NASW Highlights Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month 2025
Denise Johnson, LCSW-C
Senior Practice Associate for Clinical Social Work
June 2025
June is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month, and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) encourages everyone to recognize the vital role social workers play in supporting those affected by PTSD.
PTSD is a psychiatric condition that may develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event perceived as emotionally or physically harmful or life-threatening. In the United States, about 4% of adults currently live with PTSD, and approximately 8% of adolescents aged 13 to 18 are affected. Over a lifetime, around 6% of the U.S. population will experience this condition.[1],[2]
Social workers are essential in both assessing and treating individuals with PTSD. Through services such as psychotherapy, group counseling, and case management, social workers help individuals and their loved ones cope with symptoms and foster improved well-being. Social workers' role in supporting loved ones can be equally valuable as it helps create a supportive environment and promotes resilience. Below, NASW offers valuable information and resources for social workers dedicated to supporting individuals living with PTSD and their loved ones.
Upcoming Events
Please visit NASW’s Continuing Education website for more information
From Knowing to Doing: Trauma-Informed Leadership for Social Workers in Practice
June 23, 2025 (1 – 2 pm ET)
This webinar equips social workers with the tools to bridge the gap between trauma-informed theory and practical application. Participants will learn actionable strategies to enhance self-awareness, regulate stress responses, and foster inclusive, trauma-informed team cultures. The session focuses on turning knowledge into action, addressing personal and systemic barriers, and providing practical tools to lead with emotional intelligence and resilience in today’s challenging social work environments.
Navigating the Chaotic Wake of Childhood Traumatic Loss, Grief, and Bereavement: Targeted and Sensitive Strategies for Social Workers
July 9, 2025 (1 – 2:30 pm ET)
Grief and bereavement are complex experiences that evolve across childhood development, affecting each in diverse ways. This webinar will explore the fundamental processes of grief, mourning, and bereavement, clarifying key definitions and their implications as it relates to children and teens. Beyond death-related losses, a range of life experiences that trigger grief, including relational, and identity-based losses, will also be examined. Additionally, the profound impact of loss on mental health, exploring how it can contribute to or exacerbate psychological distress, physical sequela, and behavioral manifestations, will be analyzed. By gaining a deeper understanding of these dynamics, attendees will be better equipped to support individuals navigating loss in both clinical and everyday settings.
Parents Under Stress: A Social Work Response to a National Health Crisis
August 14, 2025 (1 – 2 pm ET)
This webinar will address how social workers can support parents through micro-level clinical care and support the mental health of families in schools, including macro-level changes that support both parents and caregivers. Emphasis will be placed on how social media increases parental/youth stress, and the roll of school shootings in parental/youth stress. Supporting “good-enough” parenting will also be addressed.
NASW Publications
Black Male Youth Raised in Public Systems: Engagement, Healing, Hope validates the fears, anxieties, and complexities of these youth. Readers will gain practical strategies for moving the art of engagement beyond trauma-informed practice to healing and recovery. The overall purpose is to encourage a sense of urgency rather than fear in every professional’s ability to facilitate the healing of Black male youth who, by the very nature of their circumstances, trust no adults and experience no true safety.
Interpersonal Violence: The Social Work Response proposes that it is essential for social workers to understand the evolving and persistent landscape of interpersonal violence, including concurrent victimization, overlapping patterns, and intersections. The book encourages a three-pronged approach, one that is trauma informed, culturally responsive, and survivor centered.
Managing Client Violence: A Practical Guide for Social Workers is the ultimate resource for social workers and agencies concerned with staff safety. Using an ecological approach, Christina E. Newhill provides strategies for predicting violence, establishing a rapport with aggressive and violent clients, and treating violent clients through various interventions. The book also addresses the psychological and emotional impact of experiencing violence, including primary and secondary traumatic stress reactions, the stages of trauma resolution, and the important role of professional self-care in maintaining well-being and preventing burnout.
The School Social Work Toolkit 2nd Edition is the go-to guide for social workers, counselors, and mental health professionals in primary and secondary education. Issue-specific groups are discussed, including those for grief and loss, anger management, bullying intervention, healthy masculinity, and healthy relationships. Addressing student trauma whether in school or at home—is a central theme throughout. Additionally, the authors make recommendations for establishing healthy boundaries, creating work–life balance, avoiding burnout, and building a self-care routine.
Web Resources
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States.
Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP)
CDP provides training to military and civilian behavioral health professionals serving military personnel, veterans and their families. Providers can find resources on a variety of mental health conditions including PTSD.
NASW Research Library
NASW Research Library is a benefit for members that provides resources that support social work practice. Members can access the latest PTSD research and explore over 25 international databases with thousands of documents from top research institutions, think tanks, and advocacy groups.
National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
The United States Department of Veteran Affairs has specific information about PTSD. This site offers free expert consultation, education, and resources to Veteran Affairs providers and civilian (community-based) health care professionals treating Veterans. A Self-Care Toolkit is also available for providers who work with those exposed to traumatic events, to help reduce the effects of job-related stress, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress.
National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)
This unique network of frontline providers, family members, researchers, and national partners is committed to changing the course of children’s lives by improving their care and moving scientific gains quickly into practice across the U.S. The NCTSN has trained more than two million professionals in trauma-informed interventions. Hundreds of thousands more are benefiting from the other community services, website resources, webinars, educational products, community programs, and more.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
The NIMH provides information and resources to those who have concerns about their mental health to include those with PTSD.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA)
SAMHSA offers tools, training, and technical assistance to practitioners who treat PTSD as well as other mental health and substance use disorders. The administration also has a Disaster Distress Helpline which provides 24/7, 365-day-a-year crisis counseling and support to people experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters.
[1] American Psychiatric Association. (n.d.).What is PTSD?https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd
[2] Denzler, B. (2023). Owning It: Rising to the Challenge of Patients with Medical PTSD. Physician Leadership Journal, 10(6), 27-29.