All About the "ACE" Study" Understanding the Long Term Impact of Childhood Trauma
Presented by
Dreya Blume, LCSWThis training invites clinicians to dive into the groundbreaking Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study and discover how its findings can illuminate what unfolds in the therapy room every day.
Overview
1.5 CEs (Meets criteria for Health Equity or Cultural Competency credit) Recorded: January, 2026
Childhood trauma doesn’t just live in the past - it echoes into adulthood, shaping how clients think, feel, and relate to the world. This training invites clinicians to dive into the groundbreaking Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study and discover how its findings can illuminate what unfolds in the therapy room every day. Together, we’ll connect the dots between early adversity and the struggles clients bring into treatment, from anxiety and depression to health issues and relationship difficulties.
Through reflective discussion and practical applications, participants will learn how to use the ACE framework as a lens for deeper understanding and compassionate clinical work. Therapists will walk away with strategies to integrate ACE awareness into assessment, treatment planning, and interventions, while also empowering clients to build resilience and create new possibilities for growth.
Workshop Objectives:
Develop an ability to recognize how ACE-related patterns show up in clients’ presenting concerns and relational dynamics. Learn practical ways to apply the ACE framework to assessment and treatment planning in everyday clinical practice. Identify strategies to foster resilience and post-traumatic growth in clients with high ACE scores.
About the Presenter
Dreya Blume (she/her) is a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, author, and educator. Dreya began working in the mental health field in 2004 in southwest Virginia, where she spent almost two decades serving the local transgender community as a gender therapist. She recently moved to Durham, NC, where she focuses on offering continuing education training to therapists and coaching for private practice clinicians who want to expand their business uniquely. Dreya loves to write and is the author of several books, including, “The Tarot Activity Book: A Collection of Creative and Therapeutic Ideas for the Cards,” “Journaling the Tarot,” “Everyone Has a Story: Using the Hero’s Journey and Narrative Therapy to Reframe the Struggle of Mental Illness,” and “Tarot for Transformation: Using the Major Arcana to Discover Your Best Self and Create a Life Worth Living.” All of Dreya’s books (under her former name, Andy Matzner) are available here: https://dreyablume.com/books. Dreya is also passionate about teaching. Before becoming a mental health clinician, she spent many years teaching English as a Second Language in places such as Japan, Australia, Thailand, and Hawaii. Once in Virginia, Dreya worked as an adjunct professor for almost twenty years at Hollins University, teaching gender studies and sociology in their Master of Liberal Studies program. In addition, she spent twelve years teaching future social workers in the human services program at Virginia Western Community College. Learn more about Dreya on her website: https://dreyablume.com/.