In this session through the use of lecture and role plays Dr. Lanius and Dr. Brand will cover:

  • Relational patterns of highly dissociative clients: Fight/Avoidance; Fight/Interruption; Freeze (tonic immobility) and/or Dissociation; Submit/submission; Identify/ Identification; Please/ Appease

  • Common DSS and how to understand and work with them: angry/critical DSS; traumatized, younger DSS; passive, helpless DSS

  • Functions of high risk, unsafe, and unhealthy behaviors

  • Helping clients who are still in abusive relationships

  • Role plays will include live demonstrations of: Working with a client who is in an abusive relationship; Helping a client who does not recognize their warning signs that the risk of engaging in unhealthy or high-risk behavior is increasing

Continuing Education Credits

7 CE credits available per session

  • Bridgepoint Psychology Center (BPC) is co-sponsoring Finding Solid Ground and is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.irr

  • You must be in attendance for the full program to receive CE credit. Partial credit will not be available. BPC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

  • Please check with your governing board to verify your continuing education license requirements. For additional information regarding CEs, email: [email protected]

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Are these courses accredited for CE credits?

    Yes, our courses are accredited by [specific accrediting body, such as APA, NBCC, etc.] for continuing education credits. Please check each course description for specific accreditation details.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • How long do I have to complete the course and earn CE credits?

    Once you enroll, you'll typically have [time period, e.g., 6 months] to complete the course and earn CE credits. Please check individual course details for any specific deadlines.

  • Can I use these CE credits to meet my state licensure requirements?

    While our courses are accredited, CE credit requirements vary by state and licensing board. We recommend checking with your specific licensing board to ensure our courses meet their criteria.

  • What are the technical requirements for taking the courses?

    ou 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.

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.

The Finding Solid Ground Program

If you’re working with trauma, you’re working with clients who dissociate. Yet many therapists do not know how to spot subtle dissociation or know how to respond when a client cannot get grounded. And only one program for treating dissociation is proven by research to help!

New, cutting-edge guidance for clinicians treating complex trauma and dissociation is available from Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD and Bethany Brand, PhD in the upcoming 5-part live virtual series, Finding Solid Ground Intensive Training.

Treating complex trauma and dissociation is the most challenging work we do – but Ruth, Bethany, and Hygge Schielke created an approach that helps overcome some of the biggest obstacles you’re likely to encounter.

Their program, called Finding Solid Ground, has solid research support – and it’s the first research-based program that has been shown to help severely dissociative clients! Therapists who have learned to useFinding Solid Ground feel more confident in their work with even the most severely traumatized and dissociative clients. And clients who participate in Finding Solid Ground develop greater self-compassion, healthier coping skills, and learn to understand and accept their emotions and their parts (if they have parts).

Join us for the complete 5 session series where Dr. Lanius and Dr. Brand will share:

  • How to work with clients who are terrified of becoming grounded because they fear being overwhelmed by feelings and memories.
  • Critical steps to take BEFORE focusing on self-harm and risky behaviors.
  • How to interrupt patterns that contribute to risky, unhealthy, or unsafe behaviors.
  • Ways to help your clients cope with trauma without dissociating or engaging in risky or unsafe behaviors.
  • Methods for helping stabilize suicidal thoughts and urges.
  • Strategies to help clients separate past from present and connect to the present moment.
  • Approaches to help even hopeless and challenging clients.
  • Ways to detoxify shame and self-blame.
  • Specific language to use with your clients to engage them in treatment and avoid activating dissociative responses.
  • Ways to engage and motivate clients who have found that “treatment never helps.”
  • Approaches that help heal the impact of complex trauma on the brain.