This video course bundle brings together two in-depth courses designed to provide practitioners with a holistic understanding of the deep interconnection between trauma and addiction. “Numbing the Pain: Making the Link Between Childhood Trauma and Addictions” explores how adverse childhood experiences such as abuse, neglect, and relational trauma often lead to emotional dysregulation and the development of addictive behaviors as a form of self-medication. The course provides valuable insights and trauma-informed strategies to help practitioners better engage with substance-dependent clients, addressing the underlying issues rather than focusing solely on harm minimization.

The second course, “Addiction and Recovery: A Trauma-Focused View,” expands on this foundation by introducing innovative models such as Addiction as Dissociation, which highlight the role of unresolved trauma in the development of compulsive behaviors and substance use disorders. Practitioners will learn how to apply trauma-focused principles and develop multi-modal treatment plans that address both the symptoms of addiction and the trauma beneath them. Through a combination of theory, case vignettes, and practical exercises, this video course bundle offers a fully integrative approach to helping clients achieve long-term recovery by healing the emotional and psychological wounds at the heart of addiction.

Learning Objectives Across Both Courses:

By completing both video courses, participants will be able to:

• Discuss the links between adverse childhood experiences and addiction and between attachment deficits and addiction
• Discuss the addiction as self-medication to regulate emotions and mood states
• Explain the essential principles of a trauma informed practice
• Discuss the importance of a supportive therapeutic relationship to survivors who have a history of addiction
• Describe addiction through at least three different existing models of understanding within the treatment field, and discuss relevant debates and criticisms of each
• Describe the basic tenets of the Addiction as Dissociation model and ultimately discuss the link between unhealed complex trauma and dissociation and the development of substance use disorders and other addictive behaviours
• Prepare a basic treatment plan for working with a clinical presentation that involves addiction or other issues of behavioural compulsivity, guided by models for trauma-focused treatment
• Evaluate one’s personal needs for further training in the study of addiction, trauma and its interplay

This learning-focused approach offers a solid foundation for practitioners seeking to deepen their clinical skills in treating addiction through a trauma-informed lens.

This video resource pack contains two complete workshops (CPD/CE credits: 10 ) that cover:

Part 1: Numbing the Pain: Making the Link between Childhood Trauma and Addictions (Christiane Sanderson, CPD/CE credits: 5)

Recent research and clinical evidence show that adverse childhood experiences such as childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect, relational trauma and early childhood stress can significantly increase the risk of developing addictions. To manage the impact of abuse, trauma and emotional dysregulation, many survivors resort to substance misuse, disordered eating, gambling, workaholism, compulsive sex, exercise or unhealthy relationships; so as to self-medicate and to regulate their mood and emotions. However, despite growing evidence of the link between early childhood trauma and addictions; many alcohol, drug and addiction services tend to focus on harm minimisation and often do not have the resources to explore the underlying causes of addiction.

At this practical and unique seminar which would be relevant for psychotherapists, counsellors, psychologists, health practitioners, drug and alcohol workers, we look at early adverse childhood experiences, in particular childhood sexual abuse, complex and relational trauma, and their linkages with addiction. We specifically explore the nature of addictions within the context of attachment deficits and lack of emotional self-regulation.

The focus will be on enabling practitioners working with addictions and substance misuse to develop a deeper understanding of the link between addictions and complex trauma, so they can work more effectively with substance-dependent clients. To this end, the seminar will examine the barriers to disclosure such as shame and how practitioners can scaffold their therapeutic engagement with the principles of trauma-informed practice. Emphasis will be placed on psychoeducation and re-regulation of the nervous system through affect regulation and increasing the client’s window of tolerance.

The seminar will introduce a range of techniques such as stabilisation, grounding techniques, and mindfulness to restore control over dysregulated emotional states and reduce the need for external sources of regulation and self-medication. In addition, it will explore ways of facilitating disclosure of abuse experiences, how survivors who have a history of addiction can best be supported through the therapeutic relationship, how to liaise with specialist services and the range of referral pathways.

Through discussions, experiential exercises and case vignettes, we will consider:

• The link between adverse childhood experiences and addiction
• The link between attachment deficits and addiction
• Emotional Dysregulation and the nervous system
• Addiction as self-medication to regulate emotions and mood states
• The essential principles of a trauma informed practice
• Re-regulation of the nervous system through stabilisation and grounding techniques
• Developing affect regulation and an increased window of tolerance
• Overcoming barriers to disclosure
• Offering a supportive therapeutic relationship to survivors who have a history of addiction

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss the links between adverse childhood experiences and addiction and between attachment deficits and addiction
• Discuss the addiction as self-medication to regulate emotions and mood states
• Explain the essential principles of a trauma informed practice
• Discuss the importance of a supportive therapeutic relationship to survivors who have a history of addiction

Part 2: Addiction and Recovery: A Trauma-Focused View (Dr Jamie Marich, CPD/CE credits: 5)

Conceptually, addiction refers to a fixation on or a surrender to something outside of oneself; which may be manifest in a number of ways – from alcoholism and drug dependence, to compulsive porn consumption, behavioural repetitiveness and forms of acting out. Practically speaking, these addictions may co-exist, exhibit comorbidity with anxiety / depression and be deep rooted in a trauma landscape – presenting multiple challenges for psychotherapists, counsellors and psychologists. Often, practitioners may also find themselves in a great struggle when addressing addiction, feeling that their existing methods and modalities are proving insufficient.

At this practically-oriented workshop, Dr Jamie Marich – a renowned specialist in addictions, trauma and dissociation – seeks to bridge the conceptual and practical gap between traditional addiction therapy principles and approaches for trauma-focused care. She contends that many existing courses and programmes for treating addiction do not sufficiently take the impact of unhealed trauma into account. Through case-vignettes and examples, she explains how a trauma-focused view for addictions can inform our treatment strategies and allow us to construct trauma-informed therapeutic action plans that incorporate multi-modal and inter-modal approaches. The overall goal of the workshop is to equip practitioners with new strategies for addressing addictions meaningfully, regardless of their specific setting or modality.

• define addiction through at least three different existing models of understanding within the treatment field, and discuss relevant debates and criticisms of each
• discuss and define addiction through a specific trauma-focused lens, which takes into account the new Addiction as Dissociation model
• articulate the basic tenets of the Addiction as Dissociation model and ultimately discuss the link between unhealed complex trauma and dissociation and the development of substance use disorders and other addictive behaviours
• develop a basic treatment plan for working with a clinical presentation that involves addiction or other issues of behavioural compulsivity, guided by models for trauma-focused treatment
• practice and teach to clients at least five mindfulness-informed strategies that can assist with affect regulation, distress tolerance and craving management
• evaluate one’s personal needs for further training in the study of addiction, trauma and its interplay

Learning Objectives:

• Describe addiction through at least three different existing models of understanding within the treatment field, and discuss relevant debates and criticisms of each
• Describe the basic tenets of the Addiction as Dissociation model and ultimately discuss the link between unhealed complex trauma and dissociation and the development of substance use disorders and other addictive behaviours
• Prepare a basic treatment plan for working with a clinical presentation that involves addiction or other issues of behavioural compulsivity, guided by models for trauma-focused treatment
• Evaluate one’s personal needs for further training in the study of addiction, trauma and its interplay