Breaking the Cycle
Session 3 of the 5-Day Intensive Training for Treating Complex Trauma and Dissociation
Transforming Shame, Self-Defeating Behaviors, and Chronic Crisis
Why do some clients repeatedly return to the same self-defeating behaviors despite insight, motivation, and months, or even years of therapy? Why do profound shame and self-loathing so often block recovery? And why are clients with complex dissociation especially vulnerable to recurrent crises?
In this session, participants will discover how advances in the neuroscience of trauma provide powerful new answers to these challenging clinical questions.
Building on the foundations established in the previous sessions, clinicians will learn how traumatic stress reshapes the brain in ways that reinforce chronic dysregulation, shame, dissociation, and repetitive cycles of unhealthy behavior—and, more importantly, how to help clients break free from these patterns.
Participants will gain practical, evidence-informed strategies for working with clients whose self-loathing prevents them from experiencing self-compassion, safety, or positive emotions. The session explores why feeling better can sometimes feel threatening to trauma survivors and provides effective interventions for helping clients gradually develop greater emotional resilience, self-acceptance, and hope.
Through engaging clinical role plays and neuroscience-informed demonstrations, participants will observe practical techniques for interrupting maladaptive behavioral cycles, reducing vulnerability to crisis, strengthening grounding through the Gravitational Grounding technique, and delivering psychoeducation that helps clients understand not only how trauma changed their brain, but also how healing can occur.
As with every session in the Finding Solid Ground program, these practical interventions can be immediately integrated into virtually any psychotherapy approach, providing clinicians with a flexible, research-supported framework for treating even the most complex trauma presentations. Participants will leave feeling more confident, more effective, and better equipped to help clients replace cycles of shame, crisis, and self-defeat with resilience, self-compassion, and lasting recovery.
Participants will be able to:
-
Recognize the neurobiological and psychological cycles that keep clients trapped in unhealthy behaviors and apply practical strategies to help them move toward lasting change.
-
Implement evidence-informed interventions for working with profound shame, self-loathing, and clients who struggle to accept positive emotions or self-compassion.
-
Explain why individuals with complex dissociation are especially vulnerable to recurrent crises and use this understanding to improve treatment planning and crisis prevention.
-
Apply the Gravitational Grounding technique to strengthen clients' sense of presence, identity, and connection to the here and now.
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
-
Bridgepoint Psychology Center (BPC) is co-sponsoring Finding Solid Ground and is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.
-
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.
-
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 through APA 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?
180 days
-
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.
-
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.
