About Us
Mission Statement
The mission of the Institute for Professional Development (IPD) is to support the skill development and capacity of mental health clinicians, healthcare, and safety net providers to work with survivors of traumatic events. Given the growing numbers of displaced persons, refugees, immigrants, and other communities impacted by war, forced migration, natural disasters, and loss, there is an urgent need to provide trauma-informed and culturally responsive training to professionals who work to address the unique and multifaceted psychological and social support needs within these communities. IPD fosters collaboration among researchers to identify effective evidenced-based responses to such catastrophic events. Additionally, IPD is responsive to the experiences of journalists who are reporting on war, immigration, and related mental health experiences.
Professionals can participate in a range of didactic and experiential training that support skill development in areas to learn about: trauma-informed intervention approaches, cultural responsiveness, resilience, suicide prevention, vicarious trauma, and self-care, among many other topics. IPD’s diverse and interdisciplinary faculty bring both subject matter expertise and front-line experience to provide a rich collaborative learning environment for participants in the Institute’s training and workshop offerings.
Joan W. Duncan, PhD Founder & Co-Director
Caroline S. Clauss-Ehlers, PhD, ABPP, Co-Founder & Co-Director
Caroline S. Clauss-Ehlers, PhD, ABPP, Co-Founder & Co-Director