A Developmental Model of Therapist Responsiveness to Dissociation

Do, 11. Dezember 2025 19:00 – 20:30 Uhr (Dauer: 1 Stunde 30 Minuten)

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It is common to encounter dissociative clients in treatment settings. Therefore, it is necessary for clinicians to know how to enact responsiveness to dissociation – that is, how to adapt treatments to meet clients’ evolving needs when considering that they are dissociative. This talk presents a research-based developmental model for being responsive to dissociative clients. The model was derived from a rigorous grounded theory qualitative meta-analysis of studies on therapists’ experiences working with dissociative clients. In this transtheoretical model, clinicians paradoxically honor dissociation as a strength and also guide clients to work through it to heal. By engaging in this responsive paradox, clinicians empower clients to deepen their emotional processing to heal from deep, traumatic pain. They gradually do so by progressing through four iterative phases with specific considerations for clients who dissociate: (1) cultivating the alliance, (2) promoting clients’ skills-based self-efficacy, (3) empowering clients to turn inward in the context of stigma, and (4) guiding emotional access and processing. In this talk, I review this developmental model with practical, in-session recommendations for therapists. A central focus of this talk is how and when specific evidence-based treatments can be integrated into the developmental model to best meet clients’ needs moment-to-moment. I emphasize the Finding Solid Ground program, which is an efficacious and evidence-based psychoeducational program that has been found to improve emotion regulation, PTSD symptoms, self-compassion, and adaptive capacities in individuals with complex trauma and dissociation. This talk will equip clinicians with skills in applying dissociation-responsive clinical principles into their idiosyncratic approaches.

Speaker: Nicholas Pierorazio, M.A., is a Ph.D. student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston) in Boston, Massachusetts. He has had years of research experience in psychological trauma, dissociation, and their treatment. He has extended lines of research with three main foci: (1) experiences of psychological trauma and their sequelae (e.g., dissociation), (2) the assessment and treatment of trauma and dissociation, and (3) psychotherapy process and outcome. He primarily uses qualitative and mixed methods approaches to investigate these areas. He holds a scientist-practitioner-activist lens in his work. He previously worked as a mental health worker at Sheppard Pratt Health System’s Trauma Disorders Program, serving on an interdisciplinary team on a specialized inpatient unit. He also has experience providing psychotherapy in university counseling center and private practice settings. He has lectured in graduate courses and presented internationally on special topics related to trauma and dissociation. He has been awarded the International Society of the Study of Trauma and Dissociation’s (ISSTD) Outstanding Student Award, ISSTD’s Pierre Janet Writing Award, and UMass Boston’s Clinical Psychology Master’s Thesis Book Award.

Aktuelle Veröffentlichungen:

• Pierorazio, N. A., Brand, B. L. & Goldenson, J. Dissociation-informed assessment: Process-related guidance. Psychol. Trauma Theory, Res. Pract. Policy (2025) doi:10.1037/tra0001997.
• Pierorazio, N. A., Snyder, B. L., Chang, M. Y., Israel, B. S. & Brand, B. L. How Psychotherapists Who Practice With Clients With Dissociative Identity Disorder Experience Their Work: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Couns. Psychother. Res. 25, (2025).
• Brand, B. L. et al. A randomized controlled trial assists individuals with complex trauma and dissociation in Finding Solid Ground. Psychol. Trauma Theory, Res. Pract. Policy (2025) doi:10.1037/tra0001871.

• Fortbildungspunkte der Bayerischen Landesärztekammer werden beantragt
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