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Live Webinar

Trauma Biology, Biomarker Assessment, and Resilience-Focused Care

Elizabeth Marshall, MA, LMFT
Klara Alexandra Esposito, MA, MS, PhD
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Information

Date & Time

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  • Identify and describe at least three physiological systems impacted by chronic trauma exposure, including the HPA axis, the autonomic nervous system, and inflammatory signaling pathways.

  • Explain the relationship between cumulative trauma load and resilience capacity, and describe how dysregulation of this balance presents in clinical contexts.

  • Distinguish clearly between informational biomarker interpretation and medical diagnosis, articulating the ethical and scope boundaries that govern each.

  • Classify biological stress activation patterns using the Green, Yellow, and Red framework, and explain what each classification suggests about a client's current physiological state.

  • Apply the START™ framework to organize trauma-informed assessment, intervention planning, and resilience-building strategies.

  • Produce a scope-compliant verbal and written explanation of RNA blood marker test findings appropriate for client communication, using model scripts and documentation templates introduced in the training.

  • Identify clinical indicators that warrant referral to a physician or other medical provider, and describe best practices for communicating and documenting those referral recommendations.

Educational Goal

The educational goal of this workshop is to equip licensed mental health and allied health professionals with the foundational knowledge and practical clinical skills needed to integrate trauma biology and RNA biomarker assessment into ethical, evidence-informed practice, without crossing into medical diagnosis.

Description

Trauma-informed care has evolved significantly over the past two decades. Where clinicians once relied almost exclusively on self-report, symptom checklists, and behavioral observation, emerging research in stress physiology and molecular biology now offers a complementary lens: objective, measurable data about how chronic stress and trauma are reshaping the body at a biological level. The training is organized around the START™ framework (Strategic Trauma Assessment & Resilience Training), a structured clinical model that guides practitioners from biological understanding through assessment interpretation, resilience readiness evaluation, and ethical intervention planning. Throughout each module, the program emphasizes scope-compliant communication, documentation best practices, and the critical distinction between informational biomarker patterns and medical diagnoses. This program is appropriate for any licensed professional who works with clients experiencing trauma, chronic stress, PTSD, or trauma-related health impacts, including those in clinical, organizational, first responder, and veteran-services settings.

Target Audience

  • Addiction Professional
  • Counselor
  • Marriage & Family Therapist
  • Psychologist
  • Social Worker

Presenters

Elizabeth Marshall, MA, LMFT
Elizabeth Marshall, MA, LMFT (CA License #51459) is a senior behavioral health leader with over 25 years of experience in clinical care and program leadership, including more than a decade supporting Department of Defense initiatives. She has led large-scale behavioral health programs across U.S. military installations, overseeing extensive networks of clinicians serving active-duty service members and their families. Ms. Marshall specializes in crisis response, grief and loss, resilience, and military family readiness, and is recognized for implementing trauma-informed, mission-focused care in high-demand environments. Her background also includes hospice and bereavement care, youth and family services, and community-based behavioral health. She serves as Board President of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), San Diego Chapter, where she advances suicide prevention, veteran advocacy, and community healing initiatives at both the local and national levels.
Klara Alexandra Esposito, MA, MS, PhD
Dr. Klara Alexandra Esposito M.A., M.S., PhD is a psychological associate, research psychologist, and state-credentialed counselor specializing in working with children and young adults with exceptional needs in specialty educational environments in Arizona. Moreover, she has spent the past 5 years expanding research, prevention practices, and applications in crisis and trauma for protected populations and the military. With over a decade of experience in the United States, her tenets began with working with the autism spectrum and other related disorders and diagnoses. Dr. Esposito completed her MS in Psychology at Grand Canyon University in her home state of Arizona and her PhD in Counseling and Psychological Studies at Regent University in Virginia, with an emphasis on trauma and crisis. Moreover, her doctoral training includes crisis and trauma counseling for various adult populations, including ex-patriots and veteran personnel. Notably, she has spent the last five years working as a crisis counselor, trainer, and behavioral specialist in Japan, with a specific focus on suicide prevention, domestic violence, and sexual violence. Currently, Dr. Esposito is completing her postdoc at William & Mary, located in Williamsburg, Virginia, in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, to expand clinical services. Visit her website based on her dissertation, advocating for professionals in helping and mental health professions: https://pr-advocacy.com/

Financially Sponsored By

  • Blue Rose Consulting Group, Inc.