In this workshop I’ll be covering the basics of my mindfulness-based approach to cultural competence, and then integrating that viewpoint into paradigms for working with trauma survivors. I’ll also be exploring some of the boundary challenges inherent in working with survivors. Where to attend Event: CE workshop ICP calendar page that includes information about this… Read more »
Posts By: Lynn
Recovered memory revisited (October 20, Nashville TN)
This workshop for professionals reviews the most recent research on the relationship between memory and psychological trauma. It explores the specific issues inherent in working with remembering clients and the risks to therapist and client of over-or-under response to client material. Where to attend Event: Fall Workshop Sponsoring organization: Nashville Psychotherapy Institute Date: October 20,… Read more »
Diversity training (October 5, Washington DC)
This is a diversity training offered for the elected officers and committee chairs of the organization to increase their effectives in making the group more welcoming to diverse leadership. Where to attend Event: Executive Board Meeting, Division of Psychotherapy Sponsoring organization: Division of Psychotherapy, American Psychological Association Date: October 5, 2012 Time: 9:00 am –… Read more »
Vicarious traumatization and self-care (September 21, Steilacoom WA)
This workshop addresses clinician’s needs for self-care in the context of inpatient work with challenging and sometimes dangerous patients. An emphasis on un-silencing self and awareness of needs and feelings as a guide to transforming traumatic experiences into growth is a focus of this training. Where to attend Event: In-service staff training Date: September 21,… Read more »
On not quitting my day job
This very personal chapter describes my experiences of becoming disillusioned with my work, and the transformative process of falling in love with being a psychotherapist all over again. Where to find Buy from amazon.com Citation Brown, L. S. (2012). On not quitting my day job. In M. Hoyt (Ed). Therapist stories of inspiration, passion and… Read more »
Compassion amidst oppression: Increasing cultural competence for managing difficult dialogues in therapy
This chapter describes my process of learning to relate to a client across barriers of difference and bias, hers and mine alike. Where to find Buy from amazon.com Citation Brown, L. S. (2012). Compassion amidst oppression: Increasing cultural competence for managing difficult dialogues in therapy. In M. Goldfried, A. Wolf & J.C. Muran (Eds). Transforming… Read more »
Feminist therapy as a path to friendship with women
This chapter chronicles the ways in which my becoming a feminist therapist has made me more capable of deep friendships with other women. Where to find Buy book from amazon.com FREE – Download this chapter from publisher (pdf) Citation Brown, L.S. (2012). Feminist therapy as a path to friendship with women. In L. Comas-Diaz and… Read more »
Seasoned psychotherapy supervisors’ visions of supervision: Abiding convictions about supervisory process and practice (August 5, Orlando FL)
This presentation discusses what I consider to be core components of effective psychotherapy supervision, drawing on a feminist supervisory model. Where to attend Event: 120th Annual Convention Sponsoring organization: American Psychological Association Date: August 5, 2012 Time: 8:00 am – 9:50 am Room: Convention Center W311D Venue: Orange County Convention Center City: Orlando, Florida
Ethical and scientific issues in forensic assessment of alleged trauma (August 4, Orlando FL)
This CE workshop is an introduction to forensic assessment where allegations of trauma are central to the legal matter. Where to attend Event: 120th Annual Convention Convention page for this workshop Sponsoring organization: American Psychological Association Date: August 4, 2012 Time: 1:00 pm – 4:50 pm Room: Hilton Orlando Turkey Lake Room Venue: Orange County… Read more »
Gender as a factor in cultural competence (August 4, Orlando FL)
Discusses gender dynamics in cultural competence as part of a symposium on development of culturally competent psychotherapy practice. Where to attend Event: 120th Annual Convention Sponsoring organization: American Psychological Association Date: August 4, 2012 Time: 11:00 am-12:50 pm Room: Convention Center Room W312B Venue: Orange County Convention Center City: Orlando, Florida
Cultural competence and forensic issues in working with adult trauma survivors (August 2, Orlando FL)
These are two segments of a full-day workshop on working with adult trauma survivors. Where to attend Event: 120th Annual Convention Convention page for this workshop Sponsoring organization: American Psychological Association Date: August 2, 2012 Time: 1:00 pm-2:50 pm Room: Hilton Orlando Lake Sheen Room Venue: Orange County Convention Center City: Orlando, Florida
Cultural competence in trauma therapy (July 13, Seattle WA)
I am offering this workshop to raise funds for the Fremont Community Therapy Project, the low-fee feminist, culturally competent, queer-friendly, trauma-focused training clinic that I established in 2006. Finally, a chance for Seattle-area colleagues to attend one of my workshops without having to travel out of state! I’ll be covering the basics of my mindfulness-based… Read more »
Cultural competency in treating trauma (June 3, Toronto ON)
This presentation briefly reviews the basic tenets of cultually competent practice with survivors of psychological trauma. Where to attend Event: Trauma talks: Advancing the dialogue on trauma-informed care Sponsoring organization: Canadian Mental Health Association Date: June 3, 2012 Time: 11:00 – 11:40 am Room: Grand Banking Hall Venue: One King West Hotel and Residence City:… Read more »
Your turn for care: Surviving the aging and death of the adults who harmed you
Your Turn is a book I wrote for adult survivors of childhood maltreatment and abuse whose abusive elder family member is now aging or dying. In it I speak to the special challenges and needs of people in this predicament and offer support for dealing with the emotional challenges of being a family caregiver or surviving the death of the abusive elder.
Cultural competence as the integrating variable: Training the next generation of therapists (May 19, Evanston IL)
This invited keynote address considers how to use cultural competence as a framework for training psychotherapists to be integrative in their approaches to psychotherapy. Where to attend Event: SEPI XXVIII Annual Meeting Sponsoring organization: Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration (SEPI) Date: May 19, 2012 Time: 1:00-2:00 pm Room: Heritage Ballroom Venue: Hilton Orrington… Read more »
Ethical and cultural competence in work with trauma survivors (April 16, Pullman WA)
Where to attend Event: Invited continuing education workshop Sponsoring organization: Palouse Continuing Education Consortium Date: April 16, 2012 Venue: Holiday Inn Express City: Pullman, Washington
Swimming in murky ethical waters: Self-care and social justices as guides to safer shores (April 13, Atlanta GA)
Where to attend Event: Invited continuing education workshop Sponsoring organization: Georgia Society for Clinical Social Work Date: April 13, 2012 Venue: Hillside Hospital City: Atlanta, Georgia
Ethical and cultural competence in work with trauma survivors (February 3, Denton TX)
Where to attend Event: Invited continuing education workshop. Sponsoring organization: Federation of North Texas Area Universities Date: February 3, 2011 Venue: Texas Women’s University City: Denton, Texas
Emotional and cultural competence in the trauma-aware therapist
This course is part three of a three-part series on becoming a trauma-aware psychotherapist. Each course may be read online for free, with the option to purchase CE credits upon completion.
Treating trauma: Basic skills and specific treatments
This course is part two of a three-part series on becoming a trauma-aware psychotherapist. Each course may be read online for free, with the option to purchase CE credits upon completion.
A look back at New voices, new visions: The view from here
This invited journal article, part of PWQ’s anniversary series of commentary from authors of its citation classics, revisits and reconsiders the author’s proposal of a lesbian and gay paradigm for psychology. It expands the original vision of this paradigm and discusses how it would apply in the current social and politcal context. Where to find… Read more »
Motivated forgetting and misremembering: Perspectives from Betrayal Trauma Theory
This chapter describes recent research in and applications of Betrayal Trauma Theory (BTT). It discusses how the BTT model has explicated relationships between trauma and memory where interpersonal betrayal has been a factor in trauma. Where to find Buy from amazon.com Citation DePrince, A.P, Brown, L.S., Cheit, R.E., Freyd, J.J., Gold, S.N., Pezdek, K. &… Read more »
Cultural competence in trauma treatment
This on-line video course describes a paradigm for culturally competent psychotherapy practice, and its integration into work with survivors of psychological trauma. In it I propose that trauma does not occur to a generic human being. Rather, trauma interacts with the unique set of characteristics and experiences that each person brings to their encounter with… Read more »
Becoming a trauma-aware therapist: Definitions and assessment
This course is part one of a three-part series on becoming a trauma-aware psychotherapist. Each course may be read online for free, with the option to purchase CE credits upon completion.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues in trauma psychology: A topic comes out of the closet
This article is the editors’ introduction to the special issue of the journal, which is the first complilation of original research examining the intersection of LGBT issues and psychological trauma. Where to find Buy from publisher Citation Brown, L.S. & Pantalone, D. (2011). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues in trauma psychology: A topic comes… Read more »
Everyone I know knows everyone I know: Boundary overlap in the life of one lesbian psychotherapist
This chapter considers the ethical challenges arising from psychotherapy practice in a socially small community where therapists and their clients have lives that overlap. Where to find Buy from amazon.com Citation Brown, L.S. (2011). Everyone I know knows everyone I know: Boundary overlap in the life of one lesbian psychotherapist. In. G.A. Koocher & W…. Read more »
Guidelines for treating dissociative identity disorder in adults, Third revision: A tour de force for the dissociation field
This article introduces and briefly reviews the Guidelines developed by the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. Where to find FREE – Download full text from publisher Citation Brown, L.S. (2011). Guidelines for Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder in Adults, Third Revision: A tour de force for the dissociation field. Journal of Trauma… Read more »
Multiple identities in context of trauma: Increasing cultural competence
In this recording of a six-hour workshop originally presented live at the annual conference of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies you will be introduced to a model of identity development which conceptualizes people in terms of their multiple social locations and intersecting senses of self, rather than as a unitary identity as externally… Read more »
Developing cultural competence in psychotherapy practice
This Web Conference introduces listener to my model of culturally competent practice focusing on the self of the therapist. Avoiding guilt and shame, being able to make effective, empowering heart-to-heart connections with clients, and increasing awareness of one’s own non-conscious biases are the focuses of this presentation. Where to find Listen at GoodTherapy.org – available… Read more »
Can we create social justice? Toward an ethic of justice for trauma psychology
This presidential address given for the APA Division of Trauma Psychology explores my vision of how work with trauma survivors can challenge core aspects of injustice in the larger social milieu. Creating social justice is one of my core values, and righting the enormous injustice at the heart of most human trauma has been the… Read more »
Psychotherapists face-to-face
This is a candid interview conducted with me in 2010 by Jeffrey Magnavita, Ph.D., then-President of APA’s Division of Psychotherapy. It’s a good way to get to know me and how I think about what I do in a somewhat more informal manner. Where to find FREE – View on the Division of Psychotherapy website
Working with diverse clients in psychotherapy
This chapter considers the particular needs and challenges for therapists working with diverse clients, and discusses a model of cultural competence for effectively working with human diversity. Where to find Buy from amazon.com Citation Brown, L.S. (2010). Working with diverse clients in psychotherapy. In J.C. Norcross, G. Vandenbos & D. Freedheim (Eds.). History of psychotherapy:… Read more »
Cultural competence: A new way of looking at integration in psychotherapy
This article is based on a keynote address given at the meeting of the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration. Using metaphors from Star Trek, I discuss a 21st Century paradigm for understanding culturally competent practice, and describe how this model promotes integrative psychotherapy. Where to find Buy from APA Citation Brown, L.S. (2009)…. Read more »
Feminist therapy, First edition
It was quite exciting to have APA decide to include Feminist Therapy in their Theories of Psychotherapy monograph series, simply because that inclusion was a statement about how far the field has come in four decades. In writing this book, which is intentionally shorter than Subversive Dialogues, I tried to distill the very best and… Read more »
Feminist Therapy over time
This DVD is a revealing and true-to-life portrait of how I practice feminist therapy. It’s a good teaching video for classes on feminist therapy, and also on psychotherapy skills in general.
True drama or true trauma? Forensic trauma assessment and the challenge of detecting malingering
In this chapter I discuss a step-wise process, using both formal psychometrics and interview data, for determining the likelihood that a forensic presentation of dissociative symptoms is genuine or feigned. I also discuss the difficulties inherent in teasing apart the very dramatic presentations of truly traumatized persons from those who are attempting to malinger dissociation…. Read more »
Cultural competence in the treatment of complex trauma
This chapter offers a very condensed discussion of themes that I treat at length in my book on this topic. I discuss the specifics of treating complex trauma survivors through the lens of my model of culturally competent practice. Where to find Buy from amazon.com Citation Brown, L.S. (2009). Cultural competence in the treatment of… Read more »
Attributes of a powerful person
This handout includes the most recent version of my description of the four components of power — somatic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and spiritual/existential, and offers examples of what it means to be powerful on each of these variables. Feel free to download and utilize for yourself or your clients, but please do not modify it. If… Read more »
Cultural competence in trauma therapy: Beyond the flashback
In this book I hope to invite readers to become more culturally competent via strategies that reduce shame, enhance self-awareness, and increase understanding of peoples’ multiple and intersecting identities.
Feminist therapy and self-inflicted violence
This article offers an excellent example of how feminist principles of empowerment and self-determination are applied in work with clients who harm themselves. Where to find Buy from publisher – free for those with Society for Clinical Psychology (Division 12) membership or institutional access. Citation Brown, L.S. & Bryan, T.C. (2007). Feminist therapy and self-inflicted… Read more »
Trauma and dissociation in convicted offenders: Issues of gender, science, and treatment
This is an edited volume of papers looking at the relationship between a history of severe trauma, dissociative symptoms, and the experience of incarceration. It is the first book to make the direct connection between variables that have long been identified as risk factors for entry into the criminal justice system. Where to find Buy… Read more »
Finding my center: Martial arts on the way to Tikkun Olam
This is a talk that I gave at APA as part of a symposium about therapist self-care. It’s a highly personal description of how I came to the practice of aikido, and how that practice has transformed my capacities to care for myself in the work of trauma therapy. Where to find FREE – Download… Read more »
Working with men survivors of trauma and abuse
It can be a challenge to illustrate an approach to therapy in one session, but this video does a nice job of showing how narratives of masculinity affect experiences of a male survivor of childhood maltreatment. Includes a voice-over in which I explain and critique my own work, and some post-session analysis of how and… Read more »
Still subversive after all these years: The relevance of feminist therapy in the age of evidence-based practice
In this article, based on my Carolyn Wood Sherif Memorial Award Address, I address questions of the viability of feminist practice in the current zeitgeist. Using the framework of responding to questions raised by doctoral students about feminist therapy, I address how feminist practice aligns with the evidence-based practice movement, particularly those aspects focusing on… Read more »
Don’t be a sheep: How this eldest daughter became a feminist therapist
If you want to know how I ended up here professionally, this is the article to read. Where to find Buy from publisher – free for those with Society for Clinical Psychology (Division 12) membership or institutional access. Citation Brown, L.S. (2005). Don’t be a sheep: How this eldest daughter became a feminist therapist. In… Read more »
Working with women survivors of trauma and abuse
This video of a one-session therapy with a volunteer client (not an actor) probably comes closer to showing what happens in my office most days than any of my other recorded work. It’s a nice example of feminist principles of empowerment in action, and demonstrates how feminist analysis of gender informs and strengthens trauma treatment…. Read more »
Note-taking form
This is the form that I use for note-taking in my therapy practice. It was designed to comply with the elements of APA’s note-taking guidelines for psychologists. Feel free to use and modify without additional permission from me. Where to find FREE – Download from this site (pdf)
Sexuality, lies, and loss: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual perspectives on trauma
An article in which I explore how exposure to homophobia and heterosexism is systemically traumatizing to many LGBT individuals. Where to find Buy from publisher Citation Brown, L.S. (2003). Sexuality, lies, and loss: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual perspectives on trauma. Journal of Trauma Practice,2, pp. 55-68.
Rethinking mental health and disorder: Feminist perspectives
This is the revised and updated version of the earlier Brown and Ballou text. This edited volume contains feminist critiques of current diagnostic systems and epistemologies, and proposes alternative models through which to conceptualize emotional distress and behavioral dysfunction. Useful as a textbook in courses on psychopathology. Where to find Buy from amazon.com Citation Ballou,… Read more »
Feminist couples therapy
This is the video of a lecture and demonstration that I was invited to give on working with same sex couples. Imagine my surprise when the couple who were recruited for the demonstration turned out to be heterosexual. I had a chance to model therapist flexibility, and the session turned out to be a nice… Read more »
Symptomatic clients and memories of childhood abuse: What the trauma and child sexual abuse literature tells us
This article represents the final work and opinions of the three trauma experts, myself included, who served on the APA Working Group on Recovered Memories of Abuse. Although practice norms have evolved and the scientific foundation for working with remembering adults has expanded, this is an important historical document for anyone interested in the memory… Read more »
The private practice of subversion: Psychology as Tikkun Olam
This is the awards address I gave after being honored by APA for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Public Service. In it I used the Biblical metaphor of “dry bones” as a springboard for exploring external and internal threats to the practice of a social justice-oriented psychology. I use the concept of Tikkun Olam, the Hebrew… Read more »
Recovered memories of abuse: Assessment, therapy, forensics
This book reviewed the scientific literature on memory and trauma available at the time, and proposed strategies for therapists to practice ethically and competently with clients who are experiencing delayed recall of trauma. Introduces the concept of “emotional competence” for working with trauma survivor clients. Although the science of trauma and memory has evolved and… Read more »
Subversive dialogues: Theory in feminist therapy
Subversive Dialogues represented my desire to create a true theoretical foundation for feminist therapy, which had been developing from grass roots practice for nearly two decades as I began to write.
Feminist Therapy
This session, with an actor playing the client, is from APA’s initial efforts to create a video series. Even though the “client’s” story is not her own, we were able to generate some emotionally truthful work, and I had a chance to show the basic principles of Feminist Therapy. You’ll get a better idea of… Read more »
Personality and psychopathology: Feminist reappraisals
This edited text arose out of the experience of feminists as the DSM was being revised in 1985. Our growing awareness that diagnosis mattered, and that feminist therapists needed to think critically about diagnostic schemata, led to the development of this project. It was the first compilation of feminist critiques of standard diagnostic systems, and… Read more »
Diversity and complexity in feminist therapy
This edited volume contains papers from the 1998 Advanced Feminist Therapy Institute. A foundational document in the history of feminist therapy theory and practice, it offers one of the first integrations of feminist therapy theory with cultural competence. Where to find Buy from amazon.com Citation Brown, L.S. and Root, M.P.P. (Eds.) (1990). Diversity and complexity… Read more »
The meaning of a multicultural perspective for theory development in feminist therapy
Some of my initial attempts to integrate feminist therapy into a model of culturally competent practice. Where to find Buy from amazon.com Citation Brown, L.S. (1990). The meaning of a multicultural perspective for theory development in feminist therapy. In Brown,L.S. and Root, M.P.P. (Eds) Diversity and complexity in feminist therapy. New York: The Haworth Press.
New voices, new visions: Toward a lesbian/gay paradigm for psychology
My citation classic, in which I used an experience of illness as the stepping-off point for proposing a theory about how the experience of marginalized people could expand psychology’s worldview. My recent article in Psychology of Women Quarterly, A look back at New voices, new visions: The view from here, revisits some of the points… Read more »
Overcoming fear of fat
This edited volume represents some of the first work in the field of feminist analysis of fat oppression. Includes some of my own early analysis of the ways in which marginalization of fat women represents an expression of cultural sexism via the stigmatization of women’s taking up of space. Where to find Buy from amazon.com… Read more »
Beyond thou shalt not: Thinking about ethics in the lesbian therapy community
Some of my earliest work looking at issues of living and practicing ethically in the context of role overlap in the small towns that are urban lesbian communities. Where to find Buy from publisher Citation Brown, L.S. (1988). Beyond thou shalt not: Thinking about ethics in the lesbian therapy community. Women and Therapy, 8, pp…. Read more »
From alienation to connection: Feminist therapy with Post-traumatic stress disorder
This is my first published work on trauma, which won the Distinguished Publication Award from the Association for Women in Psychology. The start of my integration of feminist and trauma treatment concepts. Where to find Buy from publisher Citation Brown, L.S. (1986). From alienation to connection: Feminist therapy with Post-traumatic stress disorder. Women and Therapy…. Read more »
Finding new language: Getting beyond analytic verbal shorthand in feminist therapy
My first attempt at doing theory in feminist therapy. Readers can see the roots of what eventually came to fruition ten years later in Subversive Dialogues. Where to find Buy from publisher Citation Brown, L.S. (1984). Finding new language: Getting beyond analytic verbal shorthand in feminist therapy. Women and Therapy, 3, pp. 73-80. See also… Read more »