On-Demand Training with Dr Lorraine Bell

Supported by Dr Fiona Kennedy

Workshop Overview

Working with suicidal thoughts and behaviours is highly stressful and challenging for mental health professionals. This workshop equips practitioners with the knowledge and skills to deliver the safest, most effective interventions. Drawing on Dr Bell’s cutting-edge expertise, you will learn how to assess risk, create collaborative safety plans, and implement interventions that reduce suicide risk.

Even when viewed on-demand, the training remains highly interactive, offering exercises, demonstrations, and reflective activities to embed learning.

Who Will Benefit

Mental health practitioners and therapists working with people at risk of suicide, including psychological therapists, nurses, OTs, social workers, psychiatrists, and medical staff.

What You Will Learn

• How to assess suicide risk and identify key risk and protective factors
• How to develop collaborative safety plans
• How to design and deliver interventions to reduce suicide risk
• Evidence-based approaches to reducing access to lethal means

Course Content

• Overview of suicide in the UK: myths, statistics, policy, and links with mental health and self-harm
• Principles and aims of suicide-focused interventions
• Practical skills for assessing risk and implementing interventions
• Applied exercises to embed knowledge and practice interventions

Learning Methods

Instruction, demonstrations, role-plays, reflective exercises, and breakout discussions create an interactive, engaging, and practical learning experience.

Trainer

Dr Lorraine Bell is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with Solent NHS Trust, Fellow of the British Psychological Society and leads the Psychological Therapies Service in secondary mental health for Portsmouth. Lorraine has undertaken a number of service development roles and is currently the Suicide Prevention lead for Solent NHS Trust. She has implemented a suicide focused intervention throughout the Solent adult mental health service. Her latest book Helping people overcome suicidal thoughts, urges and behaviour: Suicide-focussed intervention skills for health and social care professionals comes from Routledge.

Supported by Dr Fiona Kennedy. Fiona is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Director of GreenWood Mentors. She makes complex concepts accessible and enjoys having fun whilst training on serious topics. She has many years experience as an NHS clinician and manager, as well as in private practice. She has written books and published papers on the sequelae of trauma in childhood and other topics. The latest, “Integrating CBT and Third Wave Therapies” (2020) is part of the CBT Distinctive Features series from Routledge.

Ready to grow your skills?

Access this On-Demand training today and learn at your own pace. Gain practical tools, evidence-based strategies, and expert insights you can apply immediately in your work. Register Now.

On-Demand Training with Dr Fiona Kennedy

Overview

If you are a mental health clinician, you are working with dissociation, whether you realise it or not. This workshop gives you the tools to recognise, assess, and treat dissociation effectively.

Dissociation is not just “spacing out”, it is a set of processes that can affect self, memory, consciousness, perception, and bodily experience. Often rooted in trauma, dissociation can profoundly shape clinical presentations including PTSD, cPTSD, personality disorder, psychosis, depersonalisation, eating disorders, somatic symptoms, non-epileptic seizures, and severe anxiety or depression.

Dr Fiona Kennedy, co-developer of the CBT model of dissociation, presents practical ways to assess, formulate, and intervene using CBT, DBT, ACT, and CFT.

Who Is This Course For?

• Therapists and mental health professionals working with trauma, neglect, or complex mental health needs
• Clinicians supporting clients with BPD/EUPD, DID, psychosis, PTSD/cPTSD, unexplained medical symptoms, or dissociative amnesia
• Professionals seeking a deeper understanding of dissociation and practical clinical tools

Course Content

• Defining dissociation and its neurobiology
• The CBT model of dissociation: perceptual, mode, and between-mode levels
• Assessing dissociation with psychometric tools, including the Wessex Dissociation Scale (WDS)
• Formulating dissociation in clinical practice: PTSD, psychosis, BPD, DID, anxiety disorders, self-harm, somatic disorders, and more
• Explaining dissociation to clients in accessible ways
• Intervening effectively with grounding, CBT, DBT, ACT, and CFT strategies
• Case formulation and treatment planning using clinical vignettes

Learning Methods

Interactive teaching with demonstrations, role-plays, breakout groups, video material, and case-based learning. Recordings are available after the event so you can revisit key concepts.

Trainer

Dr Fiona Kennedy is an experienced and engaging trainer known for making complex clinical ideas practical and accessible. She has decades of NHS and independent practice experience, co-developed the CBT theory of dissociation, and authored numerous books, including Integrating CBT and Third Wave Therapies and Get Your Life Back. She also co-edited Cognitive Behavioural Approaches to the Understanding and Treatment of Dissociation.

Ready to grow your skills?

Access this On-Demand training today and learn at your own pace. Gain practical tools, evidence-based strategies, and expert insights you can apply immediately in your work. Register Now.

On-Demand Training With Marie Wassberg and Dr Fiona Kennedy

Overview

Following her acclaimed BABCP 2022 workshop, Marie Wassberg returns to GreenWood Mentors for a two-day deep dive into DBT-A skills. This interactive online training teaches you how to run skills groups that help participants generalise DBT strategies into their daily lives.

DBT-A (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for Adolescents) is a strength-based, evidence-informed approach for young people and adults struggling with emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, relationship difficulties, and low self-esteem. It can be delivered in groups, individually, with families or carers, and in residential settings.

You do not need to be a DBT practitioner to apply these skills. The course combines experiential learning, role-play, and practical demonstrations to equip you with techniques that can immediately enhance your practice.

Who Will Benefit

• Therapists and mental health professionals working with adolescents, adults, and their families/carers
• Professionals supporting young people with emotional dysregulation, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, ASD, ADHD, trauma, or emerging personality disorders
• Clinicians running skills groups or seeking practical, hands-on DBT-A training

Course Content

Day 1:

• The bio-social model and adolescent brain
• Introduction to DBT and DBT-A principles
• Engaging parents/carers in the skills process
• “Walking the Middle Path” and practical mindfulness exercises

Day 2:

• Emotion Regulation: down-regulating intense emotions
• Distress Tolerance: surviving crises
• Interpersonal Effectiveness: building healthier relationships
• Practical guidance on group and individual skills teaching

Learning Methods

Interactive teaching with demonstrations, role-plays, breakout groups, and video material. Recordings are available for three weeks after the event.

What You Will Learn

• How DBT-A skills improve emotional regulation for adolescents and adults
• How to teach DBT-A skills to individuals, groups, and caregivers
• How to integrate DBT-A into existing therapeutic approaches
• Practical strategies for applying skills across settings

The Trainers

Marie Wassberg – Social Worker, Accredited CBT Therapist (BABCP), and DBT-A Specialist. Extensive experience with adolescents facing trauma, self-harm, complex PTSD, ASD, ADHD, and challenging behaviours. International lecturer and trainer.

Fiona Kennedy – Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Director of GreenWood Mentors, BABCP Fellow, award-winning trainer. Experienced in DBT service development and training, trauma, and integrating CBT and Third Wave therapies.

Ready to grow your skills?

Access this On-Demand training today and learn at your own pace. Gain practical tools, evidence-based strategies, and expert insights you can apply immediately in your work. Register Now.