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ForwardSession Six - The Stabilization of Safety Concerns Across all Phases of Treatment (Phase 1)
Session Description
This module continues the discussion of the stabilization phase of treatment, with an emphasis on introducing concrete clinical skills for bridging dissociative states and addressing safety concerns. Clinicians will learn strategies for working with dissociation while it is occurring in session. As children and adolescents with developmental trauma are at an elevated risk for engaging in risky behaviors, it is essential that clinicians understand the functions of these behaviors from the lens of trauma and dissociation, and have tools for addressing these behaviors as a means of reducing risk of harm. As dissociation is a normative response during traumatic experiences, external safety is generally considered a prerequisite to internal stabilization. Clinicians need to understand their ethical and legal responsibilities for addressing ongoing victimization.
Readings
- Silberg, J. (2022). Bridging the selves: Healing through connections to what’s hidden. In The Child Survivor: Healing Developmental Trauma and Dissociation (pp. 97-119). Routledge.
- Silberg, J. (2022). Working with Dissociative Shutdown symptoms. In The Child Survivor: Healing Developmental Trauma and Dissociation (pp. 159-182). Routledge.
- Sachs, A. (2022). Severe and unusual self-harm in DID. In V. Sinason & R. Potgieter Marks (Eds.), Treating Children with Dissociative Disorders: Attachment, Trauma, Theory and Practice (pp. 168-178). Routledge.
- Tyler, K. A., & Schmitz, R. M. (2018). A comparison of risk factors for various forms of trauma in the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and heterosexual homeless youth. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 19(4), 431–443.
- Baita, S. (2020). Environmental safety: The starting point in the treatment of children with dissociation. Frontiers in the Psychotherapy of Trauma and Dissociation, 4(1), 93-104,
Webinar
- Gomez, A. A multimodal approach to aggression & violence within the context of complex trauma & dissociation. 2022 ISSTD Webinar Series. Virtual.
Timed Outline
30 minutes: Discussion of Readings 1 & 2 – Working with dissociation in session
30 minutes: Discussion of Reading 3 – Understanding and addressing self-harm
30 minutes: Discussion of Webinar 1 – Understanding and addressing aggression
30 minutes: Discussion of Readings 4 & 5 – Addressing environmental safety concerns
30 minutes: Discussion of case study and case materials applying the above readings to disguised cases
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:
- Assess a traumatized child’s current environmental safety by asking three fundamental questions
- Describe three clinical techniques to assist a child in bridging dissociative states
- Discuss the role of attachment disruptions and dissociation in understanding self-harm and aggression
Available Credit
- 2.50 APAThe 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.
- 2.50 ASWB ACEThe 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 2.50 continuing education credits.
- 2.50 ISSTD Certificate ProgramThis program is eligible for 2.50 credits in the ISSTD Certificate Program. No certificate of completion is generated for this type of credit.