GreenWood Mentors is among the first in the UK to offer a certificated Dissociation Practitioner programme: practical, graduated training that builds your confidence to recognise, assess and treat dissociation. (BPS Approval pending.)
Dissociation underpins many mental health conditions, as well as a range of medically unexplained physical symptoms, and demand for skilled treatment is growing fast, from depersonalisation-derealisation disorder (DPDR) to dissociative identity disorder (DID).
Whether you work in the NHS or private practice, or you manage or commission services, you can be among the first to offer effective, evidence-based and cost-saving treatment for dissociation.
Why Study Dissociation?
A psychological process that underpins many mental health conditions — and a growing area of clinical demand.
- Underpins many mental health and medically unexplained physical conditions
- DPDR, dissociative amnesia, fugue states and DID are increasingly common
- Clients are increasingly seeking appropriate, effective treatment
Be among the first to offer these services from your own practice, or stay ahead of the curve by building dissociation into your pathways of care — whether as a dedicated dissociation pathway or within your Complex Emotional Needs or Trauma pathways.
Interested? Contact Dr Fiona Kennedy to find out more and register your interest:
Dr Fiona Kennedy
Graduated Training
Free taster plus five one-day courses — start or stop at any time
First of Its Kind
The first certificated Dissociation Practitioner programme in the country
Online or In-Person
Delivered online and recorded, with tailored in-house options
Ongoing Support
BABCP-accredited supervision groups you can join
Who Is This Training For?
The programme begins with basic training suitable for all mental health and health professionals. The later courses become progressively more specialised, focusing on more complex presentations in graduated steps, and the training is supported throughout by an offer of ongoing supervision.
Ideal for:
- Mental health professionals and therapists
- GPs, A&E staff and general nurses
- Social workers and youth workers
- Police, armed forces and veterans' services
- Prison and custodial workers
- Service managers and commissioners
Why Train With GreenWood Mentors?
A 20-Year Track Record
More than 20 years' experience researching, training, supervising and delivering effective treatments for dissociation
Recognised Expertise
Dr Fiona Kennedy developed the CBT model of dissociation (published 2004) and has authored and co-edited books and articles on the topic
Certificated Training
The first in the country to offer a Dissociation Practitioner Certificate, covering presentations from DPDR to DID and somatoform (conversion) disorders, including FND. BPS Approval has been applied for
Ongoing Supervision
BABCP-accredited supervisors with experience of presentations from simple through to complex DID. Join a supervision group to apply your training with confidence
The Certificate Programme
Choose from basic awareness training through a range of graduated courses that develop your knowledge of dissociation and dissociative disorders (DDs) step by step. Courses range from half a day to a full day, and you can stop or start at any time. You receive a certificate for every course you attend, and completion of all five one-day courses leads to the Dissociation Practitioner Certificate.
Free Introduction
A one-hour taster session to get you started
Five One-Day Courses
Building from basic awareness to working with DID
Stop or Start Anytime
Progress at your own pace, in any order that suits you
Practitioner Certificate
Awarded on completion of all five one-day courses
Start here
Course 1 — Recognising and Responding to Dissociation is the first course in the certificate, and the place to begin.
Start With a Free Taster Session
Get a feel for our approach with a free, one-hour introduction to dissociation.
Watch the Free SessionWhat Each Course Covers
Appropriate for all mental health and health professionals (including GPs, A&E and general nurses), as well as social workers, police, armed forces, veterans, prison workers and youth workers.
- What is dissociation, and why does it matter?
- What functions does dissociation disrupt? (memory; sense of self; perception and consciousness; somatic)
- How to recognise dissociation
- Basic psychoeducation and reassurance for clients
- Reducing vulnerability to dissociation
- How to refer on into the mental health system
Based on Finding Solid Ground: Overcoming Obstacles in Trauma Treatment (Brand, Schielke, Schiavone & Lanius, 2022) and the accompanying Finding Solid Ground Program Workbook (Schielke, Brand & Lanius, 2022), Oxford University Press.
- Dissociation across disorders: prevalence
- The CBT model of dissociation
- How to assess dissociation
- Adding dissociation to a clinical formulation
- Strategies and techniques for intervention
- Formulating and planning work on your own cases
A trans-diagnostic target affecting clients across many presentations.
- What is DPDR?
- Recognising DPDR
- Assessing for DPDR
- CBT models of DPDR
- Adding DPDR to your clinical formulation
- Intervening with and treating DPDR
- The diagnostic criteria for dissociative disorders (DDs) and somatic disorders
- Assessment and formulation of DDs and somatic disorders, including understanding when a presentation is not a DD
- Specific challenges of DDs: severe amnesia; risk; therapeutic relationship challenges; length of therapy
- Neurodiversity and DDs
- Cultural considerations
- Case studies and vignettes, including participants' own cases
- Service adaptations and requirements for establishing effective services (including freeing up therapist time)
- Supervision requirements and arrangements
- What is DID? Varieties of presentation
- Assessment of DID, including understanding when a presentation is not DID
- Specific challenges of DID: severe amnesia; risk; therapeutic relationship challenges; length of therapy; organised abusers; inter-generational abuse; involvement of professionals in abuse
- Neurodiversity and DID
- Cultural considerations
- Case studies and vignettes, including participants' own cases
- Service adaptations and requirements for establishing effective services (including freeing up therapist time)
- Supervision requirements and arrangements
Completion of all five one-day courses leads to the GreenWood Mentors Dissociation Practitioner Certificate.
Specialist Dissociation Supervisor Training
We also offer Supervisor Training, if you would like to develop internal supervisors within your service or become a supervisor yourself.
- Taking the temperature: participants' concerns and needs when becoming a supervisor for dissociation work
- Refreshing the basic principles and practices of supervision
- Monitoring the quality of supervision
- Use of language in DDs: the dialectic between subjective multiplicity and objective singularity
- Specific issues arising from work with DDs, including therapists' own PTSD, the emotional toll of the work, and invalidation from colleagues
- Requirements for supervision of supervision
A Recognised and Growing Need
There is growing recognition across the field that complex dissociation is under-identified in current services, and that many clinicians feel under-prepared and unsupported when they encounter it. Recent stakeholder work — including a NIHR-supported Public & Patient Involvement report by Dr Paul Langthorne (Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust), and his talk at the 2026 Building Foundations Together conference at the University of Derby — sets out the case for better-developed care pathways, a dissociation-informed workforce, and proper clinical supervision.
That is precisely the gap this training is designed to help close: equipping practitioners to recognise, assess, formulate and treat dissociation with confidence and skill.
Built on a Recognised Evidence Base
Our training is grounded in established theory and practice. Dr Fiona Kennedy developed the CBT model of dissociation (published 2004) and has since authored and co-edited books and articles on the subject. Course One draws directly on the Finding Solid Ground programme (Oxford University Press, 2022).
Covers presentations including:
- Depersonalisation-derealisation disorder (DPDR)
- Dissociative amnesia and fugue states
- Dissociative identity disorder (DID)
- Somatoform (conversion) disorders
- Functional neurological disorder (FND), including non-epileptic seizures
What you gain:
- Confidence to recognise and assess dissociation
- Practical, evidence-based intervention skills
- The ability to formulate and plan your own cases
- Effective, cost-saving treatment approaches
- Ongoing supervision and support
Meet Your Expert Trainers
Dr Fiona Kennedy
Course Director, Clinical Psychologist
Developer of the CBT model of dissociation (2004) and author and co-editor of books and articles on the topic. More than 20 years' experience training, supervising and delivering effective treatments for dissociation, nationally and internationally.
Dr Helen Kennerley
Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Consultant Clinical Psychologist with Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and Senior Associate Tutor at the University of Oxford. A founding fellow of the Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre, co-author of An Introduction to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (now in its 4th edition), and in 2026 an Honorary Fellow of the BABCP.
Marie Wassberg
Social Worker, CBT & DBT Therapist and Trainer
Marie integrates CBT, DBT and trauma-focused approaches in her supervision and training, with particular expertise in children and adolescents, including neurodivergent presentations. Registered with Social Work England and an Accredited CBT Therapist with the BABCP, she has delivered training across the UK, USA and Europe.
What Participants Say
"Very approachable, knowledgeable, and a great presentation style. I found it easy to relate the workshop to my own cases, and attending in a group format was very helpful for thinking together about issues and ways forward."
"Linking theory to practice, the use of videos and live examples, and the focus on an action plan at the end were all really helpful."
"I really appreciated the humour and accessibility of the information. Fiona clearly understood the NHS system we work in, and the staff and patients we encounter. It increased our motivation and passion for the subject."
"The level of knowledge and expertise of the speaker was impressive. All the information was highly applicable to my clinical work and helps me formulate patients in a more comprehensive way."
Frequently Asked Questions
Booking & Enquiries
- Individual courses or the full certificate programme
- Tailored in-house training available by arrangement
- Discounts for larger groups and non-profit organisations
Available right now
Take a look at our pre-recorded trainings, including Working with Self-States and other dissociation courses.
Get in Touch — Contact Dr Fiona Kennedy
If you are interested in these courses, Dr Fiona Kennedy would be glad to hear from you. Get in touch to find out more and register your interest — schedules available soon.
Phone
07841 573732Terms & Conditions Summary
- Courses are delivered online, with tailored in-person options by arrangement
- You receive a certificate for each course attended
- Recordings may be made available for later viewing or purchase
- Fees and cancellation terms confirmed at the point of booking
- Client data must be anonymised and GDPR compliant
- Reasonable adjustments available on request
- Course materials are copyright GreenWood Mentors
- Full terms and conditions available on request