Finding Solid Ground with Dr. Bethany Brand – How We Can Heal Podcast Season 7 Episode 10

This episode is sponsored by the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD). The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation is an international, non-profit, professional association organized to develop and promote comprehensive, clinically effective and empirically based resources and responses to trauma and dissociation and to address its relevance to other theoretical constructs. To learn more and become a member, visit: https://www.isst-d.org/ Visit https://cfas.isst-d.org/ to access educational offerings for both professionals and non-professionals -- The people most harmed by trauma are often the ones research quietly leaves out: clients dealing with severe dissociation, chronic self-harm risk, suicidal crises, and symptoms that don’t fit neatly into a study design. That’s why this conversation with clinical psychologist and trauma researcher Dr. Bethany Brand lands so hard and so hopefully. We talk about Finding Solid Ground (FSG), a structured stabilization program created specifically for complex trauma, complex PTSD, and dissociative disorders, and why its step-by-step approach can help both survivors and the therapists supporting them. We unpack how the program was built over 15 years with a “dream team” of experts plus direct feedback from people with lived experience with dissociation. Bethany explains the logic behind the sequencing across modules: grounding as the true foundation, separating past from present to reduce flooding from traumatic intrusions, then moving into safety planning and emotional work only after clients have enough internal resources to tolerate it. We also explore the unique role of brief teaching videos and workbook practice, including why the videos can feel relational while still staying safely under the client’s control. Then we dig into the research. Bethany walks through results from a randomized controlled trial showing Finding Solid Ground adds measurable benefit beyond individual therapy alone, along with individual-level findings like reliable change and reduced deterioration. We also touch on what clinicians report learning and how the program can strengthen the therapy relationship, build self-compassion, and expand adaptive capacities in ways people don’t always expect from “stage one” trauma treatment. If you’re looking for evidence-based trauma stabilization tools, grounded coping skills, and a clearer map for dissociation treatment, press play. If the conversation helps, subscribe, share it with someone who needs a steadier path, and leave a review so more people can find this work. Learn more about FSG here: https://www.findingsolidground.info/ -- 0:04 Welcome And Guest Introduction 1:30 ISSTD Sponsorship And Training Resources 2:48 What Finding Solid Ground Is 5:03 Research Design For Complex Clients 8:04 How The Program Was Built 11:07 Grounding And The Vestibular System 12:52 Intrusions As A Key Trigger 13:39 Separating Past From Present Skills 16:41 Sequencing Safety And Emotion Work 19:26 Parts Work And Keeping It Tolerable 21:31 Why Videos And Workbook Help 24:33 A Suicide Crisis Interrupted By Hope 25:39 Trial Results That Prove Effect 28:36 Individual Change And Reduced Deterioration 32:08 What Clients Say Helped Most 36:13 Adaptive Capacities That Improve 40:26 Therapist Benefits And Skill Gains 44:01 Flexible Pacing And Weekly Limits 49:25 Guided Gravitational Grounding Practice 52:05 Conference Invite And Closing Thanks