Overview:
Many clients struggling with abandonment trauma live in a self-perpetuating cycle of mistrust, expecting rejection, unconsciously testing relationships, and reinforcing their deepest fears. For therapists, this creates a unique challenge: how do we help clients who desperately want connection but fear it at the same time?
In this 6-hour intensive training, Ellen Biros, MS, LCSW will equip attendees with a clear, trauma-informed roadmap for navigating the complex clinical presentation of abandonment wounds. You’ll learn how early relational trauma disrupts trust, attachment, and self-worth and how these wounds show up in therapy.
Ellen will walk you through practical, evidence-based strategies for:
- Establishing trust and psychological safety with clients who have been deeply hurt in past relationships.
- Helping clients regulate intense fear of rejection and reduce reassurance-seeking behaviors that can stall progress.
- Guiding clients to reframe long-standing beliefs of unworthiness and develop healthier relationship boundaries.
Upon completion of this training, participants will leave with ready-to-use interventions drawn from CBT and DBT, as well as experiential exercises to help clients challenge abandonment-driven narratives, build emotional resilience, and move toward secure and fulfilling relationships. Whether you’re working with clients who cling out of fear or those who keep you at arm’s length to avoid pain, this workshop will give you the tools, confidence, and clinical clarity to break the cycle of mistrust and help clients heal from the inside out.
Objectives:
- Define the concept of the inner child and explain its relevance to clinical assessment and treatment planning.
- Analyze how core abandonment beliefs contribute to the development of early maladaptive abandonment/instability schemas in adults.
- Examine the impact of abandonment expectations on the formation of insecure attachment styles.
- Apply cognitive restructuring strategies to help clients reframe negative thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors linked to fear of abandonment and low self-worth.
- Integrate Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills to support clients in managing interpersonal relationship challenges.
- Implement graded exposure and desensitization techniques to reduce abandonment-related anxiety and promote emotional resilience.
Scope and Limitations Disclosure
This course provides an educational overview of trauma-informed approaches to treating abandonment wounds and associated relational patterns. The material is designed to enhance professional understanding and skill development in applying cognitive-behavioral, dialectical behavior therapy, and attachment-informed interventions. This training does not constitute certification in trauma therapy, CBT, DBT, or attachment-based treatment modalities, nor does it substitute for formal training, supervision, or credentialing in these specialized therapeutic approaches.
Interventions and clinical examples presented are general in nature and should be adapted to the unique needs, contexts, and goals of each client. Participants are responsible for applying course content within their professional scope of practice, ethical standards, and applicable licensure or organizational guidelines.
Commercial Support Disclosure
Ellen Biros, MS, LCSW, C-PD, is a licensed clinical social worker and Certified Personality Disorder Treatment Provider who maintains a professional clinical, consultation, and training practice. She is the author of Recovering from Narcissistic Mothers: A Daughter’s Workbook and is affiliated with organizations that provide training and consultation services related to trauma recovery, personality disorders, and narcissistic abuse. She may reference frameworks, tools, clinical models, or resources associated with her professional work during this presentation. No additional purchases, products, or services are required to participate in or complete this webinar.
Course materials are only available to enrolled students.
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Ellen Biros, MS, LCSW, C-PD
Ellen Biros is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and adjunct professor. With over 20 years of experience in social work, Ellen is a seasoned expert in the treatment and assessment of individuals with personality disorders, substance abuse issues, and emotional regulation problems. Ellen earned a Master’s degree in Justice from American University in Washington, DC, and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Georgia. She has been sharing her knowledge with students at Tulane University in the School of Social Work and The University of Phoenix in the College of Social Services and the College of Natural Sciences. She is known for her dynamic and engaging teaching style and her ability to inspire students to achieve their full potential. Ellen is also an accomplished author and speaker. She has authored several continuing education seminars that have been well-received by professionals in the field. Her seminars, such as “Personality Disorders: The Challenges of the Hidden Agenda,” “Antisocial, Borderline, Narcissistic and Histrionic: Effective Treatment for Cluster B Personality Disorders,” and “Unmasking Manipulative Relationships: Effective Strategies for Countering Covert Abuse,.”
National Approvals
eCare BHI, as the accredited and approved sponsor, maintains responsibility for all the programs and must abide by each board’s continuing education guidelines.
Professional Counselors — The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
E Care Behavioral Health Institute has been approved by NBCC as an approved Continuing Education Provider. ACEP No. 6703. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC are clearly identified. E care Behavioral Health Institute is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Addiction Professionals — NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC)
E Care Behavioral Health Institute is officially on file with NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC) as an Approved Education Provider. They are formally known as NAADAC Provider #139138. Please note that E care Behavioral Health Institute is solely responsible for all aspects of the program.
Social Workers — Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)
E Care Behavioral Health Institute, #1706, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. E Care Behavioral Health Institute maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 06-03-2020 – 06-03-2026.
CE Broker
CE Broker is a continuing education tracking system in which licensees track their compliance and report their completed CE hours credit (CE Broker Tracking #50-33336)
State Approvals
States that Accept ASWB-ACE Approved Providers | ||||||
| Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut |
| Delaware | District Of Columbia | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois |
| Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland |
| Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska |
| Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio |
| Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee |
| Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin |
| Wyoming | ||||||
States that Accepts NBCC Approved Courses: | ||||||
| Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut |
| Delaware | District Of Columbia | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Indiana |
| Iowa | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Missouri | New Hampshire | New Jersey |
| New Mexico | Ohio | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota |
| Tennessee | Texas | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | Wisconsin | |
Notes:
- Nevada CPC’s and MFT’s accept ASWB-approved training
- North Dakota Board Of Counselor Examiners LAPC and LAPCS accept ASWB approved training
- Rhode Island Board of Mental Health Counselors and Marriage & Family Therapists MHC’s accept ASWB approved training
- Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council LPC and LPCS accept ASWB approved training
- Utah Division of Professional Licensing – CMHC’s accept ASWB approved training
- Washington State Department of Mental Health MHC’s accept ASWB approved training
- Wisconsin Council on Mental Health LPCS accepts ASWB-approved training
States that Accept NAADAC Approved Providers | ||||||
| Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | Delaware | Hawaii | Indiana |
| Kentucky | Maine | Massachusetts | Minnesota | Montana | Nevada | New Jersey |
| New Jersey | New Mexico | North Carolina | North Dakota | Oregon | Rhode Island | Tennessee |
| Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wisconsin | Wyoming |
States that Accept APA Approved Providers | ||||||
| Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Delaware | District Of Columbia |
| Florida | Georgia | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas |
| Kentucky | Louisiana | Maryland | Massachusetts | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri |
| Montana | Nebraska | New Jersey | New Mexico | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma |
| Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | Tennessee | Utah | Vermont | Virginia |
| Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming | |||
Note: Please note that Individual Board Rules are subject to potential changes. The approval and acceptance details we furnish are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of documentation.
Should you have any inquiries or uncertainties not addressed by the provided information, it’s advisable to consult your State Regulatory Board. Ultimately, the decision of whether your license renewal credit hours are accepted or denied rests with you.
Georgia Addiction Counselor: E Care BHI is recognized by the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Certification Board of Georgia as an approved education provider for Addiction Counselors (ADACBGA) #19-12-17-1212.
Florida Addiction Counselor: E Care BHI is recognized by the Florida Certification Board as an approved education provider for Addiction Counselor (FCB) #5387-A.
Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy & Mental Health Counseling: The Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy & Mental Health Counseling accepts courses from ASWB & NBCC approved providers. E Care Behavioral Health Institute is an ASWB and NBCC approved provider.
Oklahoma Addiction Counselor: E Care BHI is recognized by the Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors as an approved education provider for Addiction Counselors (OBLADC) #20220136.
Oklahoma Board of Behavioral Health Licensure: E Care BHI is an approved CE provider for LPC & LMFT
Ohio Addiction Counselor: E Care BHI is recognized by the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board as an approved education provider for Addiction Counselor (OCDP)#50-29024
The Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapist Board accepts courses from ASWB & NBCC approved providers. E Care Behavioral Health Institute is an ASWB and NBCC approved provider.
VA Mental Health Employee: E Care BHI VA COMMERCIAL VENDOR # 81-3353387-01
California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP): E Care BHI is recognized by the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP) Provider Number OS-22-344-0526
Connecticut Certification Board CCB Approved): E Care BHI is recognized & approved by the Connecticut Certification Board.
Texas Certification Board (TCB): E Care Behavioral Health Institute is recognized by the Texas Certification Board as an approved education provider. Number 2041-19
South Carolina E Care Behavioral Health Institute is recognized by the Professional Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists, and Psycho-Educational Specialists licensing board as an approved education provider Provider #4628
New York (MHC) E Care Behavioral Health is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors #MHC-0277
New York (SW) E Care Behavioral Health Institute is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0745



