Coping with Trauma-Related Dissociation: Skills Training for Patients and Therapists

Suzette Boon, a pioneer in the diagnosis of trauma-related disorders, is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist with a background in family and systemic therapy, cognitive and behavioral therapy, and hypnosis. She has worked extensively at both inpatient and outpatient psychiatric facilities. Since the late eighties, Suzette has specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with histories of early psychological trauma, in particular patients with complex dissociative disorders. She is co-founder of the European Society for Trauma and Dissociation (ESTD) and was its first president. The International Society for the Study of Dissociation (ISSD) granted her the David Caul Memorial Award in 1993, the Morton Prince Award in 1994 and the President’s Award of Distinction and the status of Fellow in 1995. In 2009, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), and in 2025, its Cornelia B. Wilbur Award for outstanding clinical contributions to the assessment and/or treatment of dissociative disorders. She is the co-author of Treating Trauma-Related Dissociation and Coping with Trauma-Related Dissociation, both ISSTD Pierre Janet Writing Award winners in the Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology. She lives in Maarssen, the Netherlands.

Kathy Steele, MN, CS, is in private practice with Metropolitan Psychotherapy Associates in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a former President of the International Society for the Study of Dissociation.

Onno van der Hart, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus of Psychopathology of Chronic Traumatization, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands, and a psychologist. Until 2017 he was also a psychotherapist in Amstelveen, the Netherlands. He is a Past President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS).