```html
Health Professionals
Events
Thelma McMillen Frontiers in Addiction Lecture Series
Beyond the Trauma Frame: Reclaiming Suffering as a Path to Wisdom
June 16, 2026 | 9:00–10:30 a.m.
Event Registration
This presentation challenges the prevailing dominance of a trauma-only framework in contemporary clinical practice. While trauma-informed care has been essential in restoring safety and reducing shame, an exclusive reliance on this lens can inadvertently narrow our understanding of human suffering. Drawing from phase-oriented trauma treatment models, contemporary neuroscience, developmental frameworks, and contemplative psychology, this talk introduces a differentiated model of suffering that distinguishes between neurobiological trauma, developmental wounding, and universal existential suffering.
Participants will explore how trauma reflects disruptions in core brain networks governing threat detection, salience, and self-referential processing, and why these conditions require targeted stabilization and processing. At the same time, the presentation expands beyond pathology, examining how many clinical presentations reflect not only trauma, but underdeveloped capacities that require building—not just healing.
Finally, it reintroduces the often-neglected dimension of existential suffering, highlighting the clinical importance of discerning what must be treated, what must be developed, and what must ultimately be lived. This presentation offers a precise, integrative framework that supports clinicians in moving beyond reductionism while maintaining clinical rigor, opening the possibility for both healing and transformation.
Presenter Bio
Kathleen Murphy, M.A., LMFT
With more than three decades of clinical practice, Kathleen Murphy, M.A., LMFT, is a respected clinician, educator, and speaker recognized for her pioneering work at the intersection of trauma, addiction, and relational healing.
As the founding Chief Clinical Officer at Breathe Life Healing Center in Los Angeles, Kathleen helped design and lead one of the nation’s most innovative trauma and recovery programs—blending neuroscience, experiential therapy, and spiritual inquiry into a deeply human approach to healing. She continues her work in private practice in Santa Monica, California, and serves as a clinical supervisor for the Healing Trauma Workshop at Onsite Workshops in Tennessee.
Throughout her career, Kathleen has held multiple leadership and training roles, including Clinical Director at Onsite Workshops, where she guided clinicians and helped develop trauma-informed, experiential programming. Her work has been shaped by immersive training with luminaries such as Pia Mellody at The Meadows in Arizona, as well as her contributions to Breakthrough at Caron in Pennsylvania.
Earlier in her career, Kathleen spent seven years supporting survivors of sexual assault and interpersonal violence at SAFE-PLACE in Austin, Texas. She also volunteered her crisis-intervention skills with the Austin Police Department’s Victim Services Unit—experiences that ground her clinical perspective in empathy, realism, and courage.
Clinical Approach
Her therapeutic orientation integrates a wide range of modalities, including:
- Buddhist Psychotherapy
- Polyvagal Theory
- Hakomi
- Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
- Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Gestalt Therapy
- Mindful Self-Compassion
- Attachment Theory
- Psychodrama
She is known for her experiential, body-based approach to therapy, helping clients move from fragmentation to wholeness—and from survival to authentic aliveness.
Education & Background
Kathleen holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Arts in Counseling from St. Edward’s University.
Her work is further informed by her study and practice of Tibetan Buddhism, Kundalini Yoga, sound healing, puppetry, and mythic storytelling—reflecting a holistic vision of human development that honors both psychological depth and spiritual truth.
Learning Objectives
- Differentiate between trauma, developmental wounding, and universal human suffering, and apply appropriate clinical responses to each.
- Integrate phase-oriented trauma treatment with developmental and existential frameworks to enhance clinical precision.
- Apply strategies for introducing meaning-making that support transformation without bypassing or premature interpretation.
CE Credit
Earn 1.5 CE credit hours.
Learning Level
Growing Up with Addiction: Healing Attachment Wounds Through Relational Trauma Repair (RTR)
August 18, 2026 | 9:00–10:30 a.m.
Event Registration
Adult Children of Addicted, Dysfunctional, and Relationally Traumatizing Families often carry the invisible legacy of early attachment wounds into adulthood. These wounds can manifest as chronic anxiety, emotional dysregulation, difficulties with trust and intimacy, negative self-beliefs, and symptoms associated with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (cPTSD).
In this experiential workshop, Tian Dayton, PhD, draws from the latest findings in attachment theory, interpersonal neurobiology, trauma research, and her pioneering model, Relational Trauma Repair (RTR), to explore how relational trauma becomes embedded in both the nervous system and the relational self. Participants will learn how early experiences of inconsistency, neglect, addiction, emotional abandonment, or family dysfunction shape patterns of connection and protection that persist long after childhood has ended.
Through the integration of psychodrama, sociometry, embodied learning, and bottom-up nervous system regulation, participants will experience practical RTR processes that promote emotional integration, self-compassion, resilience, and relational healing. Special attention will be given to how experiential methods can help transform implicit emotional memories into new experiences of safety, connection, and earned secure attachment.
This workshop is appropriate for clinicians, educators, coaches, group facilitators, and individuals seeking a deeper understanding of the impact of family addiction and relational trauma across the lifespan.
Presenter Bio
Tian Dayton, PhD, TEP
Dr. Tian Dayton has a PhD in clinical psychology, a master's degree in educational psychology, and holds a certification as a trainer in psychodrama, sociometry, and group psychotherapy. She is a senior fellow at The Meadows and author of fifteen books including Growing Up with Addiction, Treating Adult Children of Relational Trauma, Sociometrics, The ACoA Trauma Syndrome: Emotional Sobriety, The Living Stage, and Forgiving and Moving On.
Dr. Dayton was formerly a professor of psychodrama at NYU. She is a fellow of the American Society of Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy (ASGPP), winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Scholar's Award, the President's Award, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy. She also serves on the professional standards committee.
Dr. Dayton is also the recipient of The Marty Mann Award, The Mona Mansell Award, and The Ackermann Black Award. She has been a guest expert on NBC, CNN, MSNBC, Montel, Rikki Lake, John Walsh, and Geraldo.
For additional information, visit relationaltraumarepair.com .
Learning Objectives
- Describe how family addiction, attachment disruption, and relational trauma contribute to the development of ACA and cPTSD symptoms across the lifespan.
- Explain key neurobiological mechanisms associated with relational trauma, including changes in emotional regulation, neuroception, memory processing, and stress response systems.
- Demonstrate the application of Relational Trauma Repair (RTR) methods, including Floor Checks®, Timelines®, Social Atoms®, sociometry, and trauma-informed role play.
- Identify how experiential and embodied interventions support nervous system regulation, resilience, post-traumatic growth, and the development of earned secure attachment.
- Integrate principles from Polyvagal Theory, Interpersonal Neurobiology, psychodrama, and sociometry into trauma-informed clinical, educational, coaching, and recovery settings.
CE Credit
Earn 1.5 CE credit hours.
Learning Level
To be added to our mailing list, please contact jamie.gelbart@tmmc.com. Participants will receive an email link to register for each presentation.
2026 Lecture Schedule
Download Schedule
