Treatment in the Room With Complex Trauma Survivors

25 East Washington Street,Chicago IL 60602

21 January, 2022

Description

Learn a comprehensive, relational, and survivor driven treatment model with hands on tools, consultation, and authentic teaching/discussion. As professionals, we will all encounter survivors of on-going/childhood trauma on our caseloads, whether known and stated or dissociated and unknown. Yet, as common as it is in society and in our offices, understanding and addressing the unique treatment challenges that come from childhood abuse can be overwhelming, disturbing, and confusing as it is barely touched upon in graduate training. At Watch Hill Therapy, we want to help professionals deepen their understanding of trauma, way beyond trauma informed, to help this population get the treatment they need and to help support the inevitable impact that therapist's will face due to the nature of doing trauma work. Talk therapy can only get us so far in treatment and therapists need a solid theoretical basis and practicing tools that work with this population. Most trainings in treating complex trauma provide a singular focus - EMDR, Somatic Training, IFS, etc. While these trainings can offer profoundly helpful tools and methods along the healing journey, they are not comprehensive in addressing all of the issues that survivors come into treatment with such as trapped memories stored in tissue/nervous system/limbic region and brain stem, reality distortion due to betrayal trauma and dissociation, deep soul wounds that linger beyond releasing trapped memories, complicated relationship dynamics, unyielding emotional pain, suicidality, self-harm, and hopelessness, and parts that need fine tuned attention and developmentally appropriate interventions. To be successful in helping our complex clients reach greater resolution and integration, therapists need regular training and consultation with trusted mentors and peers. This year, Tovah has included a 4 week follow up consultation group to anyone who is interested in using the training materials with real cases, helping us integrate the material more directly and authentically. Dates will be determined after the workshop, and you must sign up separately on our Eventbrite page for the consultation group. In this workshop, participants will learn key concepts and practices to treat traumatized clients in 4 sections through teaching, role playing, case material, questions, and discussion: 1. Reflective Process & Whole Body Treatment - Setting up the framework 2. Betrayal Trauma - The power of relationships to distort the reality of the self and others, induce dissociation, and create deep and constant experiences of self-blame and shame. Using the therapeutic relationship to bridge "what had to be" reality vs. "what really was" reality, we can help client release toxic shame and decide how they want to be treated in relationships in present day. 3. Traumatic Parts Work (With a somatic lens)- Trauma survivors have unique parts, created by unique traumatic experiences. Learn the role of parts, how to identify parts, how to engage parts, how to see parts and listen to pain/see the experiences that crafted them, process memories of parts, how to notice transference/countertransference with parts, and how to invite parts into a continual process of learning to be in the present here and now reality. 4. Energy/Pain/Soul/Grief Work - Trauma memories and experiences get trapped in our cells and tissue. It regularly triggers the fight/flight/freeze complex to normal or ordinary stressful life events. It causes individuals to feel hijacked, overwhelmed, terrified, confused. Dissociation demands the use of so much psychological energy causing daily depletion, pain floods and causes despair, and the body becomes an enemy instead of a guide or friend. At some point, most survivors want to understand why and how what happened to them, happened. They will need to grieve deeply and repeatedly for the terrible injuries they have sustained. Looking at historical trauma and current cultural oppression is necessary to help clients be aware of the myths that have shaped their narrative and the reasons that people who were supposed to love or protect them failed them terribly in different ways. ***Discussion about the use of self, the power of the therapeutic relationship, and exploring what long-term trauma treatment is like for the therapist will be weaved into each teaching block.*** Reviews from last workshop (2021): "I really liked the focus on the ways in which all of this work is relational. How important that is as the foundation. I feel more empowered in that as I walk away from this training." "This gave me so much language and such a stronger framework to approach and reflect on my work with clients. I also really appreciate the integration of so many different approaches in an authentic, empathic, and realistic way. I often find trainings (even like EMDR) to be so structured that I struggle figuring out how to bridge that gap into practice in a more fluid interpersonal "me" style, and you carried this and bridged that gap the whole way through, and normalized that it's not bad to feel this way." "It has changed immensely. I loved the parts work and how the instructor said she would introduce it to the clients. I loved the empathic therapist part. This was new to me but I loved hearing about it and not feeling like I was doing something wrong or taking something away from the client instead being able to model and provide something that the client may not be accustomed to. I also liked the concept of going slow at my agency sometimes I'm questioned as to why a case is open for so long and being a part of this training really validated my work as a clinician." "I now have a much better grasp on working with the traumatized parts of individuals that I didn’t before. Overall I see trauma in a different light now and feel better prepared to begin helping my clients work through some of their traumatic issues that I haven’t been able to yet." "There are so many things that I plan to take from this training and work towards integrate into my practice with traumatized clients! The bottom up concept and working with the whole body, the slow pacing, and the parts work are the parts of the training that stood out the most to me." Information about the presenter: Tovah Means, MS, LMFT received her Masters of Marriage and Family Therapy from The Family Institute at Northwestern University in 2009. After graduating, she completed a 2 year fellowship at Womencare Counseling Center where she developed her specialty in treating complex, developmental trauma. Tovah is the founder and co-owner of a trauma specialty group practice, Watch Hill Therapy, located in downtown Chicago. She is uniquely trained to work with individuals who are recovering from childhood emotional, physical, sexual trauma, neglect, dissociative process, somatic issues, and deep soul injuries. She also diligently works to understand the effects of historical trauma, structural abuse, dissociation, and relevant cultural realities that impact survivors such as denial, racism, sexism, transphobia, and the discrimination against the expression of one’s true self by society. ***This workshop is via Zoom for mental health professionals only and is recommended for therapists who have advanced skills in treating trauma*** Attendance is capped for quality, privacy, and discussion/role playing. 7 CEUs (LMFT, LCPC, LCSW, and Licensed Clinical Psychologists) (CC) = This workshop is approved for Cultural Competency Requirements CEU's are approved by the IDFPR for Illinois Licensed Therapists. If you are a therapist attending from out of state, please check with your local CEU provider for approval. Scholarship tickets are available on the ticket page for anyone in need of a reduced fee. Group discounts are available. Email: [email protected] Cancellation policy: Full refund one week before workshop. No refund if cancelled less than a week before the workshop. With notification, you may transfer tickets to another participant if you are unable to attend. Watch Hill is a Chicago-based therapy practice specializing in individual, couples, and trauma therapy, with a unique focus on enhancing relationships, healing from the past, and thriving individually. Therapists at Watch Hill are also available for consultation and training therapists and organizations that work with trauma survivors.