More than Just a Job: Navigating Career Well-Being When You’re Also a Survivor
Live Webinar Session
November 19, 2026, from 9:00 am–10:30 am
The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the webinar, “More than Just a Job: Navigating Career Well-Being When You’re Also a Survivor."
Session Description:
This training provides a critical and supportive look at the challenges faced by first responders and survivor-professionals, those individuals who have a history of trauma or maltreatment and are currently working in the victim-serving or child protection workforce.
Learning Objectives:
- Name four challenges faced by child protection or victim service professionals who have their own trauma history
- Identify three personal or organizational strategies for promoting well-being and career satisfaction
- Integrate two practical tools and resources within teams, organizations, or academic institutions to support professionals who are also survivors
Participant Registration and Cost:
This training series is free. Participants need to register in advance for the training. Please visit here to register.
Presenters:
Dr. Tyler Counsil brings two decades of experience across the public and private laboratory sector, having served as a Microbiologist, DNA Specialist, Quality Assurance/Quality Control Manager, and Forensic Scientist throughout his career. His most recent laboratory role was as a Forensic Scientist with the Indiana State Police Laboratory Division, where his training spanned DNA and body fluid analysis, drug analysis, questioned document examination, firearms, fingerprinting, photography, trace evidence, crime scene investigation, and child forensic interviewing.
Dr. Counsil has advanced expertise in medicolegal death investigation, currently serving as the elected Coroner of Daviess County, Indiana, where he applies his skills in multidisciplinary team management, scene processing, evidence collection, and trauma-informed death investigation. He serves as the lead training liaison for the Indiana Department of Health and the Indiana State Coroners Association for child death investigations, providing mandatory training on the subject to Coroners and Deputy Coroners across the state. Dr. Counsil also holds the Diplomate designation from the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (D-ABMDI), a credential the National Institute of Justice recognizes as the Gold Standard in death investigation. Of the approximately 10,000 active death investigation professionals in the United States, fewer than 30% hold any national credential — and fewer than 10 investigators across all of Indiana’s 92 counties have achieved Diplomate status — placing Dr. Counsil among the most rigorously vetted death investigation experts in both the state and the nation.
Beyond his forensic work, Dr. Counsil has spent over a decade in higher education as an Associate Professor and Departmental Chair for Child Advocacy Studies (CAST), Criminal Justice, and Forensic Science programs. He brings deep expertise in program assessment and accreditation for both traditional and non-traditional curricula, and continues his scholarly contributions as a manuscript reviewer and editorial board member for peer-reviewed publications. As both an educator and first responder, he understands the critical need for experiential training that prepares child-serving professionals to identify and respond to all forms of child maltreatment.
As Director of CAST and overseer of Zero Abuse Project’s Indiana field office, Dr. Counsil is dedicated to leveraging his experience as a scientist, investigator, and educator to advance child advocacy, strengthen academic programming, and drive research in the field.
For questions, please contact Tricia Everetts, DCJS Victims Services Training and Communication Coordinator, at tricia.everetts@dcjs.virginia.gov.