Commercial sexual exploitation (also known as sex trafficking) impacts minors and adults of all genders, many of whom are unaware they are victims or that help is available. This is a trauma-informed one-hour panel discussion on identifying and resourcing trafficking victims. You can watch the recording for free or take the 1 CE hour online self-study course.
- Utilizing Telehealth in Identifying and Resourcing Trafficking Victims
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This course was recorded 9/18/2020
Upon completion of this training professionals should be able to do the following:
- Recognize and identify victims of sexual exploitation in a virtual setting
- Identify and locate resources for victims of sexual exploitation
Alia El-Sawi currently serves as the Victim Assistance Specialist for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). She has worked on human trafficking cases for 15 years. Alia’s area of responsibility includes all of Georgia and Alabama (and she formerly covered North and South Carolina). In this capacity, she designs and provides educational training and outreach to law enforcement, attorneys, mainstream service providers, and community-based organizations on human trafficking and child exploitation. Additionally, she is involved in conducting victim interviews and completing a portion of the immigration documents and relief available to human trafficking survivors. Alia works to establish collaborative relationships locally, statewide, and nationally. Prior to her work with Homeland Security, Alia worked for a non-profit, Tapestri, and served as the Anti-Human Trafficking Program Coordinator. In her past position, she provided trainings, outreach, and direct services/case management to foreign-born survivors of human trafficking. Alia also worked on cases that involved immigrant and refugee survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and rape. She also served as the Chair of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Rescue & Restore Board for 3 years and served as the Freedom Network’s Social Service Committee Chair for 3 years. Alia is experienced in public speaking and has made many presentations for the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of Labor, and Department of Health and Human Services. She has also presented in other local, state, national, and international events and conferences. El-Sawi has traveled overseas to train foreign governments on human trafficking in Chile, Peru, Brazil, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, and Budapest, Hungary. Alia has received several awards and recognition for her work within human trafficking: Georgia Trend’s Top 40 Under 40; ISB’s Top 40 Under 40; Atlanta Young Government Leaders Award; Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement Director’s Award; U.S. Attorney’s Award for the Northern District of Georgia; Special Agent in Charge Atlanta’s Patrick Wilhelm Award; and Mercer University’s Mary Ann Drake Award Combatting Human Trafficking. Alia speaks Arabic, French, Spanish, and conversational Portuguese; she has Bachelor's degrees from Mercer University in International Affairs and another in French. Additionally, Alia has her Master's degree from Boston University in Criminal Justice with a focus in Victimology.
Mel Meyer is the Director of Atlanta Dream Center’s Anti-Sex Trafficking Department, referred to as Out of Darkness. Through years of working as a program director for at-risk youth programs and juvenile justice educational programs, Mel became aware of the impact of commercial sexual exploitation in the United States. Mel completed her Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Administration, developed awareness material with Not For Sale GA, and then she joined the Atlanta Dream Center team, where she served has the Director of Residential Services for 5 years. In this role, she worked in direct-care services, developed promising practices for crisis care and directed the crisis safe homes and staff. As of January 2018, Mel is now the Director of all programming in the Anti-Sex Trafficking Department. She has served on the Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force for 3 years, and currently chairs a work group focused on initiatives for adult domestic victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation.
Dr. Vanessa Snyder is the Vice President of the Richmont Institute for Trauma & Recovery and is an Assistant Professor Richmont Graduate University. She spearheaded the launch of the Richmont Trauma Center and now directs all clinical services. She is a practicing Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Professional Counselor. She is also an AAMFT Approved Supervisor, Approved Clinical Supervisor, Certified Sex Therapist, Certified Master Traumatologist, and Certified Anger Management Specialist. Clinically, she specializes in treatment of trauma, complex trauma, and dissociative disorders. Her areas of research include program evaluation and treatment in human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation; dissociative disorders and spirituality, adverse childhood experiences effects in treatment, and compassion fatigue & burnout, organizational trauma.
Experience: Snyder, V. (March 2020). Traumatized Clients, the Drama Triangle, and the Person of the Therapist: A Backwards Journey Through Organizational Trauma.
Presented at the Christian Association of Psychological Studies (CAPS). Atlanta, GA.
Rosenau, D. & Snyder, V. (March, 2020). Restoring Sexual Intimacy after Trauma. Presented at the Christian Association of Psychological Studies (CAPS). Atlanta, GA.
Snyder, V. (April, 2020). Treating Traumatized Families. Green Cross Certification Workshop; Presented for Richmont Institute of Trauma & Recovery, Atlanta, GA.
Credit Hours: This course consists of 1 credit hour.
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Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0048. Approval renewal date: 1/31/2023
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Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0435. Approval renewal date: 2/28/2023
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Other Professionals: This activity qualifies for 60 minutes of instructional content as required by many national, state and local licensing boards and professional organizations. Retain your certificate of completion and contact your board or organization for specific filing requirements.
This is a non-interactive, self-study course.
To receive your certificate of completion you must complete the course in its entirety.
Online courses are completed by registering, logging in, navigating to your course using the menu (My Courses – the Course Title), completing all of the modules, completing and passing the post-test, and completing the course evaluation.
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Psychologists and other professionals seeking CE credit through our approval with the American Psychological Association are asked, but not required, to complete the course evaluation before obtaining their certificate of completion, however passing a post-test for online self-study courses, and submitting one's attendance for live on-site and live webinars is required.
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Cancellation Policy
Refunds are offered within the first 30 days for courses which have not been completed. There is a $25 service fee for refunds.
Grievance Policy
This course is intended for clinicians who provide behavioral health services.
Teaching methods for this course include recorded lectures, videos, a post-test, and a course evaluation. The course may include required reading.
This program was recorded on March 22, 2021
You have six months to access online courses from the time of purchase.
Dr. Vanessa Snyder is the Vice President of the Richmont Institute for Trauma & Recovery and is an Assistant Professor Richmont Graduate University. She spearheaded the launch of the Richmont Trauma Center and now directs all clinical services. She is a practicing Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Professional Counselor. She is also an AAMFT Approved Supervisor, Approved Clinical Supervisor, Certified Sex Therapist, Certified Master Traumatologist, and Certified Anger Management Specialist. Clinically, she specializes in treatment of trauma, complex trauma, and dissociative disorders. Her areas of research include program evaluation and treatment in human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation; dissociative disorders and spirituality, adverse childhood experiences effects in treatment, and compassion fatigue & burnout, organizational trauma.
Experience: Snyder, V. (March 2020). Traumatized Clients, the Drama Triangle, and the Person of the Therapist: A Backwards Journey Through Organizational Trauma.
Presented at the Christian Association of Psychological Studies (CAPS). Atlanta, GA.
Rosenau, D. & Snyder, V. (March, 2020). Restoring Sexual Intimacy after Trauma. Presented at the Christian Association of Psychological Studies (CAPS). Atlanta, GA.
Snyder, V. (April, 2020). Treating Traumatized Families. Green Cross Certification Workshop; Presented for Richmont Institute of Trauma & Recovery, Atlanta, GA.
Melissa Herrmann, Founder of Emerge Counseling and Consulting and Co-Founder of M3 Transformations, spent the past 19-years focused on working directly with children-at-risk and vulnerable women across the globe. Her efforts have entailed establishing and directing numerous children’s homes and residential facilities, developing community-based programs, training thousands of professionals and organizations around the world, and providing trauma counseling and psycho-education. Her program models have been recognized by multiple governments, which led her to assist the government of Rwanda in nationalized orphan-care policy reform. Her work has been in collaboration with organizations such as UN, USAID, and World Vision.
Melissa has been a part of numerous counsels, collaborative groups, and NGO board of directors seeking to provide insight into policy reform and program development for traumatized populations. Her efforts span Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America and the South Pacific. She has additionally been a foster and adoptive mother. Melissa has her MA in Human Services and Counseling from Regent University (2017) and her BA in Sociology from Vanguard University (2003). In 2010, Melissa was the recipient of the American Red Cross Hero Award.
