Full Course Description

Complex PTSD Clinical Workshop: A Comprehensive Approach to Accurately Assess and Effectively Treat Clients with Chronic, Repeated and/or Developmental Trauma

Many clinicians are trained in the treatment of single traumatic events, but are not fully equipped to treat Complex PTSD. The traditional approaches to the treatment of PTSD can fall short when working with clients with Complex PTSD. Watch this recording to learn how you can adapt your therapeutic approach to help clients diagnosed with Complex PTSD achieve more successful outcomes.

The most common question asked when treating Complex PTSD is, “where do I start?”. In this training, you will develop confidence in your ability to successfully organize and prioritize your client’s treatment goals. You will learn how to compassionately and effectively work with clients who have experienced multiple traumatic events and prolonged trauma exposure.

Successful treatment requires a compassionate therapeutic relationship and effective, research-based interventions. After this two-day workshop you will learn how to:

Help clients move out of crisis by building stabilizing resources
Prepare clients to work through traumatic memories without becoming overwhelmed
Develop an integrative trauma treatment plan that includes CBT, DBT, EMDR Therapy, Somatic Psychology, Parts Work Therapy, and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM).

In this recording, Dr. Arielle Schwartz will show you an engaging and interactive way to learn valuable strategies that will allow you to successfully address the dysregulated affect and arousal states that accompany Complex PTSD. You will leave this seminar with practical tools that facilitate a strength-based approach to trauma recovery and increased resilience in clients.

Program Information

Outline

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder vs. Complex PTSD: Understand the Difference

Acute traumatic stress, PTSD, Complex PTSD
Diagnostic clarification and differential diagnosis
Key contributing factors of Complex PTSD
The common symptoms of Complex PTSD

The Neurobiology of PTSD: Beyond Fight and Flight

Polyvagal Theory
6 Stages of trauma response
Heart Rate Variability and the Social Nervous System
Interpersonal Neurobiology
Psychobiological regulation
Rupture and repair
Implications of childhood neglect or abuse
Neuroplasticity and Complex PTSD

Psychological and Physiological Repercussions of Complex PTSD: A Deeper Understanding for Accurate Assessment

Intrusive symptoms and anxiety
Emotional dysregulation: Outbursts of anger and debilitating shame
Avoidance symptoms and phobic reactions to traumatic material
Interpersonal problems and difficulty being close to others
Dissociation and dysregulation
Cognitive distortions and compromised meaning making
Physical health problems, ACE factors and painful somatization
Preverbal and nonverbal memories
Disturbing somatic sensations
Depressive symptoms
Learned helplessness and shame

Therapeutic Interventions for Complex PTSD: Summary of Effective Therapies

Psychodynamic and Relational Therapy
Psychobiological perspectives: Polyvagal Theory
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
EMDR Therapy
Somatic Psychology
Parts Work Therapy: Work with Ego States
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM): mindfulness, yoga, and integrative healthcare

Integrative Treatment for Complex PTSD: Putting it All Together for an Effective Treatment Plan

A biopsychosocial approach: Partner with clients to build a health care team
Goal of treatment: Memory retrieval vs. trauma recovery
History taking: Identify chronic, repeated, and/or developmental trauma events
Cultural factors and Complex PTSD
Recognize attachment Injuries
How to work with transgenerational trauma
Identify parts, ego states and defenses
Assess for dissociation
Mutual regulation and relational repair in therapy
Prepare for trauma processing: Develop resources and stability
Work through traumatic memories: EMDR and Somatic Psychology
Grief work in Complex PTSD
Integrate and Instill positive change

Experiential Interventions: Mind-Body Practices for Clients with Complex PTSD

Conscious breathing for self-regulation
Grounding and sensory awareness
Containment: Reclaim choice and control
Build imaginal allies
Cultivate mindfulness, acceptance, and self-compassion
Somatic interventions: Titration, sequencing, and somatic re-patterning
Bilateral stimulation and dual attention in EMDR Therapy
Potential risks and limitations of mind-body therapies

Fostering Resilience: For Post-Traumatic Growth and Healing

Learn the 6 Pillars of Resilience
Trauma recovery and the bell curve
Resilience as a process and an outcome
Help clients move from learned helplessness to learned optimism
Post-Traumatic Growth: Help clients reach their potential

Vicarious Trauma: Improve Client Outcomes Through Effective Self-Care

Identify resources that improve your clinical skills
In-session self-care to improve focus on the client and therapeutic process
Burnout prevention techniques

Please Note: PESI is not affiliated or associated with Marsha M. Linehan, PhD, ABPP, or her organizations.

Objectives

Distinguish key contributing factors to the development of Complex PTSD as it relates to client case conceptualization.
Investigate how Complex PTSD impacts the cognitive, emotional, and physical health of the client.
Determine how to assess clients for Complex PTSD symptoms within other diagnoses, including personality disorders, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and dissociative disorders.
Incorporate into clinical treatment practical mind-body therapy tools to help clients feel resourced and prepared for trauma processing.
Articulate the six stages of trauma responses within the neurobiology of Complex PTSD as it relates to clinical treatment.
Utilize assessment tools to properly assess for Complex PTSD to better inform treatment planning.
Breakdown how mutual regulation within the therapeutic relationship teaches clients self-regulation strategies that help them develop new interpersonal strengths that help with the treatment process.
Integrate interventions for the treatment of Complex PTSD drawn from CBT, DBT, EMDR Therapy, Parts Work Therapy, Somatic Psychology, and mind-body therapies.
Analyze how working within the “Window of Tolerance” can help reduce the likelihood of re-traumatization.
Assess how “top-down” and “bottom-up” interventions can speed up or slow down the pacing of trauma treatment.
Employ the 6 Pillars of Resilience as a strength-based approach that fosters growth and integration of a positive sense of self-identity in clients.
Determine resilience and protective factors to aid against the development of PTSD.

Target Audience

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

Copyright : 10/23/2018

EMDR & Parts Work for Treating Complex Trauma: Somatic Techniques to Decrease Defensiveness and Facilitate Trauma Processing

For years I got stuck with my complex trauma clients.

The traditional standalone approaches everyone recommended seemed to fail me as my clients’ unresolved conflicts kept sabotaging our efforts toward healing. Session after session I was met with defensiveness and resistance. It was exhausting…and soon doubt and frustration started to creep in.

But one day the solution became clear -- complex trauma requires complex treatment -- not a standalone therapy.

Now in this one-day seminar I’ll show you how you can more successfully access deeply rooted pain points and move clients past the internal conflicts that hang them up in treatment by integrating elements of EMDR with skills from a parts work approach!

Watch this unique, advanced level trauma treatment course, so you can:

More safely gather your client’s trauma history
Manage dissociation and fragmentation in clients using skills from parts work therapy
Create a safe healing environment using modified EMDR therapy protocols
Confidently use relational skills and somatic therapy for improved complex trauma treatment

Making the change to an integrated EMDR and parts work approach turned my treatment completely around. Since that day I’ve found tremendous success with my clients, authored several books on complex trauma and trained thousands of clinicians.

Don’t miss this chance to take your complex trauma treatment to the next level!

Purchase today!

-Arielle Schwartz, PhD

Program Information

Objectives

Analyze the neurobiology of complex PTSD and dissociation through the lens of polyvagal theory.
Apply interpersonal neurobiology through co-regulation strategies that strengthen our client’s social engagement system.
Assess for emotional and physiological dysregulation as “parts” of self.
Integrate practical parts work therapy interventions to improve treatment outcomes for “resistant” clients.
Utilize techniques to help clients to work with shame and develop self compassion for their most wounded parts.
Conduct modified EMDR therapy protocols that will allow you to create a safe healing environment for clients with a history of complex traumatization.

Outline

Understanding Complex Trauma: The Neurobiology of PTSD

Nuances of stress, trauma, and complex PTSD
The impact of dissociation
Interpersonal neurobiology, somatic psychology, and social engagement
The polyvagal theory
Skill: Spacious, Relational Awareness
Skill: Explore Co-Regulation

How to Assess for a Complex Diagnosis: History Taking and Case Conceptualization

Identify chronic, repeated, developmental and sociocultural trauma
Overcoming betrayal trauma to resolve insecure attachment
Assess for dissociation (“fragmentation”)
How parts, ego states and defenses create walls to change
Compassionate strategies for “Resistant” clients
Move from shame to empowerment
Skill: Understand emotional dysregulation as a “part”
Skill: Connect to the adult self
Skill: Differentiating from a part

Moving Clients Forward: Modified EMDR and Parts Work for Complex PTSD

The 8-phases of EMDR therapy
Neural networks and “encapsulated” ego states
Bilateral stimulation and dual attention in EMDR therapy
Modified EMDR therapy protocols
Preparation for trauma reprocessing
Cultivate mindfulness, acceptance, and self-compassion
Skill: Choice and containment
Skill: Build allies for a part of self
Skill: Facilitate repair scenarios
Skill: Reprocess a traumatic memory
Skill: Positive state installation

The 6 Pillars of Resilience: For Post-Traumatic Growth and Healing

Trauma recovery and the bell curve
Resilience as a process and an outcome
Move from learned helplessness to learned optimism
Skill: Create your resilience recipe

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
Psychiatrists
Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Nurses
Marriage and Family Therapists
Physicians

Copyright : 06/20/2022

The Keys Behind How Cognitive Processing Therapy Heals PTSD

How exactly do people get stuck in traumatic events and PTSD, and how can they recover? Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a rapidly growing model that is showing promising results and has uncovered key cognitive processes that, when addressed, can create lasting healing from PTSD, often without the need to go back and even talk extensively about the traumatic event.

Join co-developer of CPT, Kathleen Chard, PhD, for a fascinating recording that will address many common myths around PTSD recovery and what research has shown helps. Learn the key processes behind this approach to trauma treatment that is endorsed by the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense, the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies, and the U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a best practice for the treatment of PTSD.

Program Information

Objectives

Analyze the empirical evidence supporting the use of Cognitive Processing Therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and related conditions.
Determine common myths around PTSD that can interfere in treatment and worsen outcomes.
Utilize 3 keys from CPT that help clients understand how to overcome “stuck points”.

Outline

Explore the basis for positive results from CPT research
Identify common myths around PTSD recovery
The keys behind how CPT helps clients recover from PTSD

Target Audience

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

Copyright : 12/03/2020

A Therapist’s Guide to the Psychopharmacology of Trauma and Dissociation

Let’s face it – treating trauma is hard work and it’s not always clear what needs to be done. Dysregulated nervous systems, co-morbidities, and a myriad of psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological options often make it difficult to reach the desired goals for your clients.

Even though you may not be a prescriber of medications, it’s essential that you have a thorough understanding of the effects medication has in treating trauma.

Watch world renowned trauma expert Frank Guastella Anderson, MD, in this recording as he guides you through the essentials of Psychopharmacology related to the treatment of Trauma and Dissociation.

Dr. Anderson will teach you how to:

Integrate psychopharmacological and psychotherapeutic approaches
Identify positive and negative effects of medication
Prepare clients for adding medication to their treatments
Understand the effects of trauma on neurobiological processes
Assess clients for appropriate medication referrals

Improve your outcomes through the understanding and application of the interplay between medications, psychotherapy and trauma.

Program Information

Objectives

Integrate psychopharmacological and psychotherapeutic approaches in the treatment of trauma and dissociation.
Determine the positive and potentially negative effects of psychoactive medication interventions related to trauma treatment.
Prepare clients effectively for the implementation of psychopharmacological adjuncts to psychotherapy.
Analyze the neurobiological effects of trauma to the dysregulation of neurotransmitters and the use of mitigating medications.
Assess therapeutic indications for appropriate medication referrals.

Outline

Effectively approaching traumatized clients with medication supports
Classification of the different types of trauma
- Normative responses
- Iatrogenic risks of rapid psychopharmacological treatment
Introduction to Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- Working with “parts of self” and medication interventions
- Primary types of parts
Therapists’ role in medications – facilitating compliance
- Indications for medication referrals
- Integrating IFS with medication management
- Video case example – securing parts agreement and clarifying expectations
Neuroscience and the neurobiology of PTSD
- Neural networks and neural integration
- Fear response circuitry – normal and disrupted function
Neurotransmitters and medications
- Specific effects of most commonly used medication interventions
Treating Acute Trauma
- Current psychopharmacological research and new directions
- Negative effects of benzodiazepine use
Treating PTSD
- Indicated medications and common side effects
Psychedelic assisted psychotherapy
- Enhancing self-compassion and reducing defenses
- Limitations of current research
Hormones and PTSD
Polyvagal theory and Dissociation
- Differentiating ventral and dorsal parasympathetic function
Treating Dissociation – applications of atypical antipsychotics
- Medications new to the market
Psychosis, Bipolar Disorder and Trauma - Co-morbidities and Trauma
- Use of PRN medications and scheduling
- Discriminating between biological and emotional symptoms
Sleep disturbances
- Psychotropics used – effects and side effects
Attention Deficit Disorder – overlap and medication interaction with PTSD
Substance abuse and indicated medications
Depression and co-morbid PTSD
- Star-D study results
- Polypharmacy for PTSD symptomology
OCD
Alternative treatments for Trauma

Target Audience

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

Advances in treating trauma-related dissociation

ln this course, Kathy Steele identifies what dissociation is, the challenges one faces when working with dissociation regarding the dance between attachment and defense; and the role of the therapeutic relationship as a stabilizing factor. Attachment strategies, the basic principles in working with parts, and a systematic approach to working with parts will also be discussed and evaluated.

Program Information

Objectives

Differentiate between dissociative parts and ego states.
Analyze attachment strategies, investigate the principles of working with parts, and justify the use of a systemic treatment approach for improved clinical outcomes.
Evaluate the role of trauma-related phobias and other factors that contribute to maintaining dissociation.

Outline

Working with Women

What is Dissociation?

Dissociative Parts vs. Ego States

The Attachment Dilemma

Attachment vs. Defense
The Therapeutic Relationship
Dependency, Attachment, & Interdependence

Attachment Strategies

Managing Relationships
Defending Against Relationships
Dissociative Attachment Cycle

Working with Disorganized Attachment

Basic Principles in Working with Parts
What Maintains Dissociation?
Trauma Related Phobias

A Systematic Approach to Dissociation

Working with Parts in an Integrative Fashion

Q&A