Therapist Core Training
Fulfilling OCVA pre-service training requirements.
If you provide sexual assault therapy services funded by an Office of Crime Victims Advocacy (OCVA) service grant or subcontract, you must fulfill specialized state training standards. This alternative framework ensures that providers possess a foundational, trauma-informed understanding of sexual violence dynamics rooted in a survivor empowerment model.
Rebuilding Hope is currently working to update the training grid for early 2027. You can find the current requirements here.
Therapist Core is a specialized, state-approved foundational training curriculum in Washington State designed for clinical mental health practitioners who provide therapy to survivors of sexual violence and trauma. Administered through approved frameworks like the Virtual Sexual Assault Therapy Core Training hosted by Rebuilding Hope, this multi-day certification ensures that practitioners possess an advanced, comprehensive understanding of the psychological dynamics of sexual victimization, trauma treatment modalities, and cross-system navigation (such as law enforcement and child protective protocols). Grounded in a trauma-informed survivor empowerment model, completing these core educational hours, or an approved alternative curriculum, is a mandatory compliance requirement for licensed or registered clinicians delivering therapeutic services funded by state subcontracts or Office of Crime Victims Advocacy (OCVA) grants.
OCVA funded therapists are required to attend therapy core within 6 months of hire or make alternative training arrangements.
What is Therapist Core?
What This Training Covers
Therapist Core content introduces key concepts, legal context, and treatment foundations for working with survivors of sexual violence across the lifespan. Topics currently covered include:
Philosophical Foundations
his section introduces the core ideas that shape sexual assault services and survivor-centered treatment. Topics include:
- What sexual assault is
- Sexual assault statistics and prevalence
- General legal definitions under Washington law
- Myths and facts about sexual violence
- An introduction to the criminal justice process and what survivors may experience
Adult Trauma and Treatment
This section focuses on clinical considerations when working with adult survivors. Topics include:
- Memory and trauma
- Diagnoses commonly associated with sexual assault
- Differential diagnosis considerations
- The impact of sexual assault on adult survivors
This section addresses child sexual abuse and treatment considerations for children and families. Topics include:
- The scope of child sexual abuse
- Grooming dynamics
- Mandatory reporting considerations
- Immediate and long-term impacts of child sexual abuse
- Evidence-based treatment components
- Memory considerations in trauma treatment
Who This Training Is For
This training is intended for therapists and other mental health professionals who provide treatment to survivors of sexual abuse and sexual assault. It is especially relevant for clinicians who want a stronger foundation in survivor-centered, empowerment-based, and trauma-informed approaches to care.
Training Approach
The training emphasizes an empowerment model for working with sexual assault survivors. It combines foundational knowledge about sexual violence with practical clinical considerations so providers can better understand survivor experiences, respond with sensitivity, and support healing in informed and respectful ways.
Looking for Advocate Core?
Advocate Core is designed for advocates and other service providers who need foundational training for direct service work with survivors. If you are looking for the core training pathway for advocacy roles, that is the best place to start.
You can go directly to Advocate Core to begin exploring the available training, or browse the full training catalog to see all current learning options on WA-SAST, including specialized, management, and legacy content.
