Barbara Oehlberg, MA
TLC Certified Trainer

Barbara Oehlberg is an education and child development consultant in Ohio. She has been a presenter and keynoter for the Harvard School of Public Health, New York State University and a long list of organizations throughout the country. She received the 1997 Humanitarian Award from the Center for Prevention of Domestic Violence and 1997 Volunteer Award from the N.W. Ohio Chapter, National Social Workers Association. Barb has authored several books, including Making It Better: Activities for Children in a Stressful World, Redleaf Press, Minneapolis, MN

Barbara presents the following courses:

Reaching and Teaching Stressed and Anxious Students

In every classroom there are students who have experienced grievous losses. For some, these losses have been multiple; for some, they have been sudden and shocking, throwing the entire family into crisis. The feelings that may be experienced under the umbrella of fear include a sense of abandonment, betrayal, helplessness, shame, hopelessness, disappointment, sadness, grief and depression. While these feelings emerge out of perceptions or interpretations, not reality, the feelings are very real to youngsters and ultimately drive their behaviors, that is, until the feelings are transformed. The appropriate behaviors cannot be resolved until the children have had an opportunity to symbolically process and integrate their loss. The good news is that there is a wealth of sensory activities that permit children to connect with the overwhelming memories in order to externalize the imprint of terror and helplessness and over come it. This course will provide the information and interventions needed for teachers to reach and teach these students. Also available online.

Trauma Informed Schools

For those who are employed by or assigned to schools, the goal of integrating trauma-sensitive practices can be challenging. Some standard school policies tend to aggravate the distress of students who have traumatic memories, compounding behavioral and learning issues. School counselors, social workers, and mental health personnel assigned to schools are expected to “fix” student behavioral problems but have little or no influence on school policies. By integrating trauma sensitivity into school policies and teaching strategies, school climates and academic achievement can greatly improve, especially in districts serving fiscally depressed communities. This course will give you information to provide to school administrators and staff which illustrates the correlations between trauma, brain development, behavioral, and learning issues. By sharing information that permits schools to address the root causes of behavioral and learning dilemmas, educators will be empowered to reach the improved achievement expectations required by state and federal departments of education. Also available online.