Understanding Dissociative Self-States
Session 4 of the 5-Day Intensive Training for Treating Complex Trauma and Dissociation
Working Effectively with Clients Who Feel Stuck, Unsafe, or Trapped
Have you ever found yourself wondering why a client repeatedly returns to abusive relationships, suddenly withdraws from connection, becomes highly self-critical, or engages in behaviors that seem to undermine their own safety and recovery?
These patterns can be confusing, frustrating, and difficult to address, even for experienced trauma therapists.
This session explores one of the most important yet often misunderstood aspects of complex trauma treatment: the relationship between dissociative self-states, attachment patterns, and survival-based behaviors. Participants will learn how trauma shapes the ways clients relate to themselves and others, often leading to recurring interpersonal patterns that interfere with treatment, relationships, and recovery.
Building on the foundations established in the previous sessions, clinicians will learn to recognize common relational survival strategies, including fight, flight, freeze, submission, identification, and appeasement, and understand how these patterns emerge as adaptive responses to overwhelming experiences. The session will also provide practical guidance for working with dissociative self-states, helping clinicians respond more effectively to angry or critical parts, traumatized younger parts, and passive or helpless parts that often drive behavior outside of conscious awareness.
Particular attention will be given to understanding the hidden protective functions of high-risk and self-destructive behaviors. Rather than viewing these behaviors as resistance or noncompliance, participants will learn how to uncover the survival needs they serve and use this understanding to facilitate meaningful and lasting change.
Through engaging clinical demonstrations and role plays, participants will observe practical interventions for working with dissociative self-states, reducing internal conflict, addressing self-defeating behaviors, and supporting clients who remain in abusive or unsafe relationships.
Clinicians will learn how to balance validation and compassion with strategies that promote greater safety, empowerment, and autonomy.
As with every session in the Finding Solid Ground program, these interventions can be seamlessly integrated into virtually any psychotherapy approach, providing clinicians with a flexible, evidence-informed framework for navigating some of the most challenging situations encountered in trauma treatment. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of their clients' behaviors, greater confidence in working with dissociative self-states, and practical tools for helping clients move toward safer relationships, increased self-understanding, and lasting recovery.
Participants will be able to:
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Recognize common trauma-related relational patterns in highly dissociative clients, including fight/avoidance, fight/interruption, freeze (tonic immobility), dissociation, submission, identification, and appeasement.
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Identify and effectively work with common dissociative self-states, including angry or critical self-states, traumatized younger self-states, and passive or helpless self-states.
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Understand the protective functions of high-risk, unsafe, and self-defeating behaviors and apply interventions that promote safer alternatives.
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Implement practical strategies for supporting clients who remain in abusive, coercive, or unsafe relationships.
Course Facilitators
Ruth Lanius, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Lanius is a Psychiatry Professor and Harris-Woodman Chair at Western University of Canada, where she is the director of the Clinical Research Program for PTSD. Ruth has over 25 years of clinical and research experience with trauma-related disorders. She established the Traumatic Stress Service at London Health Sciences Center, a program that specializes in the treatment of psychological trauma. Ruth has received numerous research and teaching awards, including the Banting Award for Military Health Research. She has published over 200 research articles and book chapters focusing on brain adaptations to psychological trauma and novel adjunct treatments for PTSD. Ruth regularly lectures on the topic of psychological trauma both nationally and internationally. Ruth has co-authored four books: The Effects of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease: The Hidden Epidemic, Healing the Traumatized Self: Consciousness, Neuroscience, Treatment, and Finding Solid Ground (textbook and workbook). Ruth is a passionate clinician scientist who endeavours to understand the first-person experience of traumatized individuals throughout treatment and how it relates to brain functioning.
Bethany Brand, Ph.D.
Dr. Brand is Emerita Psychology Professor at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She has over 30 years of experience in researching, assessing, and treating the impact of psychological trauma with a specialization in dissociation. Dr. Brand has been honored with the endowed Martha E. Mitten Professorship as well as teaching, research and clinical awards including the Outstanding Contribution to the Science of Trauma Psychology from the American Psychological Association. She is Associate Editor of the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. Dr. Brand has served on national and international task forces that developed guidelines for the assessment and treatment of trauma-related disorders. She has published over 130 peer reviewed papers and three research-based books about assessing and treating dissociation, The Concise Guide to Assessing and Treating Trauma-Related Dissociation, Finding Solid Ground: Overcoming Obstacles in Trauma Treatment and The Finding Solid Ground Program Workbook. Dr. Brand is the Principal Investigator on the largest treatment outcome studies to date of dissociative disorders (the TOP DD studies). She has delivered hundreds of clinical and research presentations at national and international conferences. In addition to treating patients in her private practice, Dr. Brand serves as a forensic expert in trauma-related cases including state, federal and capital cases and an international Supreme Court case.
Continuing Education Credits
5 CE credits available for live attendance & recorded sessions
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Bridgepoint Psychology Center (BPC) is co-sponsoring Finding Solid Ground and is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.
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You must be in attendance for the full live program or watch the full recording and pass a quiz to receive CE credit. Partial credit will not be available. BPC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
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Please check with your governing board to verify your continuing education license requirements. For additional information regarding CEs, email: [email protected]
Frequently Asked Questions
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Are these courses accredited for CE credits?
Yes, our courses are through APA for continuing education credits. Please check each course description for specific accreditation details.
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How do I receive my CE certificate after completing a course?
Upon successful completion of the course and any required assessments, you'll be able to download your CE certificate directly from your account under the "Completed Courses" section.
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What is the process for reporting my CE credits to my licensing board?
We provide a CE certificate that includes all necessary details (course title, hours, provider information). Please submit this certificate according to your licensing board’s requirements. It's important to verify your board's guidelines to ensure proper credit reporting.
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How long do I have to complete the course and earn CE credits?
180 days
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Can I use these CE credits to meet my state licensure requirements?
While our courses are APA, CE credit requirements vary by state and licensing board. We recommend checking with your specific licensing board to ensure our courses meet their criteria.
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What are the technical requirements for taking the courses?
You will need a computer or mobile device with internet access, an updated web browser, and in some cases, specific software like Adobe Reader or Zoom for interactive sessions. A stable internet connection is recommended for smooth streaming of video content.
