Janina Fisher
Janina Fisher is an American clinical psychologist, trauma therapist, author, and international trainer known for her work with complex trauma and dissociation. She is a former instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, a founding faculty member and assistant educational director of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, and a member of the executive board of the Trauma Research Foundation. She is also a faculty member at Academy of Therapy Wisdom and a patron of the John Bowlby Centre in London. Fisher is best known as the developer of Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST), a phase-oriented, parts-based model for complex trauma and self-destructive behavior, and as the author of several books on trauma treatment, including Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors and Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma.[1]
In 2024, Fisher received the Psychotherapy Networker Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the field of trauma treatment and to the training of psychotherapists.[2]
Early life and education
Fisher earned her PhD in clinical psychology from Boston College. She trained and taught in hospital and community mental health settings, focusing early on the impact of chronic trauma, neglect, and attachment disruption on adult mental health.[1]
Career
Fisher has practiced as a clinical psychologist since the early 1980s, working primarily with survivors of complex and developmental trauma. Early in her career she joined The Trauma Center in Boston, a research and treatment clinic founded by Bessel van der Kolk, where she treated clients with post-traumatic and dissociative disorders and taught clinicians about trauma and dissociation in a multidisciplinary setting.[3]
She later became assistant educational director of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute and served on its advisory and executive boards while continuing to teach internationally. She has also served as president of the New England Society for the Treatment of Trauma and Dissociation, a founding member of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), and an EMDR International Association–approved consultant, while providing supervision and consultation to clinicians in North America, Europe, and Australia.[4]
Fisher has consulted for public and non-profit organisations, including the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and the National Institute for Psychotherapies in New York. She is a consultant to Khiron Clinics in the United Kingdom and continues to provide clinical training and consultation internationally.[5]
Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST)
Fisher is the developer of Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST), a therapeutic model designed for clients with complex trauma, chronic self-harm, suicidality, and significant dissociation. TIST combines elements of Sensorimotor psychotherapy, parts work as popularised by the Internal Family Systems Model, psychoeducation, and cognitive restructuring in a phased approach emphasizing safety and stabilization before trauma processing.[6]
TIST conceptualizes symptoms such as shame, self-hatred, intrusive thoughts, addictive behaviours, and self-injury as communications from trauma-related "parts" of the personality that developed as survival responses. Rather than treating these responses as pathology, the model frames them as adaptive strategies that can be understood, regulated, and gradually transformed within a collaborative therapeutic relationship.[6]
The model fits within the triphasic framework for trauma treatment: stabilization and skill-building, processing traumatic memory, and integration and reconnection. Fisher’s formulation of TIST is outlined in her books and professional trainings.[7]
Training and certification
Fisher teaches TIST internationally through workshops, conferences, and online courses. The primary online TIST Certification pathway is offered through Academy of Therapy Wisdom, an online provider of psychotherapy continuing education. According to Fisher’s training materials, the certification includes foundational, advanced, and certification levels with live supervision components.[6]
In addition to the Academy of Therapy Wisdom certification, TIST trainings have been offered in collaboration with institutes and training organizations in Europe, North America, and Australia, and in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, German, French, and Italian.[8]
Books
- Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Attachment and Trauma (with Pat Ogden, 2015). Norton Professional Books.[9]
- Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation (2017). Routledge.[10]
- Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma: A Workbook for Survivors and Therapists (2021). PESI Publishing & Media.[11]
- The Living Legacy of Trauma: A Flip Chart (2022). PESI Publishing & Media.[12]
Articles and papers
Fisher has written widely on trauma and dissociation.
- "Sensorimotor Approaches to Trauma Treatment" (2011), BJPsych Advances (Cambridge University Press).[13]
- "Sensorimotor Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Trauma" (2019), Practice Innovations (American Psychological Association).[14]
- "Trauma-Informed Stabilisation Treatment: A New Approach to Treating Unsafe Behaviour" (2017), Australian Clinical Psychologist.[15]
Media coverage
In a 2023 The New York Times feature on dissociative disorders by Christina Caron, Fisher explained that dissociation can allow people to focus on "the most salient or life-preserving aspects of a situation" while noting that the condition may appear "dramatic or fantastical" despite its adaptive origins.[16]
Her perspective on trauma and self-alienation has also appeared in Neuroscience News, in an article exploring the relationship between trauma, music, and emotional reconnection.[17]
Awards and recognition
In 2024, Fisher received the Psychotherapy Networker Lifetime Achievement Award at the Psychotherapy Networker Symposium in Washington, D.C., recognizing her decades of work in trauma treatment, writing, and education.[2]
See also
- Sensorimotor psychotherapy
- Somatic psychology
- Dissociation (psychology)
- Complex post-traumatic stress disorder
- Trauma model of mental disorders
- Bessel van der Kolk
- Judith L. Herman
External links
- Official website
- Articles and links by Janina Fisher
- Janina Fisher, PhD: A Therapist’s Guide to Her Trauma Model and TIST Training
- How Janina Fisher and TIST Revolutionized Trauma Therapy for Modern Clinicians
- Janina Fisher on Innovations in Treating Trauma – Psychotherapy.net interview
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "About Janina Fisher". Janina Fisher Official Website. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Janina Fisher Lifetime Achievement Award". Psychotherapy Networker. March 2024. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
- ↑ "The Trauma Center: History". The Trauma Center. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
- ↑ "Janina Fisher, PhD". Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
- ↑ "Dr Janina Fisher, Consultant". Khiron Clinics. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment Training". Janina Fisher Official Website. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
- ↑ "Janina Fisher, PhD: A Therapist's Guide to Her Trauma Model and TIST Training". Academy of Therapy Wisdom. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
- ↑ "How Janina Fisher and TIST Revolutionized Trauma Therapy for Modern Clinicians". Academy of Therapy Wisdom. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
- ↑ Ogden, Pat; Fisher, Janina (2015). Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Attachment and Trauma. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0393706134 Check
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- ↑ Fisher, Janina (2017). Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415708234. Search this book on
- ↑ Fisher, Janina (2021). Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma: A Workbook for Survivors and Therapists. PESI Publishing & Media. ISBN 978-1683733856 Check
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- ↑ Fisher, Janina (2022). The Living Legacy of Trauma: A Flip Chart. PESI Publishing & Media. ISBN 978-1683735447 Check
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- ↑ Fisher, Janina (2011). "Sensorimotor Approaches to Trauma Treatment". BJPsych Advances. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1192/apt.bp.110.008078.
- ↑ Fisher, Janina (2019). "Sensorimotor Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Trauma". Practice Innovations. American Psychological Association. 4 (3): 156–165.
- ↑ "Trauma-Informed Stabilisation Treatment: A New Approach to Treating Unsafe Behaviour". Janina Fisher Official Website. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
- ↑ Caron, Christina (October 5, 2023). "What Are Dissociative Disorders?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
- ↑ "Music, Trauma, and Emotional Connection". Neuroscience News. July 2023. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
Category:Living people Category:Clinical psychologists Category:Trauma therapists Category:Harvard Medical School faculty Category:Women psychologists Category:American non-fiction writers
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