CEs Available and Cost:
1 HR FREE CE Training
Training Format:
Nov 7, 2025 | 12PM MTN
On Demand Playback Available
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Dissociation is often misunderstood, overlooked, or pathologized, yet for many clients it is a deeply adaptive strategy that has helped them survive. In this one-hour training, we’ll reframe dissociation as a protective response to overwhelming stress or trauma, and explore how to recognize its many forms in the therapy room. You’ll learn practical, ego state informed skills to engage with dissociative parts of the self, reduce shame, and support clients in moving toward integration at a pace that feels safe.
STATISTICS ON DISSOCIATION
- A meta-analysis of 98 studies in college populations found that 11.4% of students met criteria for a dissociative disorder (or multiple DDs).
- In a 2024 study, 42.3% of participants with complex PTSD exhibited clinically significant dissociative symptoms.
- A meta-analytic review found a robust connection between dissociation and challenges in emotion regulation
- Dissociative disorders are often underrecognized or misdiagnosed, in part because clinician training is limited.
- The average delay from symptom onset to correct diagnosis can be many years.
- Most people with dissociative disorders have trauma histories.
OUR MISSION
The missions of IRIS Training Collective and the vision of Next Therapist are closely aligned. Next Therapist’s dedication to helping clinicians build thriving, sustainable practices complements IRIS’s focus on developing practical, clinically grounded skills through trainings led by advanced therapists, experienced trainers, and skilled teachers. Both organizations recognize the gaps in our field and are committed to closing them. By partnering, they can equip therapists with both the tools and the self-awareness needed to bring their whole selves to the work—enhancing clinical impact while supporting professional well-being. Together, they provide trainings that not only elevate therapeutic skills but also sustain the therapist behind the work.
Who is Next Therapist?
NextTherapist is a healthcare platform committed to making therapy accessible, compassionate, and personalized. They connect individuals with the right therapist by ensuring a precise, human-centered matching process while streamlining intake, waitlist management, and scheduling for therapists. Their goal is simple: personalized healing through faster connection.
They eliminate the stress and friction from finding mental health support by providing an easy, intuitive, and stigma-free experience. Through personalized therapist matching, real-time scheduling, and seamless waitlist integration, they ensure individuals get the care they need quickly and efficiently.
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Who is IRIS Training Collective?
Iris is not here to sell you a product but to invite you into a process. They're building something different: a space where you don’t have to shrink to fit in. Where your intuition, intellect, and embodiment matter just as much as your clinical skills. And where training isn’t just about CE credits, it’s about becoming the therapist you actually want to be.
At IRIS, they have built the kind of training they wish they had. Grounded in real clinical work, rich with wrap-around support, and rooted in the belief that growth does not come from perfection but from practice. They are three practicing clinicians who balance therapy, teaching, continued learning, and the complexities of their own lives, just like you.
Their teaching is not about telling you what to do. It is about helping you trust your own clinical judgment and intuition, while holding empathy, courage, and precision. If you are called to this work, they would be honored to support your growth and your journey.
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MEET YOUR TRAINERS
Cassie Krajewski, LCSW
Cassie is known for her authenticity, warmth, and compassion, which shows up in her work as a business, owner, therapist, consultant, and podcaster. As the founder of Inner Atlas, Cassie is passionate about helping people heal from the impacts of trauma and disembodiment.
Cassie's personal history and healing experiences drove her to pursue a career in social work. Her training emphasized the importance of context, culture, and systems upon mental health. This lead to her dream of opening a practice centered on anti-oppressive, holistic, and trauma-responsive care. Her professional experiences inform her understanding that working with the body's inherent wisdom takes clients further, faster. She is rooted in the belief that she is not a guru but a guide.
Outside of her clinical work, Cassie is actively involved in mentoring and teaching other therapists. Her approachable nature and deep empathy ensure that her practice remains a space where clients and colleagues from all walks of life feel seen, heard, and valued.
Jessica Downs, LCSW
Jessica Downs, LCSW, is an EMDR Advanced Trainer and Consultant specializing in complex trauma and dissociation. She brings warmth, clarity, and a playful spirit to her work, integrating EMDR with Ego State Therapy, Polyvagal Theory, and the Theory of Structural Dissociation. Jessica is passionate about helping clinicians build confidence and deepen their therapeutic skills.
A skillful and caring healer, in addition to Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), she incorporates Ego State Therapy, Polyvagal Theory and the Theory of Structural Dissociation into her one-on-one work with adults of all ages. Jessica is known for her warm, grounded presence, and her ability to bring playfulness to the often difficult work of therapy.
While pursuing her master's degree in social work at the University of Denver, Jessica was introduced to the benefits of EMDR for the treatment of trauma. The education she received led her to seek out advanced training in EMDR, and to pursue certification. Today, Jessica shares her expertise in EMDR as an Advanced trainer and Consultant to other therapists, looking to deepen their therapeutic skills.
