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Avoidance and Intellectualization in the Treatment of Trauma
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Abusers capitalize on their victims’ vulnerability. Without the power to escape or fight back, children are helpless in an unsafe world. It isn’t safe to cry, look frightened, or voice any emotional need for fear of punishment. Because they have no other choice than to appear “fine”, the brain and body instinctively develop habits that prevent showing emotion. These strategies are adaptive in a threatening unsafe environment, but they become impediments in treatment. Years later, traumatized clients come find themselves in therapy, but their phobias of emotion and vulnerability pose obstacles for the therapist.
Fortunately, modern trauma treatment affords us many ways to help survivors, including those who can’t “go there”. In this workshop, Dr. Janina Fisher, trauma expert, author, and researcher, will share strategies for how to develop a strong therapeutic alliance with intellectualized and avoidant clients and she’ll share how to better manage our own needs for them to be vulnerable.
Janina Fisher, PhD
Janina Fisher, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and former instructor at The Trauma Center, a research and treatment center founded by Bessel van der Kolk. Known as an expert on the treatment of trauma, Dr. Fisher has also been treating individuals, couples, and families since 1980.
She is past president of the New England Society for the Treatment of Trauma and Dissociation, an EMDR International Association Credit Provider, Assistant Educational Director of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, and a former Instructor, at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Fisher lectures and teaches nationally and internationally on topics related to the integration of the neurobiological research and newer trauma treatment paradigms into traditional therapeutic modalities.
She is co-author with Pat Ogden of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Attachment and Trauma (2015) and author of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation (2017) and the forthcoming book, Working with the Neurobiological Legacy of Trauma (in press).
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Janina Fisher is an international expert and consultant on Trauma and Dissociation. She is a consultant for Khiron House Clinics and the Massachusetts Department of MH Restraint and Seclusion Initiative. Dr. Fisher receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium, recording royalties and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and 小蝌蚪视频. Dr. Fisher has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Janina Fisher is on the advisory board for the Trauma Research Foundation. She is a patron of the Bowlby Center.