Trauma and Self-Harm:

Increase Safety with a New Approach to Cutting, Bingeing, and Addictive Behaviors

Sue Johnson, EdD, a leading innovator in the field, is an author, clinical psychologist, researcher, professor, and popular presenter, trainer, and speaker. She is the primary developer of Emotionally Focused Couples and Family Therapy (EFT), which has demonstrated effectiveness in over 30 years of peer-reviewed clinical research.

Dr. Johnson is the founding Director of the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT) and Distinguished Research Professor at Alliant University in San Diego, California, and a Professor, Clinical Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia, Canada, as well as Professor Emeritus, Clinical Psychology, at the University of Ottawa, Canada. She consults with over 75 international institutes and affiliated centers that practice EFT, in addition to the U.S. and Canadian militaries and veterans affairs.

Dr. Johnson is the author of numerous books and articles including A Primer for Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT): Cultivating Growth and Fitness in Every Client (2021), Attachment Theory in Practice: EFT with Individuals, Couples, and Families (2019), The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: Creating Connection (3rd edition, 2019) and Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy with Trauma Survivors (2002).

Lisa Ferentz, LCSW-C, DAPA, is a recognized expert in the strengths-based, de-pathologized treatment of trauma and has been in private practice for over 35 years. She presents workshops and keynote addresses nationally and internationally and is a clinical consultant to practitioners and mental health agencies in the United States, Canada, the UK, and Ireland.

She is the Founder of The Ferentz Institute, a world-class mental health training organization that offers two certificate programs in Advanced Trauma Treatment and has graduated over 1,200 clinicians.

Lisa was also recognized as the Social Worker of the Year by the Maryland Society for Clinical Social Work. She is the author of several highly acclaimed trauma and therapy books. She also hosted a weekly radio talk show, writes blogs and articles for websites on self-harm and self-care, and teaches on many webinars.

Janina Fisher, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and former instructor at The Trauma Center, a research and treatment center founded by Bessel van der Kolk. Known as an expert on the treatment of trauma, Dr. Fisher has also been treating individuals, couples, and families since 1980.

She is past president of the New England Society for the Treatment of Trauma and Dissociation, an EMDR International Association Credit Provider, Assistant Educational Director of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, and a former Instructor, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Fisher lectures and teaches nationally and internationally on topics related to the integration of the neurobiological research and newer trauma treatment paradigms into traditional therapeutic modalities.

She is co-author with Pat Ogden of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Attachment and Trauma (2015) and author of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation (2017) and the forthcoming book, Working with the Neurobiological Legacy of Trauma (in press), among other publications.

Andrew Tatarsky, PhD, is the developer of IHRP and author of Harm Reduction Psychotherapy: A New Treatment for Drug and Alcohol Problems. He's the founder and director of the Center for Optimal Living, a treatment and professional training center based on IHRP. An internationally lauded leader in the treatment of substance abuse, Dr. Tatarsky is a member of the medical and clinical advisory panels to the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services in New York, and a founding member and past-president of the Division on Addition of the New York Psychological Association.

Amy Pershing, LMSW, ACSW, is the Founder of Bodywise, the first binge eating disorder (BED)-specific treatment program in the United States, begun in 1995. She is the director of Pershing Consulting, which offers training to clinicians treating BED around the world. Amy is also the creator of Hungerwise™, a 9-week program for ending chronic dieting and weight cycling using the Attuned Eating and Movement approach, offered nationally online. Based on over 30 years of clinical experience, Amy has pioneered a treatment approach for BED that is strengths-based, incorporating Internal Family Systems, somatic trauma techniques, Attuned Eating and Movement, and a Health at Every Size^® philosophy. Amy lectures internationally and writes extensively on the treatment of BED and her own recovery journey for both professional and lay communities. She has been featured on radio, podcast, and television speaking about BED treatment and recovery, relapse prevention, weight stigma, and attuned eating and movement. She is a founding member and Past Chair of the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA) and is the winner of BEDA's Pioneer in Clinical Advocacy award. She is the author of the book Binge Eating Disorder: The Journey to Recovery and Beyond as well as many articles and chapters about BED treatment and advocacy.

Ann Saffi Biasetti, PhD, LCSWR, CEDS, CIAYT, is a practicing clinician for over 30 years specializing in somatic psychotherapy. She is an eating disorder specialist, certified mindfulness teacher, Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) teacher, and Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT). Dr. Biasetti teaches in the Self-Compassion in Psychotherapy (SCIP) program, where she shares her expertise in somatic self-compassionate interventions for eating disorders recovery and serves as consultation leader. She has led well-received retreats at Kripalu and Shambhala Mountain Center and has led professional training workshops through her Befriending Your Body (BFYB) certification program for eating disorder recovery. She is the author of Befriending Your Body: A Self-Compassionate Approach to Freeing Yourself from Disordered Eating and The Awakening Self-Compassion Card Deck: 52 Practices for Self-Care, Healing, and Growth. Dr. Biasetti maintains a private practice in Saratoga Springs, NY.