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Live Webinar In Person

The Double Helix of Healing: Navigating the Intersections of Addictive Process and Trauma Recovery

Chantelle Thomas, PhD
Lana Seiler, LCSW
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Information

Date & Time

Location

  • 142 E Ontario St
    3rd Floor
    Chicago, Illinois 60611

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  • Discuss rationale for trauma processing in SUD recovery and criteria for assessing client stability.

  • Summarize principles and steps of trauma-focused, relationally informed modalities (e.g., EMDR, IFS, Somatic Experiencing).

  • Distinguish trauma survival strategies (fight, flight, freeze, fawn) from self-sabotage to understand addiction symptoms.

Educational Goal

The educational goal of the workshop is to help clinicians navigate the complexity of self-concept: how to help clients differentiate between impulses that arise from ingrained, trauma-reactive survival patterns and those driven by self-destructive impulses or avoidance.

Description

This advanced clinical talk dives deep into the core dialectic between addictive process and genuine trauma recovery. The session will review various debates surrounding the timing of trauma work in early recovery, providing clear clinical guidelines for assessing readiness and safety. We will then examine the stepwise application of key processing modalities—including EMDR, IFS, and Somatic Experiencing. Finally, we will review several complex client profiles rooted in early relational and childhood trauma that present with adaptations like dissociation, intellectualization, and intense compartmentalization, demonstrating how to effectively treat the underlying traumatic adaptations that fuel persistent addictive cycles.

Target Audience

  • Addiction Professional
  • Counselor
  • Marriage & Family Therapist
  • Psychologist
  • Social Worker

Presenters

Chantelle Thomas, PhD
Dr. Chantelle Thomas, Windrose Recovery's Executive Clinical Director, is a Clinical Psychologist specializing in addiction treatment, trauma, and health psychology. Windrose Recovery's family of treatment programs includes The Manor and Integrata. Dr. Thomas began her career as the Program Director for a dual-diagnosis addiction and trauma treatment center in Malibu, California. After receiving her PhD in Clinical Psychology, she completed her internship and post-doctoral fellowship in Health and Rehabilitation Psychology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Mental Health. While there, she gained specialized expertise in medical-surgical consultation, trauma-informed therapy, and chronic pain treatment. Through the University of Wisconsin’s School of Family Medicine, Dr. Thomas then joined Access Community Health Center as a Behavioral Health Consultant to primary care physicians, where she innovated the development of a substance use disorder consultation clinic embedded within primary care. Dr. Thomas is also involved in clinical research trials at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health investigating psilocybin for various substance use disorders and other clinical indications. Her background in research-supported treatment modalities directly informs her ability to ensure the most effective interventions are incorporated into Windrose Recovery's treatment programs.
Lana Seiler, LCSW
LCSW in private practice and contracting with treatment facilities. Clinical focus is traumatic stress and attachment disruptions.

Financially Sponsored By

  • Jaywalker Lodge