Dr. Anca Livia Panfil - Psihiatrie

19/08/2026

04/08/2026

NEXT ESTD WEBINAR
Psychosis, Character and Dissociation: Untangling a Multilayered Clinical Complexity

🗓 Date: 18th August
⏰ Time: 7PM CEST
📍 Free Online Event

Presenter
Anca Livia Panfil MD, PhD,

WEBINAR PAGE: https://estd.org/news-webinars/free-webinar-18-august2026/

REGISTRATION PAGE: https://forms.gle/gfkSoYV7cVwiAVQE8

While research over the past decade has significantly advanced the fields of trauma and dissociation, the rigid, structured modalities required by empirical studies have inadvertently created a gap in addressing complex and severe psychopathologies. This limitation is not unique to dissociative disorders (DD); rather, it is a transdiagnostic issue heavily discussed within the field of psychosis as well. Unfortunately, these severe clinical presentations are relatively common in practice. For the purpose of this presentation, “severity” is defined by the presence of vital risk, high subjective suffering, and a lack of response to treatment-as-usual.

This presentation aims to clarify critical clinical pathways for navigating the most extreme presentations of Dissociative Disorders when co-morbid with psychosis and/or severe characterological imbalance. To achieve this, we will deconstruct and discuss the overlapping terminology of all three domains: dissociation, character, and psychosis.
The historical framework of hysteria continues to skew the modern mental health paradigm regarding Dissociative Disorders. DD is frequently oversimplified as a collection of personality flaws, while severe dissociation is sometimes misattributed to short, transient psychotic episodes. This reductive view remains deeply entrenched, largely because introducing the nuance required to understand these conditions demands a robust trauma paradigm.

Currently, personalized treatment efficacy is hindered by several systemic determinants. I mention and discuss: Training Deficits (A widespread deficit in specialized trauma and dissociation training within formal psychiatric and psychological curricula.), Clinical Skepticism (Persistent skepticism among clinicians regarding the validity of trauma-related dissociation and complex dissociative disorders.), Lack of Advanced Training (The reality that a majority of frontline mental health professionals lack advanced, specialized psychotherapy training tailored for complex trauma or even a trauma informed approach.), Rigid Diagnostic Frameworks – A rigid reliance on predetermined, categorical terminology (such as strict DSM/ICD barriers), which creates baseline diagnostic confusion, Iatrogenic Harm and Misdiagnosis Cycles (chronic misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment can cause iatrogenic trauma, deeply damaging the patient’s trust in the mental health system and worsening their prognosis), Countertransference and Clinical Anxiety (The internal architecture of severe dissociative disorders, especially when paired with psychotic features, can provoke profound anxiety and countertransference in clinicians).

The internal architecture of dissociative disorders is easily mistaken for complex personality flaws, if it is recognized at all. Furthermore, many mental health professionals reject the concept of structural dissociation, viewing dissociation merely as a transient defense mechanism utilized by patients with complex presentations. Compounding this challenge, psychosis itself remains as difficult to define as dissociation; this lack of clinical consensus turns daily practice into a delicate balancing act. This presentation offers insights to bridge these conceptual gaps and optimize treatment for highly vulnerable patients.

15/07/2026

Next Free ESTD Webinar

Working with Cinderella Subjects: Disability and Dissociation

20 July, 7:00 PM (Rome Time)

As mental health professionals we have access to knowledge that helps us understand all the subjects of human pain and difficulty. However, as humans, we cannot bear accessing all that knowledge. Disability , whether intellectual or physical threatens our sense of safety and dissociative identity disorder threatens our sense of self and identity. Both subjects involve shame, stigma and trauma. However, working with them increases our hope and admiration for human endeavour as well as enhancing our understanding of trauma.

Valerie Sinason is a poet, novelist, widely published writer and retired child psychotherapist and semi retired psychoanalyst. She has specialised in dissociative disorders, trauma and disability for the last 40 years. She received a Life Achievement Award from the ISSTD in 2016 and an Innovation excellence award from the British Psychoanalytic Council in 2018

Webinar page: https://estd.org/news-webinars/free-webinar-9th-june-from-7-pm-cest/
Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSffeHNOzJkAST1ENyjKm3ttH8jUzY8bKwr425sZXV-rSOSh8A/viewform?usp=header

🎥 This webinar will be recorded and available to ESTD members.

15/07/2026

The ESTD Board warmly invites you to join us at our Congress in Lisbon! 🎉 estd2026.com
We look forward to welcoming you for three inspiring days of learning, connection, and collaboration.

See you in Lisbon! 🇵🇹



MPaola Boldrini

26/06/2026

estd2026.com The ESTD Congress – Lisbon! 🇵🇹

Welcome you to the 10th International Congress of the European Society for Trauma and Dissociation, taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, on 1–3 October 2026.

Theme:
From Fragmentation to Integration:
New perspectives on identity, resilience and growth after trauma.

Join clinicians, researchers and mental health professionals from around the world for three inspiring days of:
🔸 keynote lectures
🔸 scientific presentations
🔸 practical workshops
🔸 networking and collaboration
🔸 the latest developments in trauma and dissociation

📍 Lisbon, Portugal
🗓️ 1–3 October 2026

We look forward to welcoming you!

Learn more and register:
https://estd2026.com

19/06/2026

10th Annual SCID-D Training

Date: Jul 18 • 1:00 pm

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/10th-annual-scid-d-training-tickets-1986661943352?aff=ebdsshother&utm_share_source=listing_android&sg=85f7d2be625765678de2c3ebf88e812aa51690e9d72b723113e016763120152a146c9f86d849362944ed4de515c76e18a553ce7cdbd8fd4ac89b439c5cc946f897c0739c16ac7b206b992aade42e

Dr. Steiberg face trainning si anul asta. Pentru detalii o puteti contacta pe Jillian Hosey.

Develop Expertise in Trauma and Dissociation-Informed Assessment and Treatment with the SCID-D Interview

29/05/2026

Complex PTSD in Eating Disorders: Time to Rethink Treatment?
Eating disorders and trauma-related disorders are often treated as separate clinical domains. But a new study by Brewerton and colleagues (2026) shows why this separation may be too limited for many patients.
In a large clinical sample of 2,390 patients admitted to residential eating-disorder treatment, 27% met criteria for probable complex PTSD (CPTSD) based on PCL-5 scores. Another 27% met criteria for provisional PTSD, while 46% did not meet criteria for PTSD or probable CPTSD.
Patients with probable CPTSD showed a more severe and complex clinical profile: earlier onset of eating-disorder symptoms, higher trauma exposure, more severe eating-disorder psychopathology, greater depression and anxiety, and poorer quality of life and functioning.
The findings are clinically important. They suggest that for many highly traumatized patients, treating the eating disorder first and addressing trauma only later may miss central maintaining mechanisms.
Careful assessment of PTSD and CPTSD — and integrated treatment approaches that address eating-disorder symptoms and trauma-related symptoms together — may be essential.
Reference
Brewerton, T. D., Suro, G., Gavidia, I., & Perlman, M. M. (2026). Complex PTSD as defined by the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) in patients with eating disorders. Eating Disorders, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/10640266.2026.2647725
Disclaimer
This post is for educational purposes. The study used PCL-5 scores to identify probable CPTSD and did not use the International Trauma Questionnaire or structured diagnostic interviews. Findings are based on patients in residential eating-disorder treatment and should not be generalized to all people with eating disorders.

21/05/2026

📍 Our next Free Webinar
What Every Trauma-Informed and EMDR Therapist Needs to Know About Assessing and Treating Dissociation: Essentials of the SCID-D Interview.

🗓 Date: 9th June
⏰ Time: 7 PM CEST

WEBINAR WEBPAGE: https://estd.org/news-webinars/live-free-webinar-9th-june-from-6-pm-cest/
REGISTRATION: https://forms.gle/Q21HEocCyH48fKFPA

Marlene Steinberg, M.D. Jillian Hosey, MSW, RSW, LICSW and Pamela Hall, Psy. D.

Systematic assessment of dissociation is essential for the effective treatment of clients with histories of abuse, trauma, and attachment wounds. Understanding the extent and nature of dissociative symptoms before initiating treatment—including EMDR, somatic therapies, Internal Family Systems, or hypnosis—is crucial to reducing the risk of patient decompensation and identifying the presence of “parts of self.”

While several models of dissociation have been proposed, the SCID-D (Structured Clinical Interview for Dissociative Symptoms and Disorders) uniquely operationalizes the Five-Component Model developed by Dr. Marlene Steinberg to ensure a rigorous, systematic assessment that yields the clinical clarity essential to guide and optimize treatment. Grounded in over four decades of international research and published by American Psychiatric Association Publishing (1985, 2023), this model—proven reliable and valid across diverse cultures—categorizes the spectrum of dissociation into five universal adaptive survival mechanisms: amnesia, depersonalization, derealization, identity confusion, and identity alteration.

By embedding this framework directly into a semi-structured interview, Dr. Steinberg created a testable bridge between dissociative theory and practical clinical application that remains the international gold standard.

Effectively treating complex post-traumatic stress requires specialized approaches to uncover a client’s previously concealed internal world of dissociative identity fragmentation. In the hands of an empathic clinician, the SCID-D is more than a diagnostic tool; it is a cost-effective pathway to clinical clarity that enhances the therapeutic alliance and provides a roadmap for healing.

Please join us as we examine the essentials of the SCID-D Interview and the Five-Component Model, and discover how this framework can enhance your clinical expertise and improve outcomes for your most complex clients.