Trauma Therapist Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Trauma Therapist resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Trauma therapists help people cope with and overcome the emotional wounds that result from traumatic experiences like violence, abuse, natural disasters, or accidents. If you’re passionate about helping others heal, enjoy working with diverse populations, and have a knack for creating safe spaces for healing conversations, this could be the right career for you.
Before you begin your job search, it’s important to have a compelling resume ready to send to prospective employers. Here are some tips and an example for reference when writing yours.
How to Write a Trauma Therapist Resume
Here’s how to write a resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
Bullet points are the most effective way to showcase your experience and qualifications. And when it comes to bullet points, the more specific and detailed you can be, the better.
For example, rather than saying you “provided therapy to patients with PTSD,” you could say you “provided trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy to veterans with PTSD resulting from military combat, providing them with tools to manage symptoms and improve quality of life.”
The second bullet point is much more specific and provides more detail about what exactly you did and the type of patients you worked with.
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a trauma therapist role, your resume is likely to be scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS) for certain keywords. The ATS will search for specific terms related to trauma therapy, like “counseling” and “trauma” in order to determine whether your skills and experience match the job description. If your resume doesn’t include enough relevant keywords, the ATS might automatically reject your application.
To increase your chances of getting an interview, use this list of common trauma therapist keywords as a starting point:
- Trauma
- Crisis Intervention
- Psychology
- Mental Health
- Mental Health Counseling
- Working with Adolescents
- Group Therapy
- EMDR
- Behavioral Health
- Social Services
- Case Management
- Interventions
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Community Outreach
- Post Traumatic Stress
- Trauma Therapy
- Critical Incident Stress Management
- Individual Counselling
- Psychotherapy
- Clinical Supervision
- Family Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children
- Nonviolent Crisis Intervention
- Leadership
- Crisis Management
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Psychology Practice
- Family Systems
Showcase Your Technical Skills
As a trauma therapist, it is important to be proficient in a variety of software programs and systems that can help you effectively treat your patients. This might include familiarity with clinical research databases, case management software, or patient portals. Additionally, many trauma therapists use social media platforms to connect with their patients and provide resources, so it is important to be familiar with these platforms.
Some of the programs and systems that trauma therapists are typically expected to be proficient in include: clinical research databases, case management software, patient portals, and social media platforms.