Many adolescent and adult clients with histories of trauma, abuse, neglect, and other pain narratives have an increased vulnerability towards using self-mutilation, addictions, and eating disordered behaviors to cope and self-soothe, numb and dissociate from unresolved pain. In this training, clinicians will learn about the dynamics of early childhood trauma and the impact that dysfunctional attachment has on clients’ abilities to effectively manage their emotional states. We will process traumatic experiences and the impact that personal meaning has on clients’ emotional and psychological wellbeing. We will explore the connection between different attachment styles and affect regulation and dysregulation. We will then connect those early childhood experiences along with developmental stressors and challenges to a cycle of self-destructive behavior. As we de-pathologize these behaviors and view them through a strengths-based lens, participants will learn about a specific “cycle of self-harm” which emphasizes the impact of triggering events, negative cognitions and affect, dissociation, and anxiety on self-harming behaviors. It will also provide helping professionals with a concrete and creative model for intervention.
A variety of right-brain and left-brain based treatment strategies will be offered to help reduce and eventually extinguish these behaviors. An emphasis will be placed on interventions that are designed to increase insight, strengthen internal safety, promote grounding and containment, reduce dissociation and help clients self-soothe in healthier ways. We will explore the idea of “working with” self-destructive behaviors by de-coding their meta-communication while learning how to avoid the power struggles and increased self-harm that often accompanies ineffective “safety contracts.” A more effective, alternative contract, called CARESS, will be presented. We will also process the more common clinical pitfalls that can occur when working with these challenging and sometimes triggering issues and emphasize the need for therapists to engage in their own self-care.