Full Course Description

2-Day Shame-Informed Treatment Certification Course

Shame lurks in the shadows of almost every therapy hour.

It can push your clients to hide their innermost feelings, put them into a freeze state where they feel trapped and powerless, or cause them to lash out at you in-session as they mask their shame with anger and blame.

Yet for most of us, working with shame wasn’t part of our university or supervised training. How will you move your clients forward when they’ve spent a lifetime viewing themselves as wrong, unlovable, and unworthy of getting better?

This 2-day Certification Training will give you the skills and tools you need to end the tyrannical hold of shame and empower your clients to develop the acceptance of themselves, others and reality necessary for the effective treatment of shame-prone clients with trauma, stress, anxiety, eating disorders, substance use, and anger issues.

Watch and get the training you need to:

End shame avoidance that stalls therapy
Reduce judgmental thoughts and reactivity
Reclaim the body from shame
Overcome fears about failure, inadequacy and rejection that get clients stuck
Build shame resiliency with interventions based on empathy, forgiveness and compassion

Program Information

Objectives

Discriminate between guilt and core shame and elaborate on the adaptive, social and clinical implications.
Evaluate the role of attachment in the formation of a shame-based identity.
Investigate the neurophysiology of shame as seen through the lens of Porges’ polyvagal theory.
Assess for verbal and non-verbal signs of shame in clients.
Employ interview questions for assessing shame in clients’ relationships and current patterns.
Investigate how clinicians can enhance attunement to create trust and openness with shame-prone clients.
Evaluate how therapists can use co-regulation to create a sense of safety and equal power in the therapeutic relationship.
Support how clinicians can increase vulnerability and self-awareness of their own shame to overcome barriers of relational presence.
Investigate how shame acts as a cover for anger and explain how compassion exercises can be employed to help clients let go of anger.
Evaluate the importance of managing shame in clients with substance use issues in efforts to prevent relapse.
Employ somatic interventions to help cultivate secure attachment in trauma clients.
Communicate how shame pushes clients into binge eating and clarify how self-acceptance interventions can be used to reduce emotional eating.

Outline

Shame, Attachment and Social-Emotional Development

The difference between guilt, shame and core shame
Shame and attachment
Ruptured interpersonal bridges
The evolution of social-emotional development
Why self-compassion is so hard to access

The Neurophysiology of Shame:
Polyvagal Theory, Shame and the Shutdown Response

Shame and the Vagus Nerve
Neuroception, shame and felt safety
Core shame and implicit memory
Three common responses to shame
How addressing shame expedites treatment

Recognizing Shame: Assessment Tools

Why shame goes undetected by clinicians
Multicultural perspectives
Perfectionism, rage, blame and other defenses against shame
Reading the body - non-verbal signs of shame
Interview questions for assessing shame in relationships and current patterns
Self-assessment: identify your own shame

How to Create a Safe and Empathetic Therapeutic Environment

Mirror neurons and relational presence
Attunement as the key to therapeutic change
Large Empathy and being vulnerable
Avoid stigmatizing language in therapy
Co-regulating safety and equal power in the therapeutic relationship

Re-Write the Story of Shame into “I Am Enough”:
Clinical Strategies to Cultivate Secure Attachment and Self-Compassion

Somatic approaches to cultivate secure attachment
Self-compassion and gratitude exercises
The four therapeutic “R”s: Recognize, Respect, Regulate and Re-Story
Four “C” shovels to calm nervous system and self-regulate shame response
Exercises to strengthen connections
Creative arts, music and poetry – increase neuroplasticity
Playfulness, humor and being in nature can rewire the brain
Mindfulness and meditations for non-judgmental awareness of shame
Narratives and visualizations to re-write clients stories to safety and being enough
Research, limitations and potential risks

Connect Shame-Informed Clinical Strategies to the Treatment of:
Anger and Rage

Shame of fear: Shame as a cover for anger
Self-acceptance techniques for internal damage control
Compassion and forgiveness exercises to let go of anger

Trauma

Somatic interventions
Strategies to survive without guilt
Exercises to rediscover self-worth

Stress and Anxiety

Mediate the paralysis of perfection with self-acceptance
Social anxiety as shame & self-doubt
Mindfulness-based, non-anxious self-consciousness

Eating Disorders

How shame pushes clients into binge eating
Choice Awareness Training for moderation & presence
Self-acceptance strategies for emotional eating

Substance Abuse and Addiction

Addressing the shame of relapse
Self-assertive trigger avoidance
Choice awareness techniques for habit modification
Build craving/impulse control skill power

Depression, Self-Harm & Suicidality

Recognize how internalized shame can deepen depression
Developing healthy coping strategies for uncomfortable feelings
Demystifying shame responses and returning them to their origin

Target Audience

Licensed Professional Counselor
Psychologist
Clinical Social Worker
Certified Addictions Counselor
Marriage and Family Therapist
Psychiatrist
Psychiatric Nurses and NPs
School Counselor
School Psychologist

Copyright : 10/15/2020

Disordered Eating: Somatic, Self-Compassion, and Mindfulness Interventions for Lasting Recovery

Overeating. Emotional eating. Chronic dieting. Binge eating. Restriction. Compensatory behaviors.

Regardless of where your clients fall on the disordered eating spectrum, they all share the same painful cyclical experience of unrelenting self-criticism, negative body image, unhealthy behavior, and shame. And while great strides have been made in ED treatment, the recovery rate is still only 50%.

Watch Dr. Ann Saffi, Somatic Psychotherapist and ED specialist, for this in-depth seminar where you’ll discover how to help clients re-connect with their long-neglected bodies, let go of the “not ____ enough” narrative, and learn to embrace, befriend, and listen to the internal wisdom of their bodies.

Packed with practical interventions based in somatic psychotherapy, self-compassion, and mindfulness, this comprehensive seminar will shift your perspective and provide you with strategies that:

Shift the focus from shame to empowerment from the very start of treatment
Are evidence-based and can easily be integrated into what you’re already doing
Replace the harsh inner critic with self-compassion and curiosity
Help clients re-establish bodily cues for hunger, fullness, and sensory awareness
Calm the nervous system and regulate emotions in triggering situations

Program Information

Objectives

Determine the neurobiological impact of chronic disordered eating patterns on the brain for purposes of providing accurate and effective psychoeducation to clients.
Develop evidence-based somatic interventions for reducing negative self-talk and poor body image in clients with disordered eating.
Integrate self-compassion and somatic interventions into existing treatment approaches, including CBT and DBT.
Utilize mindfulness-based interventions to help clients manage emotional dysregulation and food/body image triggers.
Appraise and manage potential countertransference issues that may arise during treatment with clients with disordered eating.
Evaluate the empirical literature around self-compassion and somatic interventions for disordered eating recovery.

Outline

Embodiment: Setting the Stage for Self-Compassion and Recovery

What is embodiment and why does it matter?
Why somatic interventions are the missing piece of sustained recovery
The “mind-body divide” in Western culture
Changing our perception of what sustainable recovery looks like
Experiential Strategy: Breath Inside the Body

The Neuroscience Behind ED: Why Brain-Based Interventions Are Imperative to Recovery

What happens in the eating disordered brain?
Understanding interoceptive awareness (IA)
The link between the nervous system, embodied cognition, and emotional regulation
Reduce shame and blame with accurate psychoeducation
Experiential Strategy: Interoceptive Awareness (IA) Practice of Emotional Containment

Self-Compassion: “How Do I Take Care of Myself When I Hate Myself?”

The three components of self-compassion
Delivery is everything when it comes to self-compassion!
Developing self-compassion when there is none to be found
Moving from compassion to action
Strategies to help your client:
- Reframe the recovery process as both nonlinear and continuous
- Embrace themselves in a kinder, gentler way
- Release the shame/blame cycle
- Soothe the inner critic
- Learn to re-parent themselves
Experiential Strategy: Connecting with Another, Connecting with Self

Mindfulness and Emotional Regulation: Feel it, Label it, Attend to it

What if your client can’t handle what they become aware of?
Stay in the moment, contain the moment, move on from the movement
Strategies to help your client:
- Stay in the moment, regardless of how it feels
- Build distress tolerance and emotional regulation
- Manage body image triggers
- Cope with challenging moments
Experiential Strategy: Two Wings of a Bird; Compassionate Teacher

Clinical Considerations

Integrating somatic interventions into existing frameworks (CBT, DBT, etc.)
Does my client need a specialist or higher level of care?
Countertransference issues; when to seek supervision
Limitations of the research and potential risks

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Marriage & Family Therapists
Psychologists
Addiction Counselors
Case Managers
Registered Dietitians & Dietetic Technicians
Nurses
Occupational Therapists
Occupational Therapy Assistants
Physicians
Other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 07/29/2021

Binge Eating Disorder: Clinical Interventions to Treat Underlying Trauma, Body Shame, and the Diet/Binge Cycle

Body shaming comments. Lengthy dieting history. Shame associated with food choices. Black and white rules around eating. Talking frequently about weight loss/gain – or evading the issues completely. Does your client have disordered eating or binge eating disorder?

Three times more common than all other eating disorders combined, Binge Eating Disorder is pervasive across gender, race, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status throughout the United States. And given that 80% of clients with BED also have a history of trauma, you need to know how to assess and treat this disorder regardless of your clinical specialty.

If you’re doing trauma work, you may already have clients with BED. Are you prepared?

In this recording, join Amy Pershing, LMSW, ACSW, author, psychotherapist and expert on BED, as she introduces a comprehensive, evidence-based toolkit of successful interventions that:

Transform your client’s relationship with food, weight, and body image
Incorporate the critical connection between early trauma and binge eating disorders
Help process trauma narratives and somatic activations that fuel binge eating
Integrate the crucial strategies of “Attuned Eating and Movement”
Connect your client with weight-neutral nutritionists and medical providers

Program Information

Objectives

Articulate the critical role of traumatic experiences in the development of Binge Eating Disorder (BED).
Teach clients about the neurological impact of binge eating on “fight/flight/freeze” activation.
Catalog the critical steps and strategies of “Attuned Eating and Movement” in BED recovery.
Provide psychoeducation to help clients understand the role of binge eating from a strengths-based perspective.
Implement strategies to help clients identify and challenge internalized weight stigma and challenge external body shaming cultural milieu using advocacy and community building.
Implement clinical strategies for processing entrenched body shame narratives in clients, family systems and in the cultural milieu.

Outline

Get to Know Binge Eating Disorder (BED)

5 damaging myths about BED and the recovery process
What makes treatment of BED unique from other eating disorders
Why treatment often fails
Current research: Gains, limitations, risks
Why weight has nothing to do with it
Is BED an addiction?
Key tenets of weight-neutral recovery

Complex Trauma and Binge Eating

The neurobiological legacy of trauma in binge eating
Fragmentation of the self: the role of dissociation in BED
How trauma activates the binge/diet cycle
Saving “Self”: the role of binge eating in managing danger
Attachment ruptures, social anxiety and the binge cycle
A body-shaming culture’s impact on trauma narratives

Assessment & Treatment Planning

5 must-ask intake questions
What to look/listen for to identify BED
DSM-5® criteria
How to gather food history information
Ruling out co-occurring medical issues
Common co-morbidities: depression, anxiety, personality disorders
Screening for trauma 100% of the time
Why the initial goal is not to stop bingeing

Clinical Strategies for Processing Trauma and Stopping the Binge Cycle

Why a “do-no-harm, strengths-based” approach is critical with BED clients
Psychoeducation – initially and throughout treatment
P.O.W.R. process for trauma activation, finding the “window of tolerance”
The nuanced parallel process of each treatment piece

IFS-Informed Recovery Strategies

Stepping into Self
Identify fragmented “parts”
Develop compassionate curiosity toward the “parts”
Build affect tolerance

Attuned Eating and Movement: Stepping into the Body

What the data tells us about behavioral weight loss/dieting
5 steps of attuned eating to teach your clients
The body as a wise ally, not broken or wrong
Using the body as the best source of information
Teaching clients to know when the trauma narrative has been triggered
Attuned movement v. “exercise”

Reinventing Body Image: Help Clients Feel at Home in their Bodies

The truth about weight and health
Cultural narrative about weight and worthiness
The healing power of Health at Every Size (HAES)
Help clients shift from “body as billboard” to “body as home”
How the clinician’s body image impacts treatment

Building Resiliency to Relapse

4 A’s: Awareness, analysis, action, accountability
Finding community that aligns with your recovery
Resources for weight-neutral medical/nutritional care
Collaborative care with prescribers

Clinical Considerations

Doing your own work: Modeling body acceptance
Navigating countertransference/bias
Multicultural considerations – Gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Psychiatrists
Marriage & Family Therapists
Psychologists
Addiction Counselors
Case Managers
Registered Dietitians & Dietetic Technicians
Nurses
Mental Health Professionals

Addictive Behaviors as Self-Preservation: Key Insights from the Internal Family Systems Model

By looking at addictive behaviors – from drugs and alcohol to sex, technology, and binge eating -- as means of self-protection and a way of staving off deep personal pain, the IFS model provides a model of treatment that avoids power struggles, and feelings of shame and judgment that can often accompany treatment for trauma and addictions.

Watch IFS developer, Richard Schwartz, demonstrate how IFS therapy is used with addictive behaviors and see how the IFS model is a compassionate means to revisit trauma and initiate healing, and in turn, helps the individual to address the subsequent addictive behaviors often without the need for extended grounding techniques at the beginning of treatment.

Developed over the past four decades, the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model offers both a conceptual umbrella under which a variety of practices and different approaches can be grounded and guided and provides a set of original techniques for creating safety and fostering Self-to-Self connection in traumatized clients.

This product is not endorsed by, sponsored by, or affiliated with the IFS Institute and does not qualify for IFS Institute credits or certification.

Program Information

Objectives

Determine how the Internal Family Systems Model (IFS) views addictive behaviors and recovery.
Apply IFS-specific grounding techniques that may help clients with addiction, recovery and trauma.
Apply three IFS-specific techniques for reducing addictive behaviors and symptoms of traumatic stress.

Outline

Multiplicity & the Self

Evolution of the IFS approach
Multiplicity of the mind
Stumbling on to the self

Internal Family System (IFS) with Trauma

IFS techniques:
- Honoring protectors
- Dealing with the overwhelm
- Witness and retrieve exiles
- Unburden trauma memories, beliefs and emotions

Keys to Working Safely with Addictions and Trauma

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
Psychotherapists
Therapists
Marriage & Family Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Case Managers
Physicians
Nurses
Other Mental Health Professionals