Total Credits: 1.5 American Psychological Association, 1.5 Association of Social Worker Boards, 1.5 National Board of Certified Counselors, 1.5 California Board of Registered Nurses
People with histories of profound and chronic abuse may exhibit behaviors marked by constant crisis, overwhelming emotions, interpersonal and social challenges and distorted beliefs generating internal anguish and external chaos. Exposure to on-going uncontrollable events, consistent with complex trauma, triggers uncertainty, impairing the ability to respond in healthy ways decreasing the person’s sense of agency, inhibits their capacity to connect, and contributing to a profound sense of shame. Informed clinicians can facilitate clients’ understanding of the interplay between neurobiological responses and the sequelae of repetitive interpersonal abuse, reducing the sense of shame. Focusing on clinical concerns and conflicts, common in the first two stages of treatment; the therapist is challenged to advance treatment by exploring what is being expressed through the therapeutic relationship, guiding the client through new ways of thinking, perceiving, and being. Strategies for helping clients develop healthy and adaptive coping skills, interpersonal/relational skills, and fostering an improved sense of agency will be delineated and discussed. Working from the three-stage phasic model for trauma treatment, therapeutic goals and clinical interventions are presented. This workshop explores factors inhibiting the expression of self, discusses the impact of the loss of voice and loss of self, and details pragmatic approaches to facilitate the growth of an authentic self.
Audience Level: Intermediate: Appropriate for attendees who have been in the field 5-10 years and have basic information on a topic.
Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify the stages of treatment, describing goals, objectives, and treatment strategies.
2. Describe effective treatment strategies to increase client safety and stability.
3. Discuss effective means to empower the client’s development of an authentic sense of self.
This session was recorded at the 21st annual IVAT Hawai`i Summit.
Kevin J. Connors, MS, MFT is the Senior Vice President at Hecht Trauma Institute in Costa Mesa, California developing a training for clinicians, first responders, and others treating interpersonal trauma. Kevin is also a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in private practice in Long Beach, California and a frequent national and international presenter on complex trauma and dissociative disorders. He is co-author of Treating Complex Trauma and Dissociation: A practical guide to navigating therapeutic challenges.
He is a Member-at-Large to the Board of Directors of the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence. He is a Fellow and Past President of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) and served as Chair of their Annual Conference Committee for 8 years. Kevin also serves as Co-Chair of the Institute on Violence, Abuse, & Trauma’s International Summit Planning Committee’s Adult Survivors of Childhood Maltreatment Track.