Betrayal Trauma is Often the Primary Issue Keeping People Stuck in the Healing Process
One type of complicated mourning that is often overlooked or given very little attention is betrayal trauma (BT), despite the fact that in the majority of cases it is the primary issue keeping people stuck in the healing process. Betrayal trauma can occur within numerous contexts, including treatment of an abuse victim by family or professionals, the inability of someone to let go of an affair, or the impotent rage of trying to deal with systems seemingly ill-equipped to help.

This webinar differentiates situations in which BT is either the primary or secondary trauma. Participants will discover the importance of timing in addressing the issue of BT, and of distinguishing it from other thought disorders. Ms. Bradley-Ball will share proven therapeutic approaches that assist clients in safely processing BT.

Course Content

A.Definitions and Therapeutic Requirements
  1.Trauma
  2.Grief
  3.Complicated mourning
  4.Betrayal trauma
B.Betrayal Trauma and Themis
  1.Jonathan Shay: Themis
  2.Jennifer Freyd and Richard Gartner: Sexual abuse and betrayal trauma
    a.Deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender (DARVO)
    b.Institutional blindness
    c.Betrayal trauma assessment
  3.Patrick Carnes and betrayal bond
C.“Stuck in the Impotent Rage”- The Spin of Betrayal Trauma
  1.Cultural/societal betrayal
  2.Physical, emotional, and sexual trauma and neglect
  3.Military sexual trauma
  4.Betrayal of self
  5.Infidelity
  6.Natural disasters
D.Effective Therapeutic Approaches for Betrayal Trauma
  1.Assessing appropriate timing
    a.Betrayal acknowledgement vs. complicated mourning work
    b.Red flag danger points—risk factors
    c.How a therapist remains a safe party
  2.Containment
  3.Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and other modalities
  4.Schema-focused cognitive therapy and life view
  5.Complicated grief work
  6.Family systems approaches
  7.Restoring trust in self
  8.Utilizing healing rituals