Description of Program: This presentation will begin with a historical overview of clinical manifestations that may now be best understood as dissociative symptoms, and a theoretical model will be presented that integrates neuroscientific findings with developmental theories. Dr. Silberg will highlight techniques that can be used to help children with dissociative symptoms become more receptive to treatment, and help bypass the avoidance strategies that lead to shutdown states, amnesia, and identity confusion. The largest data base available on traumatized children from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network indicates that dissociation predicts risky behavior, disrupted placement and hospitalization and that these children often receive a diagnosis of psychosis. However, the new evidence-based treatments for complex trauma do not yet directly address dissociation. Dr. Silberg will demonstrate creative techniques for using art, play and visualizations that promote children and adolescents to return from this ultimate loss of self. Vivid case examples will help illustrate the points.
Presenter: Joyanna Silberg, PhD is the Senior Consultant for Child and Adolescent Trauma at Sheppard Pratt Health System in Baltimore Maryland and the President of the Leadership Council on Child Abuse & Interpersonal Violence. Her psychotherapy practice specializes in children and adolescents suffering from dissociative symptoms and disorders, and her forensic practice specializes in child sexual abuse. She has served as an expert witness in 27 states. She is past-president of the International Society for the Study of Trauma & Dissociation (ISSTD) and contributing editor to the society’s journal, the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation. She is the recipient of the 1992 Walter P. Klopfer Award for her research, 1997 Cornelia Wilbur Award for clinical excellence, and the 2011 William Friedrich Award for work on Child Sexual Abuse. Silberg is the editor of The Dissociative Child (Sidran Press) and co-editor of Misinformation Concerning Child Sexual Abuse and Adult Survivors (Haworth Press). She has presented nationally and internationally on child abuse, psychotherapy, and protecting abused children in family court. She has been the consultant for DVLEAP’s Custody and Abuse Project with Office on Violence Against Women, and her project involves an analysis of cases in which judicial decisions that imperil children are reversed by later judicial decisions. She is also consultant for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network grant through Northwestern University's Feinberg Medical Centers' Child Trauma Assessment and Service Planning Center. Her newest book The Child Survivor: Healing Developmental Trauma and Dissociation, was released by Routledge Press in October of 2012. Dr. Silberg is the 2013 recipient of the Champion for Children Award from the Domestic Violence and Legal Empowerment Appeals Project (DVLEAP), and the 2013 recipient of the Written Media Award for her book, The Child Survivor, awarded by the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation.
Participants: This program is open to all APS members and other interested mental health professionals who may not be members. It is not limited to individuals practicing in a predominately psychoanalytic mode. The material will be appropriate for clinicians with intermediate levels of experience and knowledge.