Introduction
Date Course Created: April 2026
Join Dr. Jennifer Sweeton, a renowned psychologist, neuroscientist, and trauma expert, for an exploration of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) and its nuanced characteristics. Dive deeper into the tools that help you accurately differentiate C-PTSD from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), leveraging the latest neuroscience and evidence-based frameworks. Dr. Sweeton addresses the challenges of assessing prolonged trauma’s impact, empowering clinicians to enhance diagnostic precision and tailor effective interventions.
In addition to diagnostic clarity, this course integrates current neuroscience to deepen understanding of trauma’s impact on the brain and body. Attendees will explore key structures such as the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex, as well as concepts like allostatic load and the window of tolerance. This biological lens helps explain the chronic dysregulation, oscillation between hyper- and hypoarousal, and relational challenges that define C-PTSD.
This course also focuses on assessment and case conceptualization, introducing validated tools such as the International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ), PCL-5, CAPS-5, CTQ, and PHQ-9. Participants will learn to avoid common diagnostic pitfalls – such as equating trauma history with C-PTSD – and instead rely on structured, evidence-based approaches to differentiate between overlapping conditions and guide treatment planning.
Whether you work in private practice, a clinical setting, or the forensic arena, accurately identifying Complex PTSD is critical to effective treatment. This course offers practical guidance for making nuanced diagnostic distinctions, using advanced case examples and hands-on tools. You’ll leave better equipped to recognize subtle symptom patterns and confidently apply targeted interventions rooted in current science.
This is a 6-CE noninteractive, self-paced online video course delivered in home study format via an industry-standard online learning platform.
Agenda
00:00 – 01:00 → Introduction to Complex PTSD, Forensic Psychology, ICD’s Broader Definition of Trauma
01:00 – 02:15 → C-PTSD’s Distinctions, Acute Stress Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder
02:15 – 02:45 → Major Depressive Disorder: Symptoms and Overlaps, Comparing Relational Patterns Across Disorders
02:45 – 03:45 → Neurobiology of Trauma, Chronic Stress Response, Movement in Trauma Recovery
03:45 – 04:45 → Brain Development and Trauma, Role of Amygdala and Hippocampus in Emotional and Stress Regulations
04:45 – 05:55 → Childhood Trauma, The Impact of Time, Hope and Healing in C-PTSD, Treatment Approaches
Objectives
This training will provide participants clinical knowledge and tools to:
After completing this training, participants will be able to define Complex PTSD, distinguishing it from PTSD, BPD, and MDD based on DSM-5-TR and ICD-11 frameworks.- After completing this training, participants will be able to analyze the neurobiological underpinnings of C-PTSD, including dysregulation in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex.
- After completing this training, participants will be able to apply evidence-based assessment tools to differentiate C-PTSD symptoms from overlapping disorders in clinical settings.
- After completing this training, participants will be able to name and practice trauma-informed intervention strategies tailored to C-PTSD, integrating somatic, cognitive, and neuroscientific approaches.
- After completing this training, participants will be able to state at least one strategy to avoid misdiagnoses in forensic and clinical contexts.
- After completing this training, participants will be able to describe at least two evidence-based therapies that may be helpful to clients with C-PTSD.
Target Audience:
The target audience for this event includes psychologists, social workers, counselors, MFTs, psychiatrists and other clinical mental health professionals.
Instructional Level: Intermediate
Instructor(s): Jennifer Sweeton, PsyD, JD, MS, MA
Material Author(s): Jennifer Sweeton, PsyD, JD, MS, MA
For additional information about this course, the instructors, or the material authors, please contact Content Assistance at content@onlinececredits.com.
Course Materials & Delivery Method:
- Course Materials – The course is composed of a recorded presentation and written materials (e.g. a slide deck and/or other worksheets, manuals, or handouts as provided by the instructor). The slide deck and any additional worksheets or handouts (as provided by the instructor) are made available inside the Lesson module after a course is purchased.
- Delivery Method – This course is a recorded asynchronous, self-paced webinar training, and there is no access time limit or due date to complete it once enrolled. The enrolled learner will stream the recorded presentation and view the materials from their internet connected device via an industry-standard online learning platform.
CE Approvals:
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
Online CE Credits has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6795. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Online CE Credits is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)
Mind Works Professional Education, Inc. DBA Online CE Credits, #1974, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: July 23, 2025 – July 23, 2028. Social workers completing this course receive 6 clinical continuing education credits.
Other Helpful Information:
Refund & Cancellation Policy – You may review this policy at any time by clicking here.- Accessibility Accommodations – If you require a reasonable accommodation for any reason, please email your request to cc@onlinececredits.com.
- Course Completion Requirements – 1.) View the entire Lesson module (accessible from the main course page), to include the embedded and/or linked presentation video(s), slide deck, additional materials, and/or links to any shared video clip(s) that may have been edited from the presentation video(s) to comply with copyright laws. 2.) Click into the Quiz module accessible from either the main course page or the Lesson page and complete the Quiz with an 80% or better pass rate. 3.) Complete the Course Evaluation – you’ll be sent to the Evaluation automatically once you successfully pass the Quiz.
- Posttest Requirements – You must answer 80% or more of the Quiz questions correctly to pass. If you fail to pass the first time, you may attempt the quiz again until you are able to pass with a score of 80% or better. Quizzes are graded instantly and automatically by the learning management system once your attempt is submitted.
- Certificate of Completion – Certificates of Completion are automatically generated – downloadable from your Dashboard and emailed to you – once you view the Lesson Materials and complete the Quiz and the Course Evaluation.
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