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Symposia

Bringing Neurobiological Insights on Trauma and Dissociation into Therapeutic Practice

Thursday, March 13, 2025
8:30 AM – 5:00 PM US Eastern Time
Location: Avenue 34: The Loft

Abstract
A deeper neurobiological understanding of trauma and dissociation can significantly enhance therapeutic practice by reducing shame patients experience about these symptoms, improving assessment, and guiding novel interventions. However, translating neurobiological findings into clinical practice remains challenging, and the integration of this new knowledge is slow. This workshop aims to convey cutting-edge neurobiological findings on trauma and dissociation in a manner accessible to non-neuroscientists, and how clinicians can effectively incorporate these findings into their practice.

The workshop will cover a range of neurobiological topics, including:

  • Leveraging the neurobiology of dissociative identity disorder (DID) to optimize treatment success

  • Understanding the impact of moral injury on bodily self-consciousness in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociation

  • Exploring the phenomenon of voice hearing in PTSD and DID

  • Examining the neurobiological consequences of racism-related stress

  • Capturing the daily lived experiences of trauma memories to understand how trauma is represented in the brain

  • Investigating the neurobiology of a vibroacoustically augmented breath-focused mindfulness intervention


Each presenter will cover the aforementioned neurobiological findings and how clinicians can integrate these specific insights into their practice. The workshop will end with a discussion of the next frontier in the neuroscientific study of trauma and dissociation, and a synthesis from an expert clinician on the potential for the presented work to enhance therapeutic practice.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this session participants will be able to:
  • Describe key neurobiological mechanisms underlying trauma and dissociation, including DID and PTSD
  • Identify practical strategies for integrating neurobiological findings into clinical practice to improve treatment outcomes for patients with trauma-related disorders
  • Explain the impact of moral injury on bodily self-consciousness in PTSD
  • Discuss the neurobiological consequences of racial inequities and their implications for mental health
  • Explain how intrusive trauma memories and voice hearing are represented in the brain

Presentations:

  • 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM US Eastern Time
    Leveraging Neurobiological Insights to Enhance Clinical Practice for Dissociative Identity Disorder

    Lauren AM Lebois, PhD (she/her/hers) – McLean Hospital / Harvard Medical School

  • 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM US Eastern Time
    Embodied Cognition Alterations After Trauma: The Impact of Moral Injury on Bodily Self-consciousness in PTSD and Dissociation

    Sherain Harricharan, PhD (she/her/hers) – McMaster University

  • 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM US Eastern Time
    Voice-hearing in Trauma-related Disorders: Increasing Awareness of a Common but Underrecognized Experience

    Ann K. Shinn, MD, MPH (she/her/hers) – McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School

  • 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM US Eastern Time
    Neurobiological Consequences of Racism-related Stress: Insights for Developing Translatable Neural Models of Trauma and Stress-related Disorders

    Nathaniel Harnett, PhD

  • 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM US Eastern Time
    Capturing Daily Lived Experiences of Trauma Memories to Understand How Trauma Is Represented in the Brain

    Kevin J. Clancy, PhD (he/him/his) – Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital

  • 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM US Eastern Time
    Neural Mechanisms of Vibroacoustically Augmented Breath Focused Mindfulness for Dissociative Trauma-exposed People

    Timothy J. McDermott, PhD (he/him/his) – Emory University School of Medicine

  • 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM US Eastern Time
    Integrating Neurobiology into Clinical Practice – Where We Are and Remaining Questions

    Juliann B. Purcell, PhD (she/her/hers) – McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School

  • 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM US Eastern Time
    Integrating Neurobiology into Clinical Practice – Where We Are and Remaining Questions

    Mollie Marr, MD, PhD (she/her/hers) – MGH/McLean Hospital