Full Course Description

Abandonment Trauma: Treatment Strategies to Heal Inner Child Wounds and Restore Healthy Attachment

Stuck in self-fulfilling cycles of mistrust, many clients expect abandonment and inadvertently create situations that reinforce those expectations.

As therapists our role is to dive into the heart of those abandonment fears, and help them heal the traumatic childhood wounds impacting their adult lives and relationships.

But for some clients “trusting” is a place where they’ve been hurt before, making deep therapeutic work difficult to get off the ground. Others can be too clingy, looking for you to meet their intense need for reassurance and connection.

That’s why expert Ellen Biros created this training -- to provide you a roadmap to navigate the complexities of abandonment trauma so you can offer your clients direction, hope, and the keys to healing.

In just one day, she’ll guide you through the practical and effective approaches you need to build trust with these clients, help them overcome their abandonment fears, and forge a path toward lasting healing and better relationships.

With specific exercises from CBT and DBT you can use right away, you’ll end this course ready to help your clients set healthy boundaries, reduce their exposure to toxic relationships, and reframe the negative thought patterns about self-worth and rejection that have been holding them back.

This training is a valuable addition to any therapists’ treatment toolkit.

So don’t wait.

Purchase now!

Program Information

Objectives

Identify the concept of the inner child and its relationship to treatment.
Analyze the relationship between core abandonment beliefs and early maladaptive abandonment/instability schemas in adult individuals.
Determine the role of the expectation of abandonment as a contributing factor to the development of anxious and avoidant attachment styles in clients.
Use cognitive strategies to reframe negative thought patterns, beliefs, and behaviors related to the fear of abandonment and self-worth.
Choose DBT strategies to help clients address difficulties in handling interpersonal relationships.
Utilize graded exposure and desensitization to reduce abandonment-related anxieties.

Outline

Abandonment, Attachment, and Early Experiences

Early childhood’s role in shaping the inner child
Impact of attachment patterns on inner child development
Recognize vulnerability, resilience, and a healthy inner child
Formation of core beliefs from early experiences
Link between self-identity and inner child health

Trauma and the Spectrum of Abandonment

Differentiate between acute, chronic, and complex trauma
Types of trauma and the impact on attachment
Understand abandonment as a core psychological wound
How abandonment influences personality development
Impact of attachment on forming and maintaining healthy relationships
Barriers to healthy relationships in adulthood

Recognize Signs and Symptoms

Behavioral manifestations
Cognitive and emotional symptoms
Attachment-related behaviors
Impact on self-esteem and identity
Cultural considerations

The Abandonment Trauma Treatment Toolbox: CBT and DBT Strategies and Exercises to Repair Inner Child Wounds

Principles and techniques for trauma and abandonment issues
DBT skills training for emotional regulation and interpersonal effectiveness
Tools to set healthy boundaries and reduce exposure to toxic people
Cognitive exercises to challenge negative thought patterns about self-worth
Cognitive restructuring exercises to rebuild trust and self-confidence
Behavioral interventions for selfcompassion and fear of rejection
Self-soothing techniques for abandonment triggers
Graded exposure and desensitization for abandonment-related anxieties
Research, risks and treatment limitations

Therapeutic Relationship and Therapist Self-Care

Build a therapeutic alliance
Strategies for managing countertransference and vicarious trauma
Self-care practices for therapists

Target Audience

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

Copyright : 10/23/2025

Abandonment, Neglect and Developmental Trauma

Gently establish safety and trust with clients who push away connection
Tools to help clients silence their inner critic
Break cycles of perfectionism, self-sabotage and people pleasing
Step-by-step interventions you can implement immediately

You see so many clients like this … the ones who desperately seek connection yet push everyone away. People-pleasers trapped in perfectionism. Clients who self-medicate to survive the relentless ache inside.

Their early wounds and childhood traumas have shaped everything for them. Because when parents and caregivers were inconsistent, unavailable, or emotionally neglectful …

… your clients learned that love is conditional, connection is unsafe, and their needs don’t matter.

But treating these clients isn’t easy. They come to therapy with chronic shame, fear of intimacy, and relational patterns that are hard to break.

And every moment of trust can unravel in an instant. Every attempt at vulnerability is met with self-protective withdrawal. And every breakthrough feels fragile and easily undone.

That’s why we teamed up with expert Kaytee Gillis, LCSW to create this essential training.

An experienced clinician whose work has been featured in TIME magazine, BBC world news and Women’s Health magazine – she’s a survivor and best-selling author of Healing from Parental Abandonment and Neglect.

Kaytee has spent her career helping clients heal from the wounds of abandonment trauma. And now, she’ll guide you through a simple step-by-step framework, full of in-depth instruction, case examples, and demonstrations so you can:

Identify abandonment trauma and unhealthy attachment patterns
Recognize, reframe, and replace long-standing trauma responses clients live with
Help clients undo shame with understanding and self-compassion
Silence the inner critic that perpetuates cycles of self-blame
Apply a clinical toolkit to establish safety, security and repair attachment wounds
And much more!

PLUS you’ll be able to integrate these techniques with DBT, IFS, EMDR, CPT, and other modalities you may already be using in sessions.

Purchase now!

Program Information

Objectives

Examine the impact of abandonment and parental emotional neglect on the development of trauma and later adult functioning.
Identify the clinical relevance of childhood trauma’s impact on attachment styles and adult relationships.
Evaluate the impact of parental abandonment on the development of shame and self-blame in clients.
Utilize clinical strategies to reduce shame and avoidance by reframing client behaviors as trauma adaptations rather than pathology.
Choose validation, journaling, and modeling interventions with clients with histories of abandonment or neglect to establish safety, work with critical inner dialogues, and build self-compassion.
Use a phase-based treatment approach with adult clients in treatment for childhood trauma.

Outline

Abandonment, Attachment and Developmental Trauma 101

Overview
Influences in fields of trauma
What is abandonment trauma?
Developmental trauma & attachment-related trauma

Symptoms, Effects and Comorbidities

Intersectionality
Developmental trauma’s impact on the developing brain and personality
Symptoms & effects of abandonment trauma
Comorbidities and somatic symptoms
Trauma’s effect on health

Impacts on Attachment on Relationships, Parenting and More

Attachment theory and case examples
Attachment disruptions and emotional regulation
Impacts of abandonment trauma on relationships
Educational impacts
Parenting impacts
Psychoeducation to help clients understand their younger selves

Assessment and Trauma Treatment Using a 3 Phase Approach

Common survival responses: behaviors/outcomes/personality traits
Trauma-informed assessment principles
Assess PTSD & C-PTSD (symptoms, impairment, duration)
Treatment planning: goals, objectives, and progress markers
When to refer out
3 Phase trauma treatment support model:
- Phase 1: Stabilization & safety (rapport, psychoeducation, grounding)
- Phase 2: processing (methods, managing dissociation, journaling)
- Phase 3: integration & reconnection
Practice activity: grounding/self-regulation
Risk assessment & differential diagnosis
Research, risks and limitations

Negative Internal Dialogues, Shame and Emotional Flooding: Journaling, Guided Imagery and Reframing Techniques and Interventions

Modeling safe adult presence to help attachment trauma
Monitor and reframe negative internal dialogue
Journaling, grounding, guided imagery, art
Support with symptom and relational setbacks
Clinical strategies for managing shame and emotional flooding
Research, risks and limitations

Target Audience

Counselors
Marriage & Family Therapists
Social Workers
Psychologists
Case Managers
Addiction Counselors
Registered Psychotherapists
Physicians
Nurse Practitioners
Other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 03/06/2026

The Codependency Treatment Guide: CBT, Somatic Strategies and More to Disentangle Clients from Dysfunctional Relationships and Recover Self

You see these clients all the time. Preoccupied with others, people with co-dependence issues desperately try to please, manage, or fix those in their closest relationships.

After years of putting their own needs aside these clients become stuck in externally focused self-sacrificing patterns they don’t even recognize. By the time they show up in your office with anxiety, depression, and significant relationship issues they’ve completely lost their true selves.

But knowing what to do with these clients in therapy can be exasperating as again and again they shift the focus of sessions away from themselves and toward others. Their unwillingness to drop down into their own emotions, thoughts, and actions can leave you feeling demoralized and drained as you spin your wheels session after fruitless session. If you’re not careful, you can end up joining the client as they look to solve their own problems by solving the problems of others.

Nancy Johnston has been a therapist for over 40 years and is an expert in the field of codependent relationships. The author of Disentangle: When You’ve Lost Your Self in Someone Else, Nancy has helped thousands of clients extricate themselves from toxic codependency, connect with self, and live with more peace and confidence.

She’ll share the clinical tools and strategies you need to help clients break free from codependency, better balance their care of self and others, and achieve self-recovery.

Full of instantly useable cognitive strategies, somatic techniques, visual tools, case studies, and exercises, you’ll be able to:

Move your clients’ focus from external to internal for improved therapeutic results
Help clients face the realities of their relationships so they can make real changes
Improve clients’ ability to set healthy boundaries and let go of what they cannot control
Show your clients how they can take control of their emotions and start responding instead of reacting
Foster self-empowerment from the very first session
And much more!

You’ve seen codependent clients in your practice for so long now. Don’t pass on this expert-led training so you can achieve incredible results and set clients on the path to living life for themselves.

Purchase now!

Program Information

Objectives

Learn to identify the intra/interpersonal dynamics of codependency in clients presenting with anxiety, depression, and relationship problems and understand how codependency/loss of self in others can be foundational to worry, exhaustion, resentment, entrapment, sadness, hopelessness, and health problems.
Determine the origins of codependent behaviors to support case conceptualization.
Utilize mindfulness techniques to increase codependent clients’ awareness of their own feelings.
Learn more than 15 cognitive strategies to develop and sustain self-recovery, including increased awareness of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, self-monitoring, skill building, corrections of thoughts, psychoeducation through multiple visual tools and bulleted lists, and the development of daily practices.
Use present moment awareness training to help clients tolerate frustration and respond rather than react.
Use acceptance exercises that help clients let go of what they cannot control.

Outline

Codependence: Losing Oneself in Others

Conceptualizing codependence as loss of self in someone else
Developmental sources of codependence
Codependent behaviors vs. the label
Identifying codependence – how codependent clients look in therapy
Research, risks and treatment limitations

Intake and Assessment of Clients with Codependent Behaviors

Clinical dynamics to notice as you use your standard intake
Using the Holyoake Codependency Index
Relationship patterns/themes to look for
Establishment of mutuality in treatment work
Client goal setting
Case Study: 24 year-old in a serious relationship with a dominating partner

Psychoeducation and Early Sessions:
Set the Stage to Shift Clients’ Focus from External to Internal

Tools for educating the client about external vs. internal focus
How to avoid becoming the client’s external source of direction
Strategies to encourage self-empowerment from the very first session
Addressing clinical challenges and codependence in self
Case Study: Continue with 24 year-old feeling dominated by partner

Self, Others, and the Relationship:
Family of Origin and Parts Work to Help Clients Face Illusions and See the Realities

Influences on self: Individual, family systems, and social/cultural
Parts of self that emerged from family-of-origin experiences
Visual tools to teach relationships between self and other(s)
Gathering your clients’ trauma history
Case Study: 50 year-old mother of an alcoholic adult son who chronically relapses

Somatic and Cognitive Techniques:
Enhance Codependent Clients’ Awareness of Body, Mind, Feelings and Thoughts

Mindfulness techniques to increase awareness of body, mind and feelings
Bottom-up grounding tools to notice self in the moment
Cognitive strategies to increase awareness of thoughts
Exercises to help clients be with their feelings in safe, manageable ways
Tools clients can use to intervene on their own behalf

Build Self-Competence in Codependent Clients:
Strategies to Set Healthy Boundaries, Quiet Guilt, Manage Anxiety and More

Addressing the grief of accepting the realities of self, others and situation
Respond vs. react - present moment awareness to help clients tolerate frustration
Mindful breathing techniques for anxiety management
Set healthy boundaries with “I” statements
Tools for quieting guilty thoughts
Case Study: Continue with 50 year-old mother of relapsing adult son

Increasing Self-Empowerment and Self-Attunement:
Exercises and Practices That Show Clients They Can Count on Themselves

Acceptance exercises that help clients let go of what they cannot control
Show clients how to plan with self in mind
Practice acting on goals
Developing daily practices for self-awareness and self-responsiveness
Returning to self as a secure base and an anchor in the storms and delights of life

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Addiction Counselors
Psychologists
Art Therapists
Marriage and Family Therapists
Other Mental Health Professionals

Reparenting the Inner Child: Approaching Developmental Trauma with Guided Imagery

Unresolved attachment traumas often leave deep wounds of abandonment, betrayal, humiliation, injustice, and rejection. These wounds can fragment our sense of self and prevent the development of self-trust, experiences that are vital in how we navigate our life and relationships. In this transformative workshop, you will learn how to use hypnosis and guided imagery to help clients connect with their wounded inner child, uncover and heal core attachment wounds, and reparent through the support of three Inner Guardians: the Nurturing Figure, Protective Figure, and Wise Figure. Discover how to facilitate inner resonance, strengthen self-trust, and empower clients to move from fragmentation to wholeness.

Program Information

Objectives

After this presentation, participants will be able to:

Identify the five core attachment wounds – abandonment, betrayal, humiliation, injustice, and rejection – and their influence on self-trust and emotional well-being.
Utilize psychosensory approaches to hypnosis and guided imagery techniques to help clients connect with their inner child and begin the process of healing attachment wounds.
Apply reparenting strategies using the Nurturing, Protective, and Wise Figures to foster inner resonance, self-trust, and emotional integration.

Outline

Understanding Attachment Wounds
Inner Child Connection Through Hypnosis
Using guided imagery techniques to help clients meet and resonate with their inner child
Restoring Self-Trust
Risks and limitations of inner child imagery

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
Physicians
Marriage and Family Therapists
Nurses

Key Tasks of Trauma Recovery: The Use of Attachment Science in Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT) to Foster Mastery, Cohesion, and Resilience

Difficulty with painful emotions is at the heart of posttraumatic problems, and without attending to your clients’ intense feelings of fear, disgust, anger, and helplessness, you can’t heal their heartbreak. In this session, Dr. Leanne Campbell will show you an emotionally-focused therapy model that offers you a simple, proven 5-step attachment-informed process to create predictable, repeatable, and lasting transformation for your clients.

Program Information

Objectives

Identify the key components and goals of the EFIT model.
Identify emotional handles for the purpose of planning interventions.
Adapt attachment science to the psychotherapy setting.

Outline

Essential nature of the EFIT model
Goals of EFIT
5 tasks of recovering from trauma
How to listen for “emotional handles”
Restructuring no-solution vulnerability
Ten ways EFIT brings attachment science into every session
Case study
Limitations of the research and potential risks

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
Psychiatrists
Marriage & Family Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Other mental health professionals