by Christi Mathis
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Internationally known experts in the field of complex trauma and dissociation will be the featured speakers at Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s second annual Trauma Training Conference, set for Oct. 10-11.
Registration is now underway for this year’s conference, presented by SIU’s Coffman-Crothers Training Program for Trauma and Psychological Health.
Trio of experts will speak
Three acclaimed professionals – Christine Courtois, Janna Henning and Bethany Brand – will share their expertise either in person or virtually.
Courtois is a founder of the concept of complex trauma, which is the impact of multiple traumatic experiences that have built upon themselves during childhood, and she is a preeminent scholar in complex traumatic stress and treatment. The psychologist and author with more than 30 years of experience will conduct a virtual training session Oct. 10. During the session “Treating Complex Traumatic Stress Disorders: The PRISM Principles and Their Application,” she will discuss foundational details pertaining to complex traumatic stress and psychiatrist and author Judith Hermann’s stage-oriented integrated treatment model, especially as expounded upon by Courtois and psychiatry professor Julian Ford.
Henning, a licensed clinical psychologist, president of the trauma division of the American Psychological Association and professor in the doctoral clinical psychology program at Adler University in Chicago, will speak in person Oct. 10. Her presentations will include “Pump Up the Volume! Hypnosis to Augment Complex Traumatic Stress Treatment” and “Not Just Surviving but Thriving: Supporting Helping Professions and Their Patients in Challenging Times. She will reveal how hypnosis can be used to augment interventions, and she will conduct a workshop focusing on the best current approaches to prevent or manage vicarious traumatization and the need for psychologists and counselors to practice self-care.
Brand, a psychologist and professor emerita at Towson University, has more than 25 years in the field and has gained international attention as an expert on dissociation, which is a feeling of disconnection between the self and the environment. During her online presentation entitled “Dissociation – Everything You’ve Been Taught May be Wrong,” she will discuss dissociative disorders and how they relate to chronic interpersonal violence exposure and complex traumatic stress. Her Oct. 11 session will also incorporate training in the “Finding Solid Ground” treatment program for dissociative disorders, and it will wrap up with a presentation on the use of hypnosis interventions.
Henning will also facilitate question and answer sessions as needed for participants each day.
Sign up now
Participants meed to register by Oct. 9. Find complete details on the Bridgepoint Training website.
The live training sessions will be on campus at the SIU Simmons Law School Lesar Law Building auditorium, 1150 Douglas Drive, where participants can also access virtual sessions.
Parking will be available in Lot 59, just west of the law school. The cost for the entire conference is $175 per person, and participants can earn up to 12 hours of American Psychological Association or licensed clinical professional counselor continuing education units. Graduate students can sign up for free with a valid student ID.
Additional information
The SIU Coffman-Crothers Training Program for Trauma and Psychological Health is a unit of the SIU Clinical Center. Its mission is providing low-cost, evidence-based training through experts in the field to licensed mental health providers as well as to graduate students. Students, licensed psychologists, professional counselors, social workers, clinical practitioners and other mental health providers will find the center, its mission and the conference invaluable. The program gives special priority to mental health practitioners in rural areas.
For more information, contact Martha “Marti” Crothers, program director, at mcrother@siu.edu or Holly Cormier, at cormierh@siu.edu. Or call the SIU Clinical Center at 618-453-2361.