PESI CA
Information
Bridging Despair and Safety
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Description
When a young person’s brain begins whispering “I can’t do this anymore,” what they’re really communicating is a profound neurobiological distress call — one that requires clinicians to translate pain into pathways for safety and connection.
Suicidality in children and adolescents is not simply a psychological crisis; it is a full-brain event shaped by trauma, attachment ruptures, and dysregulated coping mechanisms that hijack the nervous system. In this workshop, Dr. Kate Truitt brings a compassionate, neuroscience-informed lens to the most complex and heartbreaking moments of clinical practice — when a young person’s will to survive feels fragile.
Through the lens of the Brain Partnership framework, participants will learn how to identify and interrupt the neural loops of hopelessness and overwhelm that underlie suicidal thinking and behavior. Dr. Truitt will translate cutting-edge research on the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and neuroplasticity into accessible, actionable strategies for assessment, intervention, and stabilization. Participants will leave with a toolkit of immediately applicable techniques designed to help young clients find grounding, regulate distress, and reconnect to hope.
Clinicians will explore how trauma and attachment disruptions shape the brain’s survival systems, how maladaptive coping behaviors (including self-harm) emerge as attempts at emotional regulation, and how to create safety-based interventions that re-engage the thinking brain and restore a sense of connection and purpose.
Speakers
Kate Truitt, PhD, MBA, Dr. Kate Truitt & Associates
Dr. Kate Truitt, a clinical psychologist, applied neuroscientist, and international bestselling author, is an expert in trauma, stress, and resilience. She is the founder of the educational platform Truitt Institute and leads her award-winning clinical team at Dr. Kate Truitt & Associates. As a member of the Goldie Hawn Foundation’s MindUP Scientific Advisory Committee and a co-developer of the Havening Techniques®, as well as an expert contributor to the Kevin Love Fund and Girl Scouts of America, Dr. Truitt passionately advocates for mental health literacy and personal empowerment globally. Her voice in the mental health arena extends to her role as a speaker and media consultant, including being featured in BBC and Today, and speaking at prestigious platforms like the United Nations and the United States Department of Defense. Dr. Truitt founded and is the chairman of the board for the Amy Research Foundation, a 501c3 organization focused on advancing research into the innovative treatment realm of neuroscience-based mental health and wellness interventions. As the author of her memoir, #1 top new release Keep Breathing: A Psychologist’s Intimate Journey Through Loss, Trauma, and Rediscovering Life and the international bestseller Healing in Your Hands: Self-Havening Exercises to Harness Neuroplasticity, Heal Traumatic Stress, and Build Resilience, she is dedicated to advancing the treatment of traumatic stress while making significant strides in destigmatizing mental health and fostering resilience worldwide.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Kate Truitt is the President and Founder of Dr. Kate Truitt & Associates; Chief Executive Officer of the Trauma Counseling Center of Los Angeles; Executive Director and Founder of the Amy Research Foundation; and Executive Director of the Truitt Institute. Dr. Truitt receives royalties as a published author and compensation as a presenter. She serves as a scientific advisor and board member for Anti-AgingGames.com and the Goldie Hawn Foundation. She also receives speaking honoraria and recording royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. All relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations have been mitigated.
Non-financial: Dr. Kate Truitt is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the American Cognitive Training Association, and the American College of Healthcare Executives.
