Welcome, objectives, and presenter introduction The Link Between Trauma & Addiction Dopamine, Desire & the Roots of Addictive Behavior Assessment, History Taking, and Treatment Planning Building Stability and Supporting Recovery Wrap-up, key takeaways, and Q&A

Describe how trauma is connected to the vulnerability to addiction. Explain basic findings of ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences). Identify history taking questions that can be used to assess addictions. Explain the term "maladaptive positive feeling state".

This is not an EMDR training. None! While this course was designed with therapists in mind, many professionals can benefit including but not limited to: Mental Health Professionals Teachers and Educators Healers Yoga Teachers Healthcare Professionals First Responders Lawyers and Law Professionals

Trauma-Informed Addiction Treatment Training

Q: Continuing Education

4 CEs is available upon completion of all course material. Trauma Therapist Institute is an approved continuing education provider. ACE and NBCC CEs are available for this course. This course is not approved for APA or EMDRIA CEs. Participants must complete the full training to receive credit. ACE Approved Provider Trauma Therapist Institute, #1869, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 1/16/25 - 1/16/28. Social workers completing this course receive 6 clinical continuing education credits. NBCC Approved Provider Trauma Therapist Institute has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7033. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Kase &amp; CO is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Addiction and trauma are not parallel problems. For many clients, addiction is the trauma response. Substances, compulsive behaviors, and survival loops exist because the nervous system found them effective, at least for a while. Treating the addiction without addressing the trauma underneath it is why so many clients relapse, and why so many therapists feel stuck.

This trauma-informed addiction treatment training with Sarah Osborne, LPC, LADC, NCC, gives you a neurobiological framework for understanding the trauma-addiction connection and a concrete set of clinical tools for working with it. Sarah brings rare dual expertise as both a licensed alcohol and drug counselor and a certified EMDR therapist and EMDRIA-approved consultant, meaning this training is grounded in real addiction specialty knowledge, not just general trauma-informed awareness applied to substance use.

You will leave with a clear roadmap for integrating trauma-focused care, harm reduction, and evidence-based modalities into your clinical work with clients navigating addiction and co-occurring trauma.

Shame-Free Space for Learning™

Because the best learning happens when you feel safe. Ask freely, show up fully, and learn in a relational, non-judgmental environment built for practitioners like you.

Expert Clinical Training

Expect real case examples, practical guidance, and a teaching style that makes even the hardest topics feel approachable.

Where Learning Meets Community

Join a community of learners with EMDRIA-approved training, CE hours, structured pathways, and lifetime access to support you every step of the way.

In this trauma-informed addiction training, you'll learn how to:

Use SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment) to stratify addiction risk levels and guide clinical next steps
Apply motivational interviewing strategies to collaboratively set treatment goals with clients in early recovery, when ambivalence is highest
Teach urge surfing as a delayed gratification skill, helping clients ride out cravings without acting on them
Use ACT-based interventions to help clients replace compulsive behavior with value-driven choices
Apply CPT interventions to process the trauma memories underlying substance use and relapse patterns
Facilitate recovery planning by mapping emotional, cognitive, physical, and social triggers to addictive behaviors

Describe how trauma is connected to vulnerability to addiction, including how ACEs, complex trauma, and attachment wounds shape the brain and nervous system in ways that increase risk for substance use and compulsive behavior
Explain the neurobiology of addiction, including how trauma affects the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex, and how this neurological wiring drives craving, seeking, and numbing behaviors
Identify maladaptive positive feeling states that reinforce addictive patterns, and use this framework to explain the function of addictive behavior to clients without shame
Use trauma-informed history-taking questions to uncover hidden trauma and assess risk factors that may complicate addiction recovery
Apply harm reduction, stabilization, and treatment planning strategies that keep clients within their window of tolerance during early recovery, when biological and chemical changes are most destabilizing
Differentiate between early recovery presentations and trauma symptoms, and build a treatment approach that addresses both without conflating them

Trauma-addiction neurobiology

Understand how ACEs and complex trauma shape the brain in ways that drive craving and relapse.

SBIRT and assessment skills

Stratify addiction risk and use trauma-informed history-taking to uncover hidden trauma.

Maladaptive positive feeling states

Explain the function of addictive behavior to clients in language that reduces shame.

Q&A and chat

Submit questions and connect with peers through the on-demand course community.

Harm reduction and recovery planning

Map emotional, cognitive, physical, and social triggers to support sustainable recovery.

Flexible access options

Watch live or access the replay for seven days. Learn on your schedule.

Expert clinical insight

Case-grounded teaching from a dual-licensed addiction counselor and EMDRIA-approved consultant.

Free community membership

Join TTI's free membership for conversations and resources. No cost, no catch.

A trauma therapist whose clients present with substance use or compulsive behaviors alongside their trauma histories, and you want a framework that addresses the neurobiological connection rather than treating addiction and trauma as separate clinical problems
Working with clients who have relapsed or struggled to sustain recovery, and wanting to understand what the trauma beneath the craving is and how to address it clinically
Wanting to understand the neurobiology of addiction well enough to explain it to clients in language that reduces shame and builds treatment motivation
Looking for concrete, named clinical tools including SBIRT, motivational interviewing, urge surfing, ACT, and CPT as applied to addiction and trauma, rather than general guidance on trauma-informed care
Working in settings where clients navigate co-occurring addiction and trauma, including community mental health, private practice, or residential settings, and wanting an evidence-based framework for harm reduction and recovery planning
Seeking NBCC and ASWB/ACE continuing education at the intersection of trauma and addiction in a flexible on-demand format with 4 CEs

Sarah Osborne is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, and Nationally Certified Counselor with over ten years of EMDR practice. She is also a Certified EMDR Therapist, EMDRIA Approved Consultant and Advanced Credit Provider, and an HAP Accredited Facilitator.

Sarah specializes in the treatment of addiction, complex trauma, and dissociation. Her clinical background spans both community mental health and private addiction treatment centers, and she is deeply committed to integrating EMDR therapy into addiction care across all levels of treatment. Her dual training as both a trauma specialist and a licensed addiction counselor is rare in this space and informs every element of this course.

Agenda

Welcome, objectives, and presenter introduction
The Link Between Trauma & Addiction
Dopamine, Desire & the Roots of Addictive Behavior
Assessment, History Taking, and Treatment Planning
Building Stability and Supporting Recovery
Wrap-up, key takeaways, and Q&A

Learning Objectives

Describe how trauma is connected to the vulnerability to addiction.
Explain basic findings of ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences).
Identify history taking questions that can be used to assess addictions.
Explain the term "maladaptive positive feeling state".

Prerequisites

This is not an EMDR training.

None! While this course was designed with therapists in mind, many professionals can benefit including but not limited to:
- Mental Health Professionals
- Teachers and Educators
- Healers
- Yoga Teachers
- Healthcare Professionals
- First Responders
- Lawyers and Law Professionals

Continuing Education

4 CEs is available upon completion of all course material.

Trauma Therapist Institute is an approved continuing education provider. ACE and NBCC CEs are available for this course. This course is not approved for APA or EMDRIA CEs.

Participants must complete the full training to receive credit.

ACE Approved Provider

Trauma Therapist Institute, #1869, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 1/16/25 - 1/16/28. Social workers completing this course receive 6 clinical continuing education credits.

NBCC Approved Provider

Trauma Therapist Institute has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7033. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Kase & CO is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Course Completion

To receive a CE certificate, participants must complete the entire course, complete the post-test with a score of 80% or above, and complete the course evaluation. You may retake the post-test as needed. Once completed, a CE certificate will auto-populate to your online account.

Cancellation Policy

Please reference our cancellation policy here (bottom section of this page).

Trauma Training

Trauma-Informed Addiction Treatment Training

The Trauma Beneath the Craving: A Neurobiological Approach to Addiction

Come for the Training. Stay for the Community.