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ForwardAdvanced Topics in Complex Trauma and Dissociative Disorders | Flakser 2026
Participants must have taken both parts of The Complexities of Complex Trauma and From Complex Trauma to Dissociative Disorders to enroll in this course.
This course consists of nine sessions. Each session is “free-standing” in that it encompasses an entire topic to be covered in a single class.
Session Topics
- Session One – An Introduction to Complex Trauma and Dissociation in Children and Adolescents
- Session Two – Depersonalization and Derealization
- Session Three – Institutional Betrayal and Institutional Courage
- Session Four – LGBTQ+ Discrimination
- Session Five – Racism and Colonial Oppression
- Session Six – Shame and Moral Injury and Their Roles in Complex Trauma and Dissociative Disorders
- Session Seven – Trauma, Dissociation and Addiction: The Interplay of Eating Disorders and Substance Abuse
- Session Eight – Sexual Victimization of Boys and Men and Its Outcomes
- Session Nine – Suicidality and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury
Course Format: 9 sessions Live Teleseminar; 2.5 hour sessions each.
Course Dates: Fridays - 2026: Feb 13, Mar 13, Apr 17, May 15, Jun 12, Jul 17, Aug 14, Sep 18, Oct 16
Meeting Time: 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM US Eastern Time
Click Here to Convert to Your Local Time
Course Completion Requirements
Course completion requires live attendance, participation in sessions, and completion of session and overall evaluations. APA and ASWB credit cannot be awarded for watching the recording of a session. Please be advised that all courses have a course closure date, which is the last day of the month following the last session. All requirements must be completed by the course closure date. At that time, the course will no longer be accessible to participants who have pending tasks and credit cannot be retrieved at a later date.
APA: Participants must attend all sessions live (at least 50 minutes of every 60 minutes | For a 2.5 hour session participants must be present for at least 125 minutes out of the full 150 minutes). APA Credit is not awarded for any missed sessions, nor for partial attendance that does not satisfy the aforementioned criteria. Credit will only be awarded for individual sessions in which live attendance requirements are successfully met and session evaluations are complete. At the end of the course, certificates will be automatically populated upon the completion of the final overall course evaluation.
ASWB: Participants must attend all live sessions. If you are absent for an individual session, you are no longer eligible to earn any ASWB credit at the completion of the course. *ASWB participants must be present and meet minute criteria for every single session throughout the course. ASWB certificates are manually processed by ISSTD staff and will be awarded via email approximately two weeks after the course closure date.
ISSTD Certificate Program: Participants must attend 7 out of 9 sessions (at least 50 minutes of every 60 minutes | For a 2.5 hour session participants must be present for at least 125 minutes out of 150 minutes). Those who attend the required number of sessions will be awarded 30 ISSTD Certificate Program credits. No certificate is awarded for certificate program credits.
For additional course policies please visit this page.
Target Audience
Those seeking to enroll in this course must be licensed mental health professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, mental health counselors, accredited psychotherapists, etc.) who are interested in developing their skills in treating clients with complex trauma and dissociative disorders. ISSTD staff will audit license information prior to the start of the course and may request additional documentation for your license.
We do accept students, trainees, interns, etc with a letter of recommendation from their supervisor or department chair. For more information about these requirement, please view the PTP Course Descriptions, Fees & Policies page.
Participants must have completed the Level I course, The Complexities of Complex Trauma, and Level II course, From Complex Trauma to Dissociative Disorders, to enroll in this course.
The course content is at the advanced level.
Additional Information
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 2026 Level III Syllabus.pdf | 181.97 KB |
Faige Flakser, LCSW
Email: faigeflakserlcsw@gmail.com
Faige Flakser, LCSW, graduated from Simmons College with a Master’s degree in social work and is licensed in both New York and New Jersey. She has been working in the field of trauma her entire social work career, starting with foster care and domestic violence and now works with adult survivors of childhood abuse, including former cult members and individuals with Dissociative Disorders, including DID.
Faige has studied extensively the art and science of trauma work and graduated from the Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy’s Trauma Studies Program before coming to ISSTD. Faige has also trained in specific modalities that treat trauma, including EMDR, Somatic Attachment, Polyvagal, and IFS, where she also facilitates trainings for other clinicians. Faige continues to learn and bring cutting edge research to her work.
As Faige’s clinical experience and trainings developed, she was met with increasingly complex trauma cases, further along on the spectrum of dissociation. ISSTD became the base, where she studied at their Advanced Studies for Trauma and Dissociation, eventually joining the faculty as well. Faige also co-chairs the Vicarious Trauma SIG at ISSTD and is secretary of ISSTD’s Committee to the UN and secretary of the Organized and Extreme Abuse (OEA) SIG.
Faige’s social work experience ranged from agency work, community clinics, group practice and private practice. Prior to becoming a social worker, Faige earned a Master’s degree in Special Education through Touro College and worked with children with developmental delays. Faige combines her knowledge, experience, passion and skills to help her supervisees, trainees, and most of all, her clients.
Fees for in-person and teleseminar courses include continuing education (CE) credits. Continuing education credits are available for all teleseminar courses as well as US and Canada-based in-person courses.
Please note that APA certificates will automatically populate upon the completion of the course. ASWB certificates are manually processed by staff and will be sent to eligible participants approximately two weeks after the course closure date.
Available Credit
- 22.50 APAThe International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
- 22.50 ASWB ACEThe International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), #1744, 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: 08/20/2024 – 08/20/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 22.50 continuing education credits.
- 22.50 ISSTD Certificate ProgramThis program is eligible for 22.50 credits in the ISSTD Certificate Program. No certificate of completion is generated for this type of credit.
Price
"Your Price" above reflects your final price based on your membership status.
ISSTD Cancellation Policy: Cancellations will only be accepted up to 14 days prior to the first course session. Cancellations are subject to a $45 cancellation fee plus the cost of copyrighted materials. The course fee is not refundable if you withdraw from the course less than 14 days before the start of the course. Once the course starts no new students can be accepted more than one week after the course begins. Please note that to receive ASWB ACE credit, all sessions must be attended. All materials used for this course are subject to copyright laws and are not for duplication or distribution by course participants. Fees must be submitted with registration, and must be submitted in US dollars.
The cost of the copyrighted materials for this course is $110.
Required Hardware/software
ISSTD uses Zoom for our live teleseminar courses. Information on system requirements can be found here. A guide to live teleseminar courses is available below and in each session of the course in the course portal.
