Work with me
For Therapists & Mental Health Clinicians
Whether you’re looking for in-depth workshops or developing clinical competence in personality-based treatment approaches like BPD Compass and Unified Protocol, Dr. Sauer-Zavala provides a proven pathway to streamline your clinical work.
Workshop Calendar
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BPD Compass
07.31 12-3 PM ET | Virtual
Join Dr. Sauer-Zavala for a 3-hour introduction to Compass — a short-term, personalized treatment for borderline personality disorder — and walk away with the theory, research evidence, and practical applications to begin using it with your clients.
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BPD Compass
Sept 7-9, Time TBD | In person
Join Dr. Sauer-Zavala in Switzerland at the 8th International Congress for Borderline Personality Disorder. She’ll be presenting an introductory workshop on BPD Compass. Walk away with proven tools to apply personality focused treatment with your clients
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BPD Compass
Nov. 12-15, Time TBD
Join Dr. Sauer-Zavala for an introduction to BPD Compass presented at the 60th annual convention for the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT). Learn the theory, research, and practical tools associated with this efficient approach.
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BPD Compass
Nov. 8, Time TBD | In person
Join Dr. Sauer-Zavala for a 3-hour workshop on BPD Compass - our modular treatment for borderline personality disorder developed & tested right here in Kentucky. Walk away with proven tools to use with complex clients with BPD and co-occurring conditions.
Certification & Training
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Therapist Certification
For Individual or Small Group
Ready to take your clinical skills to the next level? Shannon provides individualized, high-level consultation as you apply BPD Compass with your own cases.
Weekly video consultations with Dr. Shannon Sauer-Zavala
Personalized feedback, strategies, and support that accelerate your growth as a clinician.
Upon successful completion, you’ll be recognized as a certified provider and featured on our website so clients and colleagues know you’re the real deal.
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Trainer Certification
For Individual or Small Group
This program is ideal for clinical supervisors and research groups wishing to establish therapist fidelity when using the BPD Compass in research trials.
Weekly Video consultations with Dr. Shannon Sauer-Zavala
Personalized feedback, strategies, and support that accelerate your growth as a clinician
Expert review of audio-recorded sessions across a course of treatment with Compass to ensure adherence and competence in protocol delivery.
Upon successful completion of this program, you will be recognized as a Certified Trainer who can support others within your organization to use BPD Compass in their clinical practice.
Case Consultation
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À La Carte
Shannon offers hourly consultation on the UP and BPD Compass.
Have a specific clinical or research question you’d love expert input on? À la carte consultation sessions are designed for those moments when you want targeted, high-impact guidance without committing to a full certification program.
Meet one-on-one with Dr. Shannon Sauer-Zavala—developer of the Unified Protocol and Compass Approach—to get clarity on a clinical challenge, troubleshoot treatment sticking points, or deepen your understanding of these evidence-based methods. Whether it’s a single session or a few, you’ll walk away with practical strategies you can immediately apply in your work.
What People Are Saying
The BPD Compass workshop was very informative, interesting, and useful. Has good clinical application for treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. Shannon provided up to date information and taught the workshop very well.
— David M., Workshop AttendeeI was thoroughly impressed with and strongly recommend attending one of Dr. Shannon Sauer-Zavala's webinars! Dr. Sauer-Zavala's webinar was well presented, providing attendees with comprehensive information on BPD, personality traits (and their link to HiTOP), and the BPD Compass intervention, all while balancing accessibility, such that attendees of diverse clinical backgrounds could easily follow.
— Luis G., Workshop Attendee
This was one of the better webinars I have attended and I am really appreciative of the way this information felt familiar AND newly organized. It really seems to be helping me target some areas of concern that I was struggling with in a way that did not create additional burden on me as a student. Thank you so much!
— Workshop Attendee
My experience has been most enriching. Consultations with Shannon Sauer-Zavala were enormously helpful. Her insights and knowledge exceeded my expectations, week in and week out. It would not be an overstatement to say that her input has been transformational for me professionally.
— Joan A., Unified Protocol Certification Client
The webinar with Shannon was excellent! I learned a lot, she is very clear in her explanations. I loved it!
— Milagros C., Workshop Attendee
Shannon's explanations and examples were incredibly clear and informative! Throughout the workshop I felt that I was able to keep track with her and understand each piece of the background and treatment process. You can tell that she has put a tremendous amount of thought and effort into this treatment and to her clinical work through the ease of understanding in her presentation. I had few questions throughout the webinar as everything felt like it made sense, could be applied to my clinical work, and provided me with a greater understanding of the components of personality that I may not have quite grasped through another avenue of learning. Great workshop that seems like it would help any clinician, regardless of if they work directly with personality pathology or not!
— Workshop AttendeeFast forward to this semester, when I am now working with clients. Your training helped me connect with a client with borderline personality disorder and your workbook is informing my treatment approach. I feel much more equipped and prepared to help my client because of your training and resources. Learning and connection like this will never cease to delight me, and I am thankful for you and what you do.
— Stefphanie G., Workshop Attendee
“I did not consider myself a "personality person" going into the training, but that shifted when I heard Dr. Sauer-Zavala's explanation and application of personality factors to target multiple symptoms shared across diagnoses that commonly co-occur with BPD.”
— L.G, Workshop Attendee
