The DC Metro Area Trauma Forum
will hold its 2nd meeting on
Sunday, October 18 from 3-5 p.m. at
Psychiatric Institute of Washington
4228 Wisconsin Ave., Washington, DC 20016
STAGE-ORIENTED TREATMENT, STABILIZATION AND CONTAINMENT SKILLS
Clinical presentation by Joan Turkus M.D. and Jennifer Kahler, PsyD
(Co-authors of “Therapeutic Interventions in the Treatment of Dissociative Disorders”
2006 article published in Psychiatric Clinics of North America)
There will be ample time for group discussion in which attendees will be invited to think deeply together and share our respective experiences and challenges working with trauma.
We are writing to invite you to participate in the second meeting of an exciting and unique venture in the Washington, D.C. area for therapists committed to the challenging work of treating traumatized persons. Our vision for the DC Metro Area Trauma Forum is to create a safe space that is both emotionally supportive and intellectually stimulating for therapists from diverse backgrounds and treatment settings, in which we can come together to share our collective wisdom and experiences in providing trauma treatment.
We welcome both seasoned clinicians and new therapists; clinicians whose professional identity already includes “trauma therapist” and those who periodically encounter clients with complex posttraumatic presentations. A strong interest of the project is to encourage and facilitate collaborations between the many and varied schools of thought regarding psychotherapy, diagnostic categories and treatment approaches for complex trauma and dissociative disorders.
Over 100 therapists from a broad range of settings turned out for our first meeting April 26. We are off to a phenomenal start. Over 30 people signed a Volunteer Sheet at that meeting to help with future meetings. We have applied to become a Component Group of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. We would like to find a way to offer continuing education credits to those attending our meetings. Please join us for yet another wonderful opportunity to network and learn from each other about trauma treatment.
Joan Turkus is co-founder and consultant of The CENTER: Posttraumatic Disorders Program at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington, D.C. and maintains a private practice in general and forensic psychiatric in Falls Church, Virginia. She is a Fellow of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation and the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Turkus is known nationally as a pioneer, activist, clinician and teacher in the trauma field.
Jennifer Kahler completed her Internship at Cambridge Hospital/Harvard Medical School and her Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Sheppard Pratt Hospital in the Trauma Disorders Program. For five years, Dr. Kahler was the inpatient psychologist at The CENTER: Posttraumatic Disorders Program and has significant experience in psychological consultations and testing for trauma-related disorders. She maintains a private practice in Falls Church, Virginia.
To RSVP for the program, send an email to Tally Tripp at tallytripp@comcast.net by Tues. Oct. 13. Please include in the body of the email your full name, your email address, contact phone numbers, and name of your practice setting. You can also email us your information if you are unable to attend but are interested in future meetings so that we include you on our mailing list. Vicky Balenger can be reached for questions at (703) 909-6806. There is no charge for the event.
We look forward to meeting you and welcoming you!
DC Metro Area Trauma Forum Planning Committee
Jan Freeman, MSW, Chair
Joan Turkus, MD
Vicky Balenger PhD
Florence Hannigan MSW
Christine Courtois PhD
Tally Tripp MSW, ATR
Note: A Trauma Forum meeting for late January/early February is already being planned with Christine Courtois PhD
presenting ideas from her new book “Treating Complex Traumatic Stress Disorders: An Evidence Based Guide.”
