Abandonment Trauma Specialist Certificate Training

CPD

Faculty

Ellen Biros, LCSW, C-PD Related seminars and products

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Ellen Biros, LCSW, C-PD, has over 25 years of experience working with individuals struggling with trauma, anxiety, substance abuse, depression, domestic violence, and personality disorders. She’s a Certified Personality Disorder Treatment Provider (C-PD) and specializes in working with survivors of narcissistic abuse and other manipulative personality disorders. Ms. Biros has trained thousands of therapists on a variety of issues including emotional manipulation, personality disorders, and covert abuse. She’s an adjunct faculty member at The University of Phoenix in the School of Social Work and was formerly an adjunct at Tulane’s University’s School of Social Work. Ms. Biros is the author of Recovering from Narcissistic Mothers: A Daughters Workbook.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Ellen Biros maintains a private practice and has employment relationships with UMass Global and the University of Phoenix. She receives royalties as a published author. Ellen Biros receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Ellen Biros is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the Georgia Society of Clinical Social Workers, and the American Clinical Social Work Association.

Additional Info

This product is not endorsed by, sponsored by, or affiliated with the IFS Institute and does not qualify for IFS Institute credits or certification.

Access never expires for this product.

Objectives

1. Identify the concept of the inner child and its relationship to treatment.     
2. Analyze the relationship between core abandonment beliefs and early maladaptive abandonment/instability schemas in adult individuals.     
3. Evaluate the impact of parental abandonment on the development of shame and self-blame in clients.    
4. Identify how attachment insecurity negatively affects relationship satisfaction and stability.
5. Distinguish how trauma response types present in clinical settings.     
6. Evaluate the impact of impaired sense of self on client identity formation and symptom presentation.   
7. Utilize cognitive strategies to reframe negative thought patterns, beliefs and behaviors related to the fear of abandonment and self-worth.  
8. Apply DBT strategies to help clients address difficulties in handling interpersonal relationships.
9. Utilize graded exposure and desensitization to reduce abandonment-related anxieties.
10. Integrate IFS therapy strategies into treatment of clients with a history of childhood trauma.
11. Apply reparenting interventions in the treatment of attachment wounds.
12. Utilize breathing and somatic interventions clients can use when they are in acute distress.

Outline

Principles of Attachment and Inner Child Development

• Overview of attachment theory (Bowlby, Ainsworth, Main)
• Early relational trauma and its effect and role in shaping the nervous system
• Polyvagal theory and attachment security
• Mapping childhood experiences to adult relational patterns

The Inner Child as a Clinical Construct

• Differentiate the adaptive, wounded, and functional inner child
• Role of parental mirroring and emotional attunement
• Development milestones and unmet needs
• Exercises: Inner Child Dialogue and Needs Inventory

Formation of Core Beliefs and Identity

• How core beliefs form from early experiences
• Shame, guilt and the defectiveness schema
• Identity and self-image in attachment context
• Experiential: Timeline of Emotional Development

Differentiate Trauma Types and Their Psychological Footprint

• Define abandonment as a core wound
• Acute, chronic, and complex trauma distinctions
• Emotional neglect vs. overt abandonment
• The abandonment wound: psychological and neurobiological correlates

Personality Development and Attachment Adaptations

• Avoidant, anxious, and disorganized attachment patterns
• Coping styles: hyperactivation vs. deactivation strategies
• Defense mechanisms: idealization, devaluation, and withdrawal
• Case vignette analysis

Adult Relationship Patterns and Barriers

• Fear of intimacy vs. fear of loss
• Trauma bonding and codependency
• Grief and loss in relational disconnection

Clinical and Behavioral Indicators of Abandonment Trauma

• Emotional dysregulation and relational volatility
• Somatic symptoms and attachment-related anxiety
• Dissociative reactions and emotional flashbacks
• Attachment related behaviors in adults

Cultural and Contextual Considerations

• Intergenerational trauma and cultural scripts around abandonment
• Gendered and societal influences on attachment expression
• Multicultural perspectives on belonging and self-worth

The Abandonment Trauma Treatment Toolbox

• CBT and DBT interventions
  • Cognitive restructuring and schema reframing
  • Emotion regulation, mindfulness, and distress tolerance
  • Cognitive distortions: rejection sensitivity, personalization, catastrophizing
• Attachment-Focused and Parts-Oriented Interventions
  • Schema Therapy: Healing the defectiveness schema
  • Inner child repair through IFS and Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) work
  • Self-compassion and reparenting practices
  • Boundaries, trust, and interpersonal effectiveness skills
  • Experiential: “Reparenting Letter” and Safe Place Visualization
• Somatic and Exposure-Based Approaches
  • Graded exposure for abandonment triggers
  • Breathwork, grounding, and body-based stabilization
  • Desensitization and emotional regulation sequencing
• Research, Risks, and Treatment Limitations for Techniques

The Therapist’s Role in Healing Abandonment Trauma

• Countertransference awareness and empathic containment
• Manage rescue fantasies and client dependency
• Strategies for emotional boundaries and vicarious trauma
• Reflective supervision and self-care integration plan

Target Audience

• Counsellors
• Social Workers
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Psychologists
• Physicians
• Case Managers
• Addiction Counsellors
• Nurses
• Other Mental Health Professionals