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Empower Your Practice

FoundBetween Training Institute offers a wide range of online training sessions designed to empower mental health professionals. Enhance your skills and knowledge to better serve your clients.

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Beyond Behavior: Understanding The Function of NSSI

Why do some clients harm their bodies to soothe their minds? This engaging, trauma-informed session explores the function behind Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI), moving beyond behavior to uncover its sensory, psychological, and neurobiological roots.

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Dakota Lawrence

LPC-MHSP - Lead Instructor

Hi! I'm Dakota.

I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor who is passionate about helping people heal and supporting the clinicians who walk alongside them.

 

I specialize in working with trauma, chronic pain, self-harm, suicide. My wife and I own an interdisciplinary clinic in Murfreesboro, TN. We work across disciplines to provide high-quality, wrap-around care to our clients. 

 

We've provided clinicians all over the country, from a variety of disciplines, transform their practice with practical tools that bridge the gap between mind and body

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We'd love to help you do the same!

This Training Is Perfect For You, If...

AOTA Conference Attendee - 2025

"Best three hr workshop I’ve been to at AOTA. The speakers were relatable, fluent, real, and overall easy to listen to. They provided a ton of information but laid out in an great and easy format that could be followed and used in the future."

Beyond Behavior: Understanding the Function of NSSI

We walk you through all you need to know to start applying practical tools and tangible skills with you clients as soon as your next session. 

You'll Learn About: 

Functional Assessment of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI)

Learn how to move beyond surface-level behaviors to identify the underlying functions of self-injury. You’ll explore how emotional regulation, sensory processing, trauma history, and relational context shape NSSI presentations across clients.

Trauma-Informed and Neurobiological Frameworks for Self-Injury

Understand self-injury through the lens of nervous system regulation and trauma response. This section connects neurobiology, attachment, and stress physiology to clinically observable NSSI patterns—without reducing behavior to pathology.

Interdisciplinary Conceptualization: Beyond a Single Modality

Gain an integrative framework that draws from psychotherapy, occupational therapy, behavioral science, and somatic approaches. You’ll learn how to collaborate across disciplines while maintaining a cohesive, client-centered treatment plan.

Ethical, Effective Intervention Without Reinforcing Harm

Explore how well-intended interventions can unintentionally maintain self-injury cycles. You’ll learn function-matched, ethical strategies that support safety, autonomy, and skill development without relying on punishment or fear-based responses.

Clinician Confidence, Burnout Prevention, and Clinical Stuck Points

Address the emotional and cognitive load clinicians carry when working with NSSI. This section focuses on improving clinical confidence, reducing burnout, and navigating common treatment impasses with clarity and compassion.

Training Content

  • Welcome & Overview

  • Module 1: Understanding NSSI

    • What is NSSI? ​

    • Co-Morbidities

  • Module 2: Psychological & Neurobiological Mechanisms

    • The Brain's Role​

    • Tool 1

    • Mechanisms of Physical & Psychological Relief

  • Module 3: The Sensory Experience of NSSI

    • Overview of The Sensory System

    • Up-Regulation & Down-Regulation

  • Module 4: Case Studies 1, 2, & 3​

  • Module 5: Practical Interventions for NSSI

    • NSSI Treatment Framework

    • Tool 2

  • Module 6: Case Studies Pt. 2​

  • Module 7: Practical Interventions for NSSI Pt. 2

    • Burn The Bridge

    • Tool 3 & 4

    • Tool 5

    • Tool 6

    • Resource Suggestions

  • Summary & Conclusions

A Note From Us

We know how challenging it can be to sit with clients in deep distress—especially when they’re overwhelmed, impulsive, or caught in patterns that feel stuck. We’ve been there. That’s exactly why we created this training.
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If you’ve ever wished for more tools in the room, more clarity on what to say or do in a moment of crisis, or more confidence in helping clients build real, lasting change—this training is for you. We’re not here to overwhelm you with theory. We’re here to give you practical, proven skills you can start using right away.
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Join us. Let’s make this work a little more sustainable, a little more effective, and a lot more connected—for you and for the people you serve.

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