diff --git a/bec_widgets/utils/bec_widget.py b/bec_widgets/utils/bec_widget.py
index d1d996560..0d45dd9e3 100644
--- a/bec_widgets/utils/bec_widget.py
+++ b/bec_widgets/utils/bec_widget.py
@@ -362,7 +362,7 @@ def closeEvent(self, event):
         """Wrap the close even to ensure the rpc_register is cleaned up."""
         try:
             if not self._destroyed:
-                self.cleanup()
                 self._destroyed = True
+                self.cleanup()
         finally:
             super().closeEvent(event)  # pylint: disable=no-member
diff --git a/bec_widgets/widgets/containers/dock_area/basic_dock_area.py b/bec_widgets/widgets/containers/dock_area/basic_dock_area.py
index 088050ae9..81fff4154 100644
--- a/bec_widgets/widgets/containers/dock_area/basic_dock_area.py
+++ b/bec_widgets/widgets/containers/dock_area/basic_dock_area.py
@@ -1465,6 +1465,16 @@ def delete_all(self):
         for dock in self.dock_list():
             self._delete_dock(dock)
 
+    def cleanup(self):
+        """Tear down all docks via the Qt ADS API before the base BECWidget cleanup runs.
+
+        Explicitly releasing dock widgets through the CDockManager API first prevents crashes
+        in PySide6 6.11.0 / PySide6-QtAds 4.5.x where the CDockManager destructor interacts
+        badly with dock widgets that are deleted outside of it.
+        """
+        self.delete_all()
+        super().cleanup()
+
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":  # pragma: no cover
     import sys
diff --git a/bec_widgets/widgets/editors/bec_console/bec_console.py b/bec_widgets/widgets/editors/bec_console/bec_console.py
index 87f3ff81b..df14c2b6e 100644
--- a/bec_widgets/widgets/editors/bec_console/bec_console.py
+++ b/bec_widgets/widgets/editors/bec_console/bec_console.py
@@ -120,7 +120,12 @@ def _parking_parent(
             return None
 
         window = console.window()
-        if window is not None and window is not console and self._is_valid_qobject(window):
+        if (
+            window is not None
+            and window is not console
+            and self._is_valid_qobject(window)
+            and not getattr(window, "_destroyed", False)
+        ):
             return window
 
         if not avoid_console:
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 499fa7765..7767d77de 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ classifiers = [
 ]
 dependencies = [
   "PyJWT~=2.9",
-  "PySide6==6.9.0",
-  "PySide6-QtAds==4.4.0",
+  "PySide6==6.11.0",
+  "PySide6-QtAds==4.5.0.4",
   "bec_ipython_client~=3.107,>=3.107.2", # needed for jupyter console
   "bec_lib~=3.107,>=3.107.2",
   "bec_qthemes~=1.0, >=1.3.4",