to: attending to the client's immediate physical and psychological safety concerns, psyco-education, problem solving, mobilizing social support and community resources and referral.

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 5

Apply referral skills to facilitate access to other relevant services.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

Services required by the client are identified based on the client/victim needs.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

Relevant resources and services in the learner's local community are identified and explained using examples.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

Referral procedures to access these services are described according to accepted ethical practice and organisational procedures.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 4

Clients are referred to relevant service providers according to organisational policies and procedures.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 5

Feedback and reporting requirements after referring clients are described according to organisational policies and procedures.

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 6

Apply the principle of "self care" to reduce the incidence of secondary trauma.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

Factors that may contribute to secondary traumatisation are described using examples.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

The impact of providing trauma support is described with reference to the learner's own life.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

The terms "self-care" and "care for the care-givers" are defined and their purpose and benefits explained with examples.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 4

Personal and organisational strategies to reduce the risk of burnout and secondary traumatisation are described using examples.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 5

Strategies to establish these support services in their own organisation and lives are highlighted using examples.

UNIT STANDARD ACCREDITATION AND MODERATION OPTIONS

Moderation:

Any institution offering learning that will enable achievement of this Unit Standard and the related Exit Level Outcomes of the Qualification must be accredited by the relevant ETQA.

External Moderation of assessment will be overseen by the relevant ETQA at its discretion.

The accredited Training Provider will oversee internal moderation of assessment.

Internal and external moderation should encompass achievement of competence described in this Unit Standard as well as the integrated competence described in the Exit Level Outcome of the Qualification.

UNIT STANDARD ESSENTIAL EMBEDDED KNOWLEDGE

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders IV -TR

World Report on violence an health (WHO, 2002)

Multilingual Glossary for the Victim empowerment sector (Themba Lesizwe, 2005)

Multidisciplinary Glossary for the Victim Empowerment sector (Themba Lesizwe, 2005)

Service Charter and Minimum standards on services for victims of crime (2004)

Psychology Code of Ethics

Social Work ethical guidelines

UNIT STANDARD DEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOME

N/A

UNIT STANDARD LINKAGES

N/A

Critical Cross-field Outcomes (CCFO):

UNIT STANDARD CCFO WORKING

Work effectively with others as a member of a team, group, organisation and community to provide trauma support to clients.

UNIT STANDARD CCFO COLLECTING

Collect, analyse, organise and evaluate information about clients to ensure that the correct policies and procedures are followed in providing trauma support.

UNIT STANDARD CCFO COMMUNICATING

Use oral and written forms of Communication effectively to persuade all role-players to collaborate in providing effective trauma support services.

UNIT STANDARD CCFO DEMONSTRATING

Demonstrate an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by recognising that problem-solving contexts in trauma support require a multi-disciplinary and inter-sectoral approach.

UNIT STANDARD ASSESSOR CRITERIA

Assessors must be registered as assessors with a relevant ETQA, or an ETQA that has a Memorandum of Understanding with the relevant ETQA.

REREGISTRATION HISTORY

As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this unit standard was Reregistered in 2012; 2015.

UNIT STANDARD NOTES

Supplementary notes:

A traumatic event is an event/s outside the range of normal human experience where a person experienced, witnessed or was confronted with an event which include actual or threatened death, serious injury or a threat to the integrity of that person him/herself or another, and where the person experienced intense feelings of fear, helplessness or horror. Examples of traumatic events include human or manmade disasters violent crimes, motor vehicle accidents and human rights abuses.

Trauma refers to an emotional state of an individual or family to a hazardous event and not to the event itself, while stress is an every day experience.

Different types of trauma include once off/simple trauma where a person is exposed to only one traumatic event e.g. hijacking, burglary, rape and earthquake, multiple trauma when one is exposed to more than one type of trauma. The symptoms and interventions required in this type of trauma are more complex than in once off/single trauma.

Victimisation is a process whereby a person suffers harm through violation of criminal laws or internationally recognised human rights.

Direct victims are people who are directly exposed to the traumatic event, while indirect victims are people who had not directly experienced the event, but are also affected by the event e.g. witnesses, family members and friends of the direct victim, emergency staff, journalists and even sometimes the whole community affected by the event.

Supplementary notes for 1.4:

Public health responses to violence and trauma require different levels of intervention so that particular individuals can access services which are most appropriate to their needs.

The most basic level of service is the provision of information and awareness of victimization and how to access appropriate services. The next level of service provision involves victim support services (including practical assistance, liaison with the criminal justice system, legal protection instruments, information relating to rights and responsibilities, etc.) and trauma support services (including, practical assistance, creating safety, listening, mobilizing of coping and supportive resources, problem solving and referral for further psychological intervention). More intensive forms of intervention include trauma counselling (in which the details of the traumatic event are processed) and trauma therapy (in which the lasting consequences of traumatic exposure on a person's functioning are dealt with). Finally, in- or out-patient care may be needed for a small proportion of people exposed to a traumatic event, who are not able to function adequately in society. Trauma support and counselling is appropriate for people experiencing a post traumatic stress response. Trauma therapy and inpatient care are most often needed by people who have developed PTSD or another psychological disorder.

Supplementary notes for 1.5:

Psychological consequences of traumatic exposure vary widely. The majority of people exposed to a traumatic event experience an adaptive, although distressing, time limited response. This is referred to as post-traumatic stress response. Some people experience lasting and significant disturbance to their social, occupational and psychological functioning. Such disturbance is not adaptive and may not be resolved without further intervention, and is therefore described as a disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one, among several, disorders arising out of traumatic exposure.

Supplementary notes for 2.4:

Trauma support can fulfil different functions e.g. emergency situations such as a major accident or disaster, they can work with emergency personnel to meet basic survival/practical needs such as safety, medical attention, clean clothes, food, help to normalise the situation, provide basic mental health/psycho-education and identify individuals requiring follow up assistance. Once the immediate crisis has subsided, trauma support worker can provide trauma support under supervision and apply case management principles to ensure that clients gain access to other services required e.g. protection in cases of domestic violence, practical assistance, information with regard to criminal justice processes, follow up trauma counselling, etc).

Supplementary notes for 3.3: Trauma support model

T - Trusting relationship
R - Re-telling the story
A - Air the feelings
A - Understand and normalise the impact of the traumatic incident
M - Manage by facilitating and accessing social support
A - Action plan, referral and follow up

Supplementary notes for 5.4:

Service providers including volunteers in the helping/care giving sector are at risk of burnout, over emotional involvement, vicarious traumatisation and as a result may contribute to secondary victimisation of their clients. Systems should therefore be developed to prevent or reduce these risks. These may include regular clinical supervision, emphasising the personal responsibility for self care and participation in "care for the care-giver" programmes, etc.

QUALIFICATIONS UTILISING THIS UNIT STANDARD:

	ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	STATUS	END DATE	PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QA FUNCTIONARY
Core	49872	Further Education and Training Certificate: Victim Empowerment Co-ordination	Level 4	NQF Level 04	Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"	2023-06-30	HW SETA
Fundamental	58183	National Diploma: Forensic Pathology Support	Level 5	NQF Level 05	Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"	2023-06-30	SAS SETA

PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS UNIT STANDARD:

This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.

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