Working with Dissociated Parts: a Present-centered Approach

The capacity to understand and work with parts of experience is an essential component of treating complex trauma (C-PTSD).  Many schools of psychology recognize that individuals have parts of self, and neuroscience also confirms that the mind is a kind of mosaic. When we experience trauma, some of our parts hold the pain of our experience, while other parts try to find ways to manage the pain or to shut down our awareness of it. In order to effectively work with parts therapists must treat both the wound that was suffered and the strategies that folks have developed in order to survive.

Additionally, the separation of these parts is one way of thinking about trauma-related dissociation. The goal of parts work is not to get rid of our parts but to increase our awareness and compassion toward them–even those that may be angry, chaotic or frightening.

Many therapists can help clients identify parts, but may struggle to know what comes next. In this workshop, we will explore trauma and attachment theory in the development of dissociated parts. We will discuss how to assess for parts of experience and work with them in the clinical space using body-centered and somatic approaches.

In this workshop we will:

1. Study the impact of a history of complex trauma on clients’ experience in the present 
2. Discuss basic fundamental components of parts work from an integrated approach
3. Explore the experience of the therapist in working with dissociated parts
4. Learn techniques for working with parts as they show up in the clinical space

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