Trauma & Dissociation:
Suicidality
Friday, October 3rd - ONLINE - live interactive virtual course
8-3 PST / 9 - 4 MST / 10 - 5 CST / 11 - 6 EST
6 CE's available for counselors in:
Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma.
Trauma & Dissociation: Suicidality, [course number], is approved by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program to be offered by Emma Sunshaw as an individual course. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE course approval period [dates]. Social workers completing this course receive [number] [type*] continuing education credits.
For CE credit, your zoom sign-in must match your registration name and email.
This event will be recorded, and it is for CLINICIANS ONLY.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course addresses the intersection of trauma, dissociation, suicidality, and self-harming behaviors. It critically examines the limitations of traditional suicide prevention methods (such as no-harm contracts), and instead promotes trauma-informed, relational, and ethical frameworks for working with high-risk clients. Using theories like infanticidal attachment, Joiner’s interpersonal theory of suicide, and dissociative fragmentation models, the course offers advanced strategies for clinical engagement, attunement, and safety planning. Designed for clinicians, it emphasizes cultural humility, parts work, and nervous system regulation in the therapeutic process.
WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES:
Identify three ways complex trauma and dissociation influence suicidality.
Understand models of chronic suicidality from a trauma-informed lens.
Apply three behavioral and relational strategies for managing suicidal risk.
Distinguish between parasuicidal behavior and suicidal intent.
Explore ethical considerations in managing suicide risk with dissociative clients.
AGENDA TIMELINE (3 Hours):
10 min Introduction and scope of suicidality in trauma therapy
60 min Assessment frameworks and dissociation-informed suicide models
10 min Break
50 min Relational and attachment-based interventions for suicidality
30 min Addressing parasuicidal behavior and self-harm
20 min Group reflection and Q&A
SPEAKER BIO:
Emma Sunshaw, Ph.D., has a Bachelor's Degree in Human Development, a Master's Degree in Professional Counseling, and her Doctorate is in Marriage and Family Therapy. As a licensed clinical counselor, she has been in private practice since 2003 and licensed and working in the field since 1999, with additional experience in ER triage, inpatient psychiatric, residential treatment, school-based, and outpatient settings. Dr. Sunshaw currently serves as faculty and as the Training Program Coordinator for the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD). She has served as the international clinical coordinator for humanitarian aid organizations offering counseling and trauma resiliency training to government leaders, humanitarian aid workers, and first responders in war zones and natural disaster sites. Dr. Sunshaw has published articles, written books, and she lectures internationally about trauma and resiliency.