Trauma Training

Skills Training for the Attuned Trauma Therapist

Trainer: Sheri Van Dijk, MSW, RSW
Live Training: June 5th | 10:00 AM Central Time | Available for synchronous, live learning
On-Demand: Available one week after the live event 

Most therapists hear about DBT in grad school. Few leave with enough training to actually use it. That matters, because DBT is one of the most evidence-supported treatments we have for emotion dysregulation, self-harm, suicidal behavior, and borderline personality disorder, with growing research behind its use for substance use, eating disorders, and PTSD. It is not a single technique. It is a structured, skills-based framework built around four core modules. Each one gives clients something concrete and specific to draw on when emotions feel bigger than their capacity to manage them.

DBT is highly intervention-focused. It teaches four specific skill sets: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness. Each module is distinct, teachable, and grounded in decades of research.

In this live DBT training for trauma therapists, bestselling author and DBT expert Sheri Van Dijk will walk you through a practical, trauma-informed introduction to DBT. You'll learn how to adapt each of the four core modules for clients with complex trauma, attachment injuries, suicidality, self-harm, and chronic crisis, without needing a full DBT program to do it.

Get grounded in DBT, stay grounded with your clients, and leave with a clear, compassionate framework you can bring into your very next session.

• Conduct a DBT behavioral chain analysis to pinpoint exactly what drives impulsivity, self-harm, avoidance, and emotional blowups, and intervene precisely instead of guessing.
• Turn chain analysis into a solution-focused treatment plan so every session has clear targets, skill insertion points, and measurable behavior change.
• Use the 6 levels of validation strategically to de-escalate high-intensity emotions without reinforcing stuckness, avoidance, or dysfunctional behaviors.
• Use irreverent and dialectical communication strategies to break rigid thinking, interrupt avoidance, and shift stuck therapeutic dynamics.
• Apply dialectical strategies to balance acceptance and change so clients feel deeply understood and actually move forward.
• Teach and integrate DBT core skill sets (mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness) to stabilize clients and reduce crisis-driven therapy.

Sheri Van Dijk is a psychotherapist, trainer, and bestselling author internationally recognized for her work integrating Dialectical Behavior Therapy with trauma‑informed care. A registered social worker with over two decades of clinical experience, Sheri has worked extensively with clients living with borderline personality disorder, complex trauma, mood disorders, and chronic suicidality in both hospital and outpatient settings.

She is the author of multiple books on DBT, including accessible skills guides for clients and clinicians, and is known for her ability to translate DBT into clear, compassionate, real‑world interventions that therapists can use right away. Sheri’s teaching style is practical, grounded, and deeply respectful of the complexity clinicians hold in the room: high acuity, limited time, and clients whose nervous systems have learned that the world is not safe.

In this DBT training for trauma therapists, Sheri brings her experience as a frontline clinician, author, and trainer to help you feel more equipped, more regulated, and more confident using DBT skills with the clients who need them most.