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
A free intro and a stand-alone first course, plus a four-course certificate
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 first course — Recognising and Responding to Dissociation — is open to everyone. It is a stand-alone, basic-awareness training for anyone who wants to understand dissociation and respond helpfully, including health, social-care and other professionals who encounter it in their work.
The Certificate — the four courses that follow — is designed for mental health professionals: qualified or accredited practitioners who deliver therapy or psychological care and want to recognise, assess, formulate and treat dissociation with greater confidence.
The Certificate 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.
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
Led by Dr Fiona Kennedy, who developed the CBT model of dissociation (published 2004), with Dr Helen Kennerley, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Oxford CBT trainer
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
How the Training Is Structured
Start with a free 20-minute introduction. Recognising and Responding to Dissociation is a stand-alone, basic-awareness course open to everyone — an ideal starting point, but not part of the Certificate. The Dissociation Practitioner Certificate itself is made up of four one-day courses for mental health professionals. You can take courses individually or work towards the full Certificate, and you receive a certificate of attendance for every course you complete.
Each course provides 6 hours of CPD — up to 30 hours across all five courses (the stand-alone first course and the four Certificate courses).
Free Introduction
A 20-minute introduction to get you started
Stand-alone First Course
Recognising & Responding — open to everyone
Four Certificate Courses
For mental health professionals
Practitioner Certificate
Awarded on completing all four Certificate courses
Start here
Recognising and Responding to Dissociation is open to everyone and the ideal place to begin.
Learning Outcomes
Across the training you will develop the knowledge and skills to:
- Recognise dissociation as it presents across different settings and diagnoses
- Explain the CBT model of dissociation and how it disrupts memory, sense of self, perception and bodily functioning
- Screen for and assess dissociation, including DPDR, dissociative disorders and dissociative identity disorder
- Add dissociation to a clinical formulation and plan appropriate interventions
- Apply practical, evidence-based strategies to help clients manage and recover from dissociative experiences
- Know when and how to refer on, and how to access supervision and support for this work
Start With a Free Introduction
Watch Dr Fiona Kennedy's free, 20-minute introduction to dissociation — right here on the page.
What's Included
A free, 20-minute introduction to what dissociation is and why it matters — the ideal first step.
A stand-alone basic-awareness and first-response training, open to anyone who wants to understand dissociation — including all health, social-care and mental health professionals. This course is not part of the Certificate, but an ideal starting point.
- 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.
The Dissociation Practitioner Certificate — four one-day courses for mental health professionals
- 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
Complete all four Certificate courses to gain the GreenWood Mentors Dissociation Practitioner Certificate.
Supervision & Supervisor Training
After-Training Supervision
Put your learning into practice with confidence. Our BABCP-accredited supervisors have experience of presentations from simple through to complex DID, and you can join an ongoing supervision group to apply your training and deliver effective interventions for your clients.
Specialist Dissociation Supervisor Training
A separate course for those who hold the Certificate or are experienced in working with dissociation and DID — ideal if you would like to develop internal supervisors within your service, or become a supervisor yourself.
- Refreshing the principles and practices of supervision, and monitoring its quality
- Use of language in DDs, and specific issues such as therapists' own PTSD and the emotional toll of the work
- 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
The training is led by Dr Fiona Kennedy, who developed the CBT model of dissociation (published 2004) and has since authored and co-edited books and articles on the subject, together with Dr Helen Kennerley, a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Oxford CBT trainer who will deliver part of the training. It is grounded in established theory and practice, and the first course draws 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
- Take individual courses, or work towards the full four-course Certificate
- 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.
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