Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) is an empirically supported, short-term approach to addressing trauma spectrum disorders for survivors of singular, multiple, and complex trauma. NET has been particularly impactful across diverse cultures and settings to resolve traumas for adults and children who have survived traumas associated with sexual and domestic violence; war; natural disaster; and human trafficking. In practice, NET combines a narrative approach with cognitive behavioral exposure techniques to address the neuropsychological effects of trauma and memory on a person’s interpersonal and intrapersonal functioning. Through this approach, clients benefit from contextualizing their trauma experiences in a holistic narrative (termed “testimony”) that allows them to process emotions related to the trauma and develop clear contingencies for potentially dangerous and/or safe conditions. The facilitator of NET utilizes counseling-based listening skills to connect the client fully to the emotional and physiological experiences of the traumatic experience while keeping the client grounded in the “here and now”.
The educational training program will be held on Georgia State University campus and will be facilitated by a leading international NET researcher and NET practitioner, a licensed professional counselor utilizing NET across various U.S. populations, and a fulltime faculty member in the Department of Counseling and Psychological Services at Georgia State University. This unique combination of presenters will offer attendees a balanced learning opportunity to grow their skills as a trauma-informed practitioner.
This course is designed to provide participants with the foundational knowledge and skills necessary to begin using NET in their own research and practice. Participants will learn about the impact that complex trauma has on the brain and the resulting fear networks that hijack daily functioning. Building on that learning, participants will practice the systematic and empirically based approach, NET, to increase the interconnectivity between “hot” and “cold” memory networks. Throughout the training, real life case vignettes and examples will provided and participants will have the opportunity to learn through a series of lectures, presentations of selected case studies, demonstrations, and participatory experiential skill building. During the training participants will be asked to interact with their own and others’ trauma histories.
Upon successful participation of the course, which includes full attendance for all three days and satisfactory completion of all activities and assessments, participants will be given a certificate verifying that they have completed the course. (There are no formal CEU’s offered with this course.)
| Intro to NET Training | |
| Affiliation | Cost |
| Registration Fee | $675.00 |
| Enrolled Student (September dates only) | $220.00 |
* Student registrants must demonstrate proof of enrollment in a qualified masters or doctoral program. Participants who have graduated within a year of graduating may also attend this session. Proof of enrollment can be provided in the form of a current unofficial transcript or a letter from program faculty at the enrolled institution.
Location/Directions
College of Education & Human Development
Georgia State University
30 Pryor Street, SW Room 150
Atlanta, GA 30303
Intended Audience
This training is designed for two different audiences – students enrolled in a masters or doctoral program in a helping profession (option 1) and practicing professionals (option 2) working in the interpersonal or helping fields (counselors, psychologists, social workers, nurses, medical doctors, etc.) The differences between the two options include cost of attendance and attention given to the etiology of trauma symptoms and PTSD as well as conducting NET exposures.
Course Goals
- Gain increased understanding of the etiology, diagnostic process, nomenclature, and treatment of PTSD and complex PTSD.
- Know the theoretical conceptions and empirical evidence for Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) as a treatment for (C)PTSD.
- Know the steps of NET: the diagnostic process, the lifeline, exposures, transcription and closing NET.
- Practice the steps of NET and receive supervision feedback.
Presenter Information
Dr. rer. nat Danie Meyer is a certified NET trainer working as a research affiliate of the University of Konstanz in Germany and trauma psychologist in private practice in Cologne, Germany. A member of vivo (Victim’s Voice International, www.vivo.org), Danie trained under the direct supervision of two of the originators of NET, Drs. Thomas Elbert and Maggie Schauer, and the three continue their collaboration to research and disseminate NET. Most recently they co-led the international NET workshop at the Eremo Institute in Italy (June, 2019), as well as currently spearheading the latest European Research Council funded project: Young Migrants at Risk – Putting Offence Prevention into Practice (POPP), which focuses on UMR’s (Unaccompanied Minor Refugees) in Germany and the development of a curriculum for training lay-counselors in the practice of NET. Dr. Meyer has extensive experience utilizing and teaching NET across multiple continents with a wide diversity of trauma survivors of war, genocide, domestic and sexual violence, and generational violence.
Emily Fitzpatrick is the founder of Restore Counseling located in Georgia. She is a licensed professional counselor (GA LPC007985) and a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). She has been a practicing clinician for over 10 years with focused specialty working with women and the queer community. She also specializes in work with the caregiver population and has received specialized training in the area of healthy aging and providing care for people living with dementia and other age-related life transitions (CCM 4211438). Ms. Fitzpatrick is an active NET practitioner and has received advanced training and supervision in applying the intervention across a wide range of populations in the United States.
Dr. Jonathan Orr is a Clinical Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program in the Department of Counseling and Psychological Services at Georgia State University. He is a licensed professional counselor (GA 004277), a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC #77048) and an Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS # 2419). His teaching and research interests include: group work, social justice, supervision, mindfulness, multicultural counseling, and trauma-informed counseling.
Learning Objectives by Day
Following the training, participants will:
Day One:
- Know the theoretical and empirical underpinnings of NET
- Have observed exposure/grounding techniques in the re-telling of positively arousing events
- Have received supervised practice in employing exposure/grounding techniques with positively arousing events
Day Two:
- Know and have observed the diagnostic assessments and psycho-education most commonly used in NET
- Have observed the collection and laying of the lifeline
- Have received supervised practice collecting and laying the lifeline
- Have observed exposure/grounding techniques in the re-telling of potentially traumatizing events
- Have received supervised practice in employing exposure/grounding techniques in the re-telling of potentially traumatizing events
Day Three:
- Have received supervised practice in employing exposure/grounding techniques in the re-telling of potentially traumatizing events
- Have received supervised practice in transcription & re-telling
- Know how to close NET
General Schedule/Agenda
The program will be conducted in an intensive format in which participants attend daily learning sessions and complete all requirements in 3 days. Participants are expected to attend all sessions in order to complete the program and receive a certificate. There will be 15-minute breaks in between sessions and a 90-minute break for lunch.
Day 1
Friday, September 27, 2019 or October 4, 2019: (5 core hours available)
| 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm | Group Introduction to the Lifeline |
| 2:30 pm – 2:45pm | Break |
| 2:45 pm – 4:15 pm | Introduction to NET (Presentation) |
| 4:15 pm – 4:30 pm | Break |
| 4:30 pm – 5:15 pm | Flower (Demonstration) |
| 5:15 pm – 5:30 pm | Break |
| 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm | Supervised Flower Practice (Dyads) |
Day 2
Saturday September 28, 2019 or October 5, 2019: (7.5 core hours available)
| 9:00 am – 10:30 am | Assessments & Psycho-education (Presentation) |
| 10:30 am – 10:45 am | Break |
| 10:45 am – 12:15 am | Lifeline (Demonstration) |
| 12:15 am – 12:30 pm | Break |
| 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm | Supervised Lifeline Practice (Dyads) |
| 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm | Lunch on your own |
| 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm | Stone Demonstration |
| 3:45 pm – 5:15 pm | Break |
| 5:30pm – 7:00 pm | Supervised Stone Practice (Triads) |
Day 3
Sunday, September 29, 2019 or October 6, 2019: (3 core hours available)
| 9:00 am – 10:30 am | Supervised Stone Practice (Triads) |
| 10:30 am- 10:45 am | Break |
| 11:00 am -11:45 am | Supervised Stone Transcription Reading (Triads) |
| 11:45 am – 12:30 pm | Closing NET |
Cancellation/Refund Policy
Cancellations must be received in writing seven days prior to the conference to receive a refund and are subject to a $25.00 processing fee. No refunds will be made after Friday, September 20, 2019.
Instruction Methodology
Includes didactic, audio-visuals, demonstrations, experiential exercises, case examples, small and large group discussions.
ADA Accommodations
Accommodations will be made in accordance with the law. If you require ADA accommodations please contact Katie Lowry (404-413-8012) at least two weeks before the conference date so arrangements can be made.
Further Questions
Please contact Katie Lowry at 404-413-8012 or [email protected] visit our website at http://cps.education.gsu.edu
Department of Counseling & Psychological Services
College of Education
Georgia State University
30 Pryor Street, SW
Room 950
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: 404-413-8012
Fax: 404-413-8013