Menopause & Trauma: Tools and Strategies for Practice (Wednesday 14 October 2026)
Many women reach midlife psychologically stable and high-functioning, then experience a marked shift. Sleep deteriorates, emotional tolerance narrows, anxiety or panic-like symptoms emerge, and therapies that once helped seem to stall. These changes are often attributed either to menopause or to a return of trauma-related difficulties. In practice, they frequently overlap.
This 90-minute webinar explores the menopausal transition as a nervous system and stress-regulation transition, not simply a reproductive milestone. The focus is on how physiological volatility (sleep disruption, autonomic surges, stress sensitivity) can amplify threat responses, change emotional processing capacity, and make familiar clinical formulations suddenly insufficient.
Rather than reducing distress to either hormones or history, the session offers a practical, trauma-informed formulation framework that helps clinicians distinguish drivers of distress, recognise when multiple drivers are operating, and sequence intervention with greater precision and compassion.
What will I learn?
The learning outcomes for this webinar are to;
- Understand and explain why symptom overlap between menopause and trauma is common, and where misattribution happens clinically
- Be able to explain how midlife changes in sleep, autonomic regulation, and stress tolerance can amplify threat-based patterns
- Understand and apply a clear formulation approach that holds together: body signals, threat learning, meaning/identity, and current life load
- Be able to recognise differentiating presentations that resemble hyperarousal, panic, dissociation, and “brain fog”
- Recognise when and how to screen for trauma history in women presenting with severe menopausal distress, without over-pathologising
- Be aware of some tools and strategies when therapy appears to stall, including pacing, stabilisation, and sequencing choices when the nervous system is under strain
What is the course structure?
Date: Wednesday 14 October 2026
Time: 14:00 - 15:30
This is a 90-minute webinar.
Webinar joining details: The Zoom link will be released in the webinar page within BPS Learn 24 hours before the webinar, and you will also receive an email notification. Please ensure you check your spam/junk folder for an email from noreply@bps.org.uk.
Please note, we use Zoom to host our webinars. If you require any help with Zoom, please refer to these Zoom instructions.
After you have attended the webinar, we will invite you to complete a short survey to get feedback on your experience and to download your certificate of attendance.
This webinar will be recorded. The recording will be available for 12 weeks after the live session.
This webinar is available to book until 14:00 on Tuesday 13 October 2026 and is available in English only.
Attendees of this webinar will receive a Certificate of Attendance.
Is this course right for me?
This webinar is suitable for those working in all areas of Psychology, particularly Clinical and counselling psychologists, as well as therapists, psychiatrists, and other clinicians working with adult women in midlife who want a trauma-informed, menopause-literate approach grounded in formulation and nervous system understanding.
Who is the presenter?
Dr Heather Sequeira
Dr Heather Sequeira is founder and Director of PTSD Trauma Workshops and developer of the PTSD Masterclass; an innovative BPS Approved Workshop for clinicians and therapists in PTSD. Dr Sequeira is an executive committee member of the British Psychological Society Crisis, Disaster & Trauma BPS Section. She has had previous input to British Psychological Society CPD, Clinical and Counselling Psychology Doctoral Training programmes, CBT Diploma Courses and BPS Conferences. Heather has current experience in NHS, is a honorary Senior Research Fellow at University of Birmingham. Prior to training as a psychologist, her background was in academic trauma and PTSD research. Heather conducted her PhD (University of London) in the field of psychological trauma. She held the post of Senior Research Fellow (St Georges, University of London) and published the first controlled studies in the impact of abuse on people with learning disabilities. Heather has a range of research interests and is currently assisting with a project on sleep in female veterans with trauma exposure.
How much does it cost?
Price: £70.00 (+VAT)
Members: £42.00 (+VAT)
Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology Section members receive an additional 10% saving when attending this webinar. To receive your coupon code, please email cpd@bps.org.uk with your membership number.
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You will have access to the webinar for twelve weeks from the date of the webinar (until 6 January 2027).
In addition to the site policies this course is subject to additional terms and conditions.
Our accessibility statement gives more details on our approach.
Group discounts
If you or your colleagues are looking to book onto this course as a group you can make savings by booking five or more places.
Invoicing
In order to request a quote for five or more learners, please email cpd@bps.org.uk. If you are looking to book for fewer than 5 learners please proceed directly to requesting an invoice.
To request an invoice for you or your group, please complete this invoice request form. We also provide guidance to support this process. Please note, to raise an invoice you will need to provide a Purchase Order. Once the invoice has been paid we will provide your learners with details of how to access their learning.
Contact
This course has been organised by BPS Professional Practice and Development. You can contact us at cpd@bps.org.uk
You may also be interested in our other courses on BPS Learn, including those related to trauma and your personal development.
You can also explore the range of BPS books available via Routledge where BPS members receive 25% discount.