Demystifying Dissociation:
Expert Training in Complex Trauma, DID & Parts Work

October 15, 2026 - 6:00 PM-9:00 PM ET

Presented by Ellen Lacter, PhD, RPT-S™, MFT 

This presentation explores extreme forms of child abuse: large-scale production/distribution of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), the Epstein-Maxwell trafficking network, and ritualistic abuse. Recent Department of Justice (DOJ), Europol, and other data document exponential increases in CSAM by families and larger-scale networks, alongside rising sadism, torture content, and younger victims. Evidence of egregious, large-scale crimes by the Epstein-Maxwell network continues to emerge through DOJ document releases, court cases, and survivor memoirs. Similarly, a growing body of evidence documents ritualistic abuse, including extreme sadism, CSAM, other trafficking, and offender networks. These converging bodies of evidence corroborate one another. Therapists who have armed themselves with knowledge of these extreme forms of abuse have the capacity to recognize clients with such histories, to assess them for complex Dissociative Identity Disorder, and to build a framework for effective therapy.

November 5, 2026 - 10:00 AM-5:00 PM ET

Presented by Amanda Bechtel-Gupman, ATR-BC®, LCPC, LCPAT 

According to Internal Family Systems (IFS), it is the nature of the mind to be subdivided into distinctive sub-personalities or “parts." In the IFS model, this subdivision is not viewed as pathology, per se, but rather the lack of cooperation and dissociation within the internal system that is developed through extreme trauma. Another important aspect of this model is that at the core every person has a Self —a core, undamaged essence that carries the ability to hear from within. Traditionally in IFS, a client is invited to “go inside” to notice parts, listen to their feelings and concerns, and move into relationship with them. This typically occurs through mindfulness, somatic experience, or visualization. Doing this can be very challenging for traumatized people who experience high degrees of dissociation. Externalizing parts, or giving them symbolic form, is an effective treatment strategy because it can lead to increased perspective and reduced flooding or blending. It can be quite beneficial in virtually any clinical setting, and can enhance our IFS work as clinicians. This daylong virtual master class will feature a variety of creative approaches that facilitate and enhance clinical work. These include art making, journaling, and sandtray techniques to help clients understand their internal system, particularly in regard to dissociative protectors. This session is appropriate for all mental health professionals, especially those working with traumatized teen and adult clients.

November 5, 2026 - 2:00 PM-5:00 PM ET

Presented by Sterling Boyadzhiev, MSW, LISW-S, REAT and Sam Bergstein, MSW, MA, LISW-S, LCSW, REAT 

Participants in this 3-hour virtual workshop will have the opportunity to explore how various creative techniques can help clients externalize their internal systems in ways that make parts visible, approachable, and workable while requiring only a very limited amount of verbal explanation. Particular attention will be given to trauma-informed and neuro-affirming applications for use in treatment with clients of diverse learning, communication, and processing styles. Through guided experiential activities, participants will have the opportunity to explore their own internal landscape, deepening self-awareness and enhancing their work as clinicians through hands-on experience. In this way, they will learn practical tools for use in their daily clinical work with clients in a variety of settings.

November 7, 2026 - 10:00 AM-5:00 PM ET

Presented by Peggy Kolodny, MA, ATR-BC®, LCPAT; Elizabeth Davis, MFA, MS, ATR-BC®, LCAT, CLAT; Jennifer Marchand MA, CCC, RCAT 

This panel of 3 seasoned art therapists, EMDR and IFS-trained authors, and trauma-focused experts will be presenting an overview of theory and therapy models for dissociation and DID, including integrative approaches with Structural Dissociation, Internal Family Systems, and EMDR. The etiology and continuum of dissociation and dissociative identities will provide a foundational understanding of these presentations in clinical treatment. Integrating creative arts therapies into treatment will be emphasized.

Emphasis on the impact of complex trauma on internal states, capacity for mentalization, and nervous system sensory processes will be reviewed. Engaging proprioception and the vestibular system as a way to maintain presence and dual attention through the body will be discussed,  linking these concepts to cultural and nature-based practices. Further deepening an understanding of how dissociation impacts sensory-somatic awareness, affect expression, and interoception will be gained through the experiential use of body templates. These body outline drawings will be utilized throughout the day to track participants' somatic responses.

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November 8, 2026 - 10:00 AM-1:00 PM ET

Presented by Gwendolyn Tinajero-Belles, LCSW, ATR-BC® 

Immigration and the multidimensional humanist/social/cultural/psychological aspects surrounding it have been in the news almost daily for some years now. One aspect of international migration that is little discussed, however, is that many migrants experience some form of dissociation during the different phases of their typically stressful transitions. In this 3-hour workshop, participants will have the opportunity to learn about the impact of trauma and dissociation in each phase of the migration journey. They'll discover ways that expressive arts in counseling and therapy can be used to support clients in their healing as they accommodate physically and emotionally to their new daily lives. In addition to engaging in related therapeutic art making, participants will also have a chance to learn about ways to manage countertransference when it arises when working with this population. The speaker's own lived experience supporting the Latinx community and as a daughter of immigrants will also be discussed.

November 8, 2026 - 2:00 PM-5:00 PM ET

Presented by Patricia Quinn, MS, LCAT, ATR-BC®, NBCCH 

In addition to a long-term and early history of physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse, many, if not most, clients with DID carry the psychological trauma and guilt of being forced to harm others. This is currently referred to as coercion or forced perpetration (FP). Formerly considered a form of Stockholm Syndrome, the DSM V (2013) has described it as an “identity disturbance due to prolonged and intense coercive persuasion.” In many perpetrating groups, this practice begins with very small children who are forced to harm peers (or even pets) to prevent their own torture or threatened death, or that of a family member or friend. This particular trauma — being forced to go against one’s core values — creates a moral injury that makes the later work of retrieving memory for integration of a dissociated part exceedingly painful, thereby triggering increased dissociation. This 3-hour virtual workshop describes how and why art therapy techniques can be used effectively in the treatment of DID, and especially for the restoration of a sense of self in recovery despite such complex personal history. It includes neuroscientific rationales within the therapeutic context of how art therapy approaches can support DID integration. Examples of materials and approaches that are effective in helping clients with DID to move forward with self-compassion and mindfulness are discussed. An experiential exercise will be offered to enhance participants’ awareness of the therapeutic value of art in the treatment of trauma and dissociation. This session is appropriate for all advanced students and experienced clinicians interested in working with severely traumatized populations.

November 12, 2026 - 2:00 PM-5:00 PM ET

Presented by Irene Rodriguez LMHC, REAT 

Humor is probably the last thing clinicians think about using when it comes to working with highly traumatized, dissociative clients. Surprising as it might seem, however, the "right kind" of humor can foster a helpful form of dual awareness that can enhance healing in counseling and psychotherapy. This is because holding something as both horrific and hilarious takes a similar mental and emotional flexibility as coping with the type of ongoing trauma that triggers the dissociative response. This 3-hour virtual workshop views dissociation through a parts perspective rather than the more common psychopathological model. And it focuses on using humor as a creative doorway into that multiplicity. Using Rod A. Martin's research-backed Humor Styles Questionnaire alongside expressive arts tools — visual art, movement, and comedic writing — participants will learn to chart their own humor patterns and use them as entry points into parts work with their traumatized clients. In this way, they will gain a replicable expressive framework that can be incorporated into treatment with teens and adults in virtually any clinical setting. Professionals at all levels of experience who are working with traumatized or dissociative clients are welcome to attend.

November 13, 2026 - 10:00 AM-1:00 PM ET

Presented by Peggy Kolodny, MA, ATR-BC®, LCPAT 

Along with an overview of Internal Family Systems (IFS) illustrated by case material, this 3-hour virtual workshop will demonstrate how the IFS-trained art therapist presenter integrates art into the IFS process for parts-work, anchored by Jungian Active Imagination. Other Jungian concepts of Personal and Collective Shadow will be aligned with the IFS concepts of Personal and Collective Legacy Burdens, Exiles and Firefighters through art experientials. Jungian theory historically has provided a foundation to both art therapy and IFS. In describing Active Imagination, Jung wrote: " ...start with any image...hold fast to one image chosen and wait until it changes itself...step into the picture itself...if it is a speaking figure...say what you have to say to that figure and listen to what he or she has to say." Participants untrained in IFS may better utilize Active Imagination in their art-making. IFS-trained participants will take away creative tools. 

November 13, 2026 - 7:00 PM-10:00 PM ET

Presented by Adrian Masterman-Smith, MA and Dr Lowen Clarke, PhD

This 3-hour workshop offers a safe, engaging, and reflective space to explore lived experiences. During the workshop, participants will be invited to explore 3 personal or professional roles and the quality of the associations between them. Roles might include, for example, a colleague, a parent, a sibling, a child, and/or professional roles. These roles can be seen as representing conscious and accessible counterparts to the largely unconscious ‘self-states’ experienced by dissociative clients. 

This workshop provides an engaging experience of the differing states of free association that occur between our roles, and how an understanding of our relational associations informs our therapeutic and creative understanding of the isolated dissociations characteristic of self-states.

Participants will be facilitated in generating 3 short storyline experiences from the identified roles and will then explore the differing levels of association between them. The creative activities will illuminate the complex associations between the many roles we occupy in our daily lives. This gentle exploration makes evident how our roles serve as safe containers for lived experiences of the external world and the complex interplay of our internal associations.

Rather than viewing each role in isolation, the workshop invites participants to discover the broader Systems Narrative that emerges from the interaction of these concurrent role stories. This systems perspective provides a safe and accessible way of understanding how different aspects of ourselves coexist, cooperate, and sometimes come into tension.

The workshop concludes by inviting participants to integrate these discoveries into a personal affirmation that reflects their emerging Systems Narrative. Rather than leaving with three separate stories, participants leave with a coherent understanding of how their roles contribute to a more coherent understanding of themselves that can inform both personal growth and therapeutic practice.

The workshop structure consists of three 60-minute sessions. Each session takes participants along a gentle emotional, ontological, and epistemological pathway. This workshop utilises bilateral stimulation prompted by creative expression to generate a stream of data that documents the gaining of insight.