Demystifying Dissociation Webinar:

Dissociation: psychobiological state or trait that functions as a protective response to traumatic or overwhelming experiences.

Trainer: Abra Poindexter, LICSW, LIMHP
Time: January13th, 2020 1:00pm-2:30pm

Webinar Description
“That client is always zoning out in group. It’s like they’re not even here, not even listening to me or paying attention to what is going on.”
“I’m working with the client and then suddenly it feels like I’m speaking to a 4-year-old, especially when I say something they don’t want to hear.”

“This person has been sober and doing well for months. Now they just don’t seem to be present anymore. It’s like everything they learned is just going out the window."

Perhaps you have had similar experiences with some of your clients. Sometimes we make such declarations out of frustration—we do everything we are trained to do and the client isn’t sufficiently tuned in to receive it. In some situations, hitting these roadblocks in our work as advocates can show a lack of understanding about trauma and dissociation. Increasing our awareness of the prevalence of dissociation in clients with severe trauma histories is imperative to understanding what might be happening in our interactions with clients.

Awareness of trauma and its impact on human behavior is becoming more widespread among advocates. However, dissociation, which is clearly connected to unhealed trauma, remains mysterious and indefinable to many.

In this webinar, we seek to demystify dissociation and its role in domestic violence/sexual violence. Although we do not expect every advocate to become an expert at working with all the technicalities of clinically significant dissociation, having a basic understanding of dissociation and how it shows up is paramount to success in working with all clients with trauma.

Learning Objectives
• To increase understanding of dissociation as a protective factor
• To identify signs of dissociation.
• To learn how to talk to clients about dissociation
• To discuss working with clients who can’t cognitively remember various aspects of the trauma, but may experience the trauma emotionally and in their bodies
• To better understand clients who cannot stay present during a session

Abra Poindexter Bio
Abra S. Poindexter, LICSW, LIMHP is a psychotherapist, consultant, and clinical social work supervisor in private practice. Her focus is walking alongside people who are redefining their life experiences and defining what they truly want for their futures. Abra specializes in LGBTQ+ well-being and trauma recovery, in understanding the role that trauma can have in limiting liberation, and in general mental health and well-being. Abra spends her free time writing, creating, and being with her wife Lara, their pups Gidget Maybelle and Eliot Speck, and their friends and family.

Questions? Contact Kim Carpenter at kimc@nebraskacoalition.org

To Register, copy and paste this link in your browser: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5307380414013202955