Working with extreme distress: healing through relationships

Presenters will discuss therapeutic work with children, teenagers and adults who've experienced such overwhelmingly painful life experiences that they have developed extreme defences to protect them from the pain.

Without therapeutic intervention, these defences impact adversely on all aspects of life. The presenters will discuss what mind, brain and body do with extreme trauma, when no one was there to help you process what happened. They will discuss the healing process and trauma recovery in terms of evidence-based theories of change.

Through moving case material, they will illustrate how collaborative sense making in the safety of the therapeutic relationship, can enable people to create coherent narratives for what has happened, grieve, find self-compassion so they can move on in their lives.

Adah Sachs

Attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapist specialising in extreme trauma. Decades of experience with teens/adults in psychiatric care. Former consultant at the Clinic for Dissociative Studies and Head of NHS Psychotherapy, Redbridge. Expert in trauma-based disorders. Author/co-editor of numerous publications, including Forensic Aspects of DID and The Abused and the Abuser.

Dr Margot Sunderland

Adult and Child Psychotherapist. Director of Education and Training: Centre for Child Mental Health. Director of Innovation and Research: Trauma Informed Schools UK Child and adult psychotherapist for over 30 years including looked after children in residential care. Over 20 published books on child mental health including: Conversations that Matter; Helping People Talk About Trauma; Science of Parenting.

Vicki Smith

Expert in complex trauma, eating disorders, dissociative identity disorders in acute mental health settings and and specialist in complex trauma services. Programme Director MA Integrative Arts Psychotherapy, UKCP and HCPC Integrative arts psychotherapist with extensive experience working in forensic services (both in HMPPS including the therapeutic Pr*son Grendon, UK’s only therapeutic Pr*son community).

Dr Dan Hughes

Internationally acclaimed Clinical Psychologist. Founder of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy. Originator of PACE used by practitioners/parents all over the world. Decades of ground-breaking profoundly moving therapeutic interventions with vulnerable children and their families.

Prolific author including: 'Building the Bonds of Attachment'; 'Healing Relational Trauma'; 'Attachment Focused Family Therapy'; 'Attachment Focused Parenting'; 'Brain Based Parenting'.

The Institute for Arts in Therapy & Education (IATE) is located in the heart of the stunning creative quarter known as Sugar House Island. Offering an inspiring selection of creative event spaces, it has been carefully designed to create a unique and stimulating environment for your event.

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