Janina Fisher Ph.D.

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Oakland, CA
Janina Fisher Ph.D.

Janina Fisher is an international expert on the treatment of trauma and dissociation, a trainer for It has been a privilege to learn with them and from them.
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I have had the good fortune to have been taught by or worked alongside the giants in the field of psychological trauma: first, Judith Herman, then Bessel van der Kolk, and, most recently, Pat Ogden. And as much as these pioneers taught me, the most powerful and gifted teachers I have are my patients. These survivors have given me a window into the inner experience of the legacy of trauma, taught me what always to say and what never to say, helped to validate or disprove what the experts and theorists were claiming. We now understand that trauma’s imprint is both psychological and somatic: long after the events are over, the body continues to respond as if danger were everpresent. My professional mission has been to bring this understanding of trauma to both clients and their therapists as a psychotherapist, consultant, and trainer of clinicians looking for answers to helping their traumatized clients. I believe the key to healing is not just knowing what happened but transforming how the mind, body, and soul still remember it. Janina Fisher, PhD is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Instructor at the Trauma Center, an outpatient clinic and research center founded by Bessel van der Kolk. Known for her expertise as both a therapist and consultant, she is also past president of the New England Society for the Treatment of Trauma and Dissociation, an EMDR International Association Credit Provider, a faculty member of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, and a former Instructor, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Fisher has been an invited speaker at the Cape Cod Institute, Harvard Medical School Conference Series, the EMDR International Association Annual Conference, University of Wisconsin, University of Westminster in London, the Psychotraumatology Institute of Europe, and the Esalen Institute. Dr. Fisher lectures and teaches nationally and internationally on topics related to the integration of research and treatment and how to introduce these newer trauma treatment paradigms in traditional therapeutic approaches.

08/22/2025

After a traumatic event or a traumatic life, survivors might have only a very fragmented narrative of what happened or no clear story at all. Many survivors say, “I don’t remember anything,” without realizing that they are remembering when they suddenly startle, feel afraid, tighten up, pull back, feel shame or self-hatred, or start to tremble.

Because trauma is remembered emotionally and somatically more than it is remembered in a narrative form that can be expressed verbally, survivors often feel confused, overwhelmed, or crazy. Without a memory in words or pictures, they do not recognize what they are feeling as memory.

Most people are unaware of all these different ways of remembering, even though they are all too familiar with the experience of suddenly getting anxious or angry for no apparent reason. When they are triggered, they do not realize that what they are experiencing is a memory. They know the warm feeling that is connected to thinking about loved ones or the pulling back or bracing that occurs when they encounter someone who feels threatening.

08/20/2025

Join my FREE trauma-focused training on August 21-22 and take the first step toward becoming a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP).

💻 Taught by world-renowned expert Janina Fisher
📚 Packed with practical, evidence-based tools
🎓 CE hours available with upgrade

✨ Save your spot: https://bit.ly/40yLoNb

08/19/2025

A surprising pattern about secure attachment in therapists.

08/15/2025

Trauma isn’t just a memory – it’s a felt experience that lives in the nervous system. To support our clients effectively, we need tools that go beyond talk therapy and engage the body in healing.

Join my FREE trauma-focused training on August 21-22 and take the first step toward becoming a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP).

💻 Taught by world-renowned expert Janina Fisher
📚 Packed with practical, evidence-based tools
🎓 CE hours available with upgrade

✨ Save your spot: https://bit.ly/40yLoNb

08/13/2025

Trauma is often carried in the body and mind as symptoms, not memories. What appears as depression, anxiety, chronic pain, or other conditions can be the lasting imprint of an overwhelming event. These symptoms are not random – they can be survival adaptations, developed to protect and sustain a person in the aftermath. Understanding them in this way can open new pathways for healing.

08/06/2025

As therapists, we know that trauma lives in the body, and that healing is about more than just talk. It’s about integration, reconnection, and helping clients come home to themselves.

Join my FREE trauma-focused training on August 21-22 and take the first step toward becoming a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP).

💻 Taught by world-renowned expert Janina Fisher
📚 Packed with practical, evidence-based tools
🎓 CE hours available with upgrade

✨ Save your spot: https://bit.ly/40yLoNb

07/31/2025

Addiction is often a response to overwhelming emotions and a dysregulated nervous system. Over time, the very behaviors used to self-regulate become problematic. Effective treatment must include co-regulation through a safe therapeutic relationship – helping to stabilize the nervous system and engage the prefrontal cortex, so clients can begin to learn healthier ways to cope.

07/25/2025

My mission has been to help transform how trauma is remembered – body, mind, and soul. The greatest teachers along the way? The survivors who showed me what healing truly asks of us.

07/23/2025

By Tuning Into This Webinar You’ll Learn To…
🔹 Understand and validate survival-based defenses so that your clients feel seen, safe, and less threatened by the therapeutic process.
🔹 “Dance” with resistance instead of pushing harder so that you can maintain connection and momentum without exhausting yourself or escalating client defenses.
🔹 Work with stuckness as internal conflict between trauma-related parts so that you can help clients resolve their ambivalence and begin to move forward.
🔹 Navigate complex trauma-based attachment patterns so that you can reduce relational ruptures and strengthen the therapeutic alliance.
🔹 Build trust with the parts of your client that sabotage therapy so that even the most guarded or oppositional clients can begin to collaborate and heal.

Transforming Trauma-Related Client Resistance and Stuckness in Therapy
How to Help Resistant Clients Stop Sabotaging Their Healing
With Dr. Janina Fisher

Friday, July 25th, 2025 | 9:00am PDT | 12:00pm EDT | 5:00pm BST

Secure your free spot now: https://therapywisdom.com/resistant-client-in-therapy-webinar/?oprid=21836&ref=41101

07/22/2025

What I recommend clinicians do for the future of psychotherapy

07/18/2025

We now understand that trauma’s imprint is both psychological and somatic: long after the events are over, the body continues to respond as if danger were ever-present. My professional mission for the past 25 years has been to bring a neurobiologically-informed understanding of trauma to both clients and their therapists. I believe the key to healing is not just knowing what happened but transforming how the mind, body and soul still remember it. Most of all, healing is an act of accepting, reclaiming, and being able to love our most wounded and rejected young selves.

I have had the good fortune to have been taught by or worked alongside the giants in the field of psychological trauma: Judith Herman, Bessel van der Kolk, Pat Ogden, Dick Schwartz. And as much as these pioneers taught me, the most powerful and gifted teachers I have are the survivors who gave me a window into the inner experience of trauma, taught me what always to say and what never to say, and helped to validate or disprove what the experts and theorists were claiming. It has been a privilege to learn with them and from them.

07/15/2025

The way to deal with intergenerational trauma is to look at how the parents were triggered and then acted in negative ways but also to work with your own nervous system. Whether you work with it using something like sensorimotor psychotherapy or IFS.

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Oakland, CA

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http://www.janinafisher.com/

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I have had the good fortune to have been taught by or worked alongside the giants in the field of psychological trauma: first, Judith Herman, then Bessel van der Kolk, and, most recently, Pat Ogden. And as much as these pioneers taught me, the most powerful and gifted teachers I have are my patients. These survivors have given me a window into the inner experience of the legacy of trauma, taught me what always to say and what never to say, helped to validate or disprove what the experts and theorists were claiming. It has been a privilege to learn with them and from them. We now understand that trauma’s imprint is both psychological and somatic: long after the events are over, the body continues to respond as if danger were everpresent. My professional mission has been to bring this understanding of trauma to both clients and their therapists as a psychotherapist, consultant, and trainer of clinicians looking for answers to helping their traumatized clients. I believe the key to healing is not just knowing what happened but transforming how the mind, body, and soul still remember it. Janina Fisher, PhD is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Instructor at the Trauma Center, an outpatient clinic and research center founded by Bessel van der Kolk. Known for her expertise as both a therapist and consultant, she is also past president of the New England Society for the Treatment of Trauma and Dissociation, an EMDR International Association Credit Provider, a faculty member of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, and a former Instructor, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Fisher has been an invited speaker at the Cape Cod Institute, Harvard Medical School Conference Series, the EMDR International Association Annual Conference, University of Wisconsin, University of Westminster in London, the Psychotraumatology Institute of Europe, and the Esalen Institute. Dr. Fisher lectures and teaches nationally and internationally on topics related to the integration of research and treatment and how to introduce these newer trauma treatment paradigms in traditional therapeutic approaches.