Regulate to Recover: Essential Nervous System Tools for Addiction Therapists
Live Event

Regulate to Recover: Essential Nervous System Tools for Addiction Therapists

Sat, Jul 18th, 2026
11:00am – 2:15pm US Eastern Time
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About the Event

Addiction is fundamentally a nervous system disorder, yet many traditional treatment approaches fail to address the underlying autonomic dysregulation that contributes to compulsive behavior. This 3-hour training bridges neuroscience research with practical clinical application, providing helping professionals with a nervous system framework for understanding and treating addiction beyond behavioral and moral models.

Grounded in polyvagal theory and Somatic Experiencing, this training examines the strong relationship between trauma and addiction and explores how compulsive behavior can function as the nervous system’s attempt to regulate overwhelming states of arousal. Participants will examine dysregulation patterns associated with three prevalent addiction presentations—substance use disorders, eating disorders, and sex/porn addiction—and leave with targeted somatic regulation tools that can be applied immediately in clinical practice.

Live Event
This live online event will be held as a Zoom Webinar. Attendees will have the option to interact through features such as the Chat and Q&A, but cameras and microphones will not be enabled.

Live Event Instructor

Christine Baker

Christine Baker

Dr. Christine Baker is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Supervisor. She has been a licensed counselor in private practice for over 13 years, where she has specialized working with trauma recovery and people struggling with sexual compulsivity and their loved ones. She is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and EMDR trained, and she has also completed the Traumatic Stress Studies certificate through The Trauma Center at the Justice Resource Institute under Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. Dr. Baker has also served as an adjunct professor at Richmont Graduate University for many years in their Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program, and she has provided support to many organizations and non-profits through training and education programs.

Target Audience

This live interactive is intended for Behavioral Health professionals, including psychologists, social workers, counselors, marriage & family therapists, art therapists, school psychologists, psychoanalysts, music therapists, and school counselors. It is appropriate for intermediate levels of knowledge.

Learning Objectives

After taking this activity, you should be able to:

  1. 1 Identify at least three observable nervous system states in clients presenting with addictive behaviors using somatic markers and behavioral indicators consistent with polyvagal theory.
  2. 2 Explain nervous system dysregulation patterns associated with substance use disorders, eating disorders, and sex/porn addiction, including how each addiction presentation may function as an attempt to regulate autonomic arousal.
  3. 3 Select at least two nervous system regulation interventions appropriate to a client’s observed autonomic state and primary addiction presentation, including grounding, breathing, and co-regulation strategies.
  4. 4 Develop a between-session nervous system regulation plan that integrates observed autonomic patterns with addiction-specific intervention strategies.

Brom, D., Stokar, Y., Lawi, C., Nuriel‐Porat, V., Ziv, Y., Lerner, K., & Ross, G. (2017). Somatic experiencing for posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized controlled outcome study. Journal of traumatic stress, 30(3), 304-312. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22189

Dana, D. (2020). Polyvagal exercises for safety and connection: 50 client-centered practices. WW Norton & Company.

Levine, P. A. (2010). In an unspoken voice: How the body releases trauma and restores goodness. North Atlantic Books.

Porges, S. W. (2021). Polyvagal Theory: A biobehavioral journey to sociality. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 7, 100069. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100069

Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. New York, 3, 14-211. https://doi.org/10.7812/TPP/14-211

Winhall, J. (2021). Treating trauma and addiction with the felt sense polyvagal model: A bottom-up approach. Routledge.

Gerhart, J., O’Mahony, S., Abrams, I., Grosse, J., Greene, M., & Levy, M. (2016). A pilot test of a mindfulness-based communication training to enhance resilience in palliative care professionals. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 5(2), 89-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2016.04.003

Abuse, S. (2019). Mental Health Services Administration.(2020). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Zhu, J., Racine, N., Devereux, C., Hodgins, D. C., & Madigan, S. (2023). Associations between adverse childhood experiences and substance use: A meta-analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 106431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106431

Fuchshuber, J., & Unterrainer, H. F. (2020). Childhood trauma, personality, and substance use disorder: The development of a neuropsychoanalytic addiction model. Frontiers in psychiatry, 11, 531. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00531

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CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME's Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity – including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).

The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity's planners, faculty, and the reviewer:

Planners and Reviewers

The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

Faculty

There are no known relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Commercial support

There is no commercial support for this distance-learning course.

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Missouri Credentialing Board (MCB)

3 CE credit hours
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AddictionCounselorCE is an approved provider of the Missouri Substance Abuse Professional Credentialing Board (Provider #101). AddictionCounselorCE maintains responsibility for this course and its contents.
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Event Agenda

Agenda times are listed in US Eastern Time. That is 3 hours later than US Pacific Time. The event starts at 8:00am US Pacific Time.

11:00 – 11:05 AM | Welcome & Orientation (5 min)


11:05 AM – 12:15 PM | Part I: The Nervous System as the Site of Addiction (70 min)

ANS basics, window of tolerance, polyvagal framework, how addiction functions as dysregulation


12:15 – 12:30 PM | BREAK (15 min)


12:30 – 1:30 PM | Part II: Trauma as the Root (60 min)

Trauma-addiction connection, nervous system patterns specific to substance use, eating disorders, and sex/porn addiction


1:30 – 1:55 PM | Part III: Targeted Interventions by Addiction Type (25 min)

Regulation tools matched to each of the three addiction types, between-session planning


1:55 – 2:15 PM | Integration & Q&A (20 min)

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