Session Four: Development of cPTSD, BPD, NPD, DD, Self-States

March 13, 2026

Session Four – Content Level: Advanced
Development of cPTSD, BPD, NPD, DD, Self-States

In this session, participants will examine more fully the development of cPTSD, BPD, NPD and DD in adults. Disorganized attachment may foster dissociated representations of self and other, as well as the strategies needed for negotiating relationships. Dissociation of traumatic experiences may in turn contribute to fragmentation of internal representations of relationship patterns. These self-states may become partially dissociated, as often seen in cPTSD, BPD and NPD, or may develop into full amnesia, as in DID.

Readings

  1. Al-Shamali, H. F., Winkler, O., Talarico, F., Greenshaw, A. J., Forner, C., Zhang, Y., Vermetten, E. & Burback, L. (2022). A systematic scoping review of dissociation in borderline personality disorder and implications for research and clinical practice: Exploring the fog, Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 56(10), 1252-1264. https://doi.org/10.1177/00048674221077029
  2. Blizard, R. A. (2003). Disorganized attachment, development of dissociated self states, and a relational approach to treatment. Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 4(3), 27-50. https://doi.org/10.1300/J229v04n03_03
  3. Korzekwa, M. I., & Dell, P. F. (2023). Is dissociation an integral aspect of Borderline Personality Disorder, or is it a comorbid disorder? In M. J. Dorahy, S. N. Gold, & J. A. O'Neil, (Eds.), Dissociation and the dissociative disorders: Past, present, future (2nd ed., pp. 494 - 512). Routledge.
  4. Krause-Utz, A. (2022). Dissociation, trauma, and borderline personality disorder. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation, 9, 14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40479-022-00184-y 
  5. Şar, V., & Türk-Kurtça, T. (2021). The vicious cycle of traumatic narcissism and dissociative depression among young adults: A trans-diagnostic approach, Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 22(5), 502-521. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299732.2020.1869644  

Timed Outline
45 minutes – lecture presentation
20 minutes – discuss readings
25 minutes – case discussion and closing comments

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to

  1. Describe the development of cPTSD, BPD, NPD, DD
  2. Discuss the formation of self-states and how they contribute to fragmentation
  3. Describe how full amnesia can shift self-states into DID
Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.50 APA
    The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
  • 1.50 ASWB ACE
    The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), #1744, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 08/20/2024 – 08/20/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 1.50 continuing education credits.
  • 1.50 ISSTD Certificate Program
    This program is eligible for 1.50 credits in the ISSTD Certificate Program. No certificate of completion is generated for this type of credit.
Course opens: 
12/01/2025
Course expires: 
06/30/2026
Event starts: 
03/13/2026 - 2:00pm EDT
Event ends: 
03/13/2026 - 3:30pm EDT
Part of: 
Post-Level III Mini Course: Attachment and Dissociation: Developmental Origins and Clinical Applications
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Available Credit

  • 1.50 APA
    The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
  • 1.50 ASWB ACE
    The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), #1744, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 08/20/2024 – 08/20/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 1.50 continuing education credits.
  • 1.50 ISSTD Certificate Program
    This program is eligible for 1.50 credits in the ISSTD Certificate Program. No certificate of completion is generated for this type of credit.
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