Trauma and Addictive Disorders

3 CPD hours

Childhood abuse and neglect leave a lasting imprint on the brain and nervous system. With a traumatized brain, individuals are left with overwhelming emotions, no tolerance for feelings or stress, and very limited ability to access good judgment or communicate verbally. Without a way to manage these symptoms, traumatized clients have heightened vulnerability to eating disorders and substance abuse.

Research tells us that 40-70% of clients in addictions recovery programs report histories of trauma. Inevitably, addictions professionals try to treat the substance abuse and eating disorders, only to find that the trauma poses an obstacle to successful recovery.

Similarly, therapists inevitably encounter clients whose trauma recoveries are complicated by substance abuse, eating disorders, and patterns of self-harm. Often, we are told that the client has to be sober before undertaking trauma treatment, while other experts believe that addressing the underlying issues of trauma should be the first priority.

But because the two are so intertwined, only treatment strategies that simultaneously treat both trauma-related responses and addictive or eating disordered behaviour can adequately address the challenges faced by these clients.

Learning objectives:

Articulate the effects of trauma on the brain and autonomic nervous system
Assess client symptoms indicative of autonomic dysregulation
Evaluate the role of addictive and eating disordered behaviour as a response to traumatic activation
Utilize interventions that regulate brain and autonomic function in traumatized clients

You will learn:

A way to understand trauma focused on its effects, not its events
How to harness the brain to support the work of recovery from both the trauma and the addiction
The use of mindfulness-based interventions that are both healing and stabilizing

Target audience:

Addiction and Eating Disorders Professionals
Case Managers
Licensed Clinical/Mental Health Counsellors
Social Workers
Marriage & Family Therapists
Psychologists
Psychiatrists

Trauma and Addictive Disorders

Dr Janina Fisher

Date	Start Time	Finish Time
August 16, 2025	9:00 am	12:00 pm

Super Saver Price:

Individual $AUD160 | Groups 3+ $AUD140

Until4 July

Early Bird Price:

Individual $AUD180 | Group 3+ $AUD160

Until1 August

Standard Price:

Individual $AUD200 | Group 3+ $AUD180

Student Price:

$AUD120

GROUP DISCOUNT 3+ for organisations only. Discount calculated at Checkout
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About Dr Janina Fisher

Janina Fisher, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice; Assistant Educational Director of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute; an EMDRIA Approved Consultant and Credit Provider; former president of the New England Society for the Treatment of Trauma and Dissociation; and a former instructor, Harvard Medical School.

An international writer and lecturer on the treatment of trauma, she is co-author with Pat Ogden of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Attachment and Trauma and author of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Self-Alienation and Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma.

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.

Janina has presented for Delphi in 2010 – 2014 – 2019 – 2021 – 2022 – 2023. Her 2021 – 2022 – 2023 webinars are available On-Demand. She will be presenting again in 2024.