FARMINGTON – “Beyond Traditional: Complementary Therapies for Healing from Traumas” will be the theme for the annual conference sponsored by the Sexual Assault Victims Emergency Services, Franklin County’s Rape Crisis Center.

It will be 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Lincoln Auditorium at the University of Maine at Farmington.

Dr. Kate Hudgins of Therapeutic Spiral International will be the keynote speaker. Hudgins is a clinical psychologist, a certified trainer of psychodrama and a woman with a history of childhood abuse, the crisis center’s spokeswoman said. From this clinical, experiential and personal perspective, she created the Therapeutic Spiral Model for survivors of trauma. Her model has been taught in more than a dozen countries over the past 10 years.

Inescapable traumatic experiences cause changes in brain function, according to the center. This conference will provide an opportunity to learn how trauma affects the brain and why nonverbal symptoms are unreachable by traditional therapy alone. Workshops will present many of the complementary therapies now available to facilitate healing from emotional trauma.

Registrants will be able to select three workshops from a total of 15. Trauma survivors and mental health professionals could use the information to help plan treatment or to explore areas in which to pursue further training.

The conference is $70 for professionals and $55 for consumers, trauma survivors and students. Fees include lunch, educational materials and continuing education units, where applicable.

For a brochure and registration information, people can contact SAVES at 778-9522 or savesrcc