When immune cells show up in the brain, are they the problem, or are they trying to fix one?
In this video, Jonathan Kipnis, PhD, a neuroscientist and immunologist, shares a simple analogy to explain neuroinflammation and what it’s actually trying to do.
Take a look: it’s just over 3 minutes.
So why is this important for practitioners to know? What potential impact could it have on your work with clients?
Well, this video is a small piece of a much bigger question: how much of what we call a mental health symptom might possibly start somewhere else in the body?
Now, Jonathan’s research points to the immune system as possibly being one of those places, and lately, I’ve been digging deeply into similar research. I’ll be sharing more of that with you in the future.
But for now, I’m curious: How might this change the way you think about a client you’ve been working with?
Please leave a comment and let me know.
Jill Blake says
This makes me think about trauma modalities that propose things have to get worse before they get better, and how the inflammatory markers respond to this “necessary” stress in clients with strong gut-brain axis sensitivity and/or inflammatory disorders and/or immune dysfunction.
Can iit be there are biological or that is telling us we may doing more harm than good?
what do you think?
Jill Blake says
*biological or pathophysiology processes ….
Jill Blake says
1) it would be so helpful to have experts explain these concepts through case studies for specific inflammatory disorders – I am thinking specially inflammatory bowel disorder, but any presentation that provides education on the specific biological processes of specific inflammatory disorders would be helpful.
2) Within this course include communication techniques to initiate and sustain care coordination with medical professionals Unless LPC/LPCC/MSW also have a strong education in biology, they/we need language and confidence to speak to MDs.
what do others (including NICABM staff.
Jax Wilde says
I am a LMFT with a patient who has chronic Lyme disease. Could what Dr. Kipnis says be related to why it doesn’t go away, despite years of treatment?
Jonathan Davis says
It’s interesting to think of this process from the perspective of family systems. Classic family therapy texts (Watzlawick, Weakland, & Fisch, 1974) pointed out that therapy is needed when the attempted solution becomes the problem. Similar dynamic, different level!
Loren Gelberg Goff says
This is a really interesting way to look at what might be happening… someone with chronic and severe migraines… we are exploring what her inner being is needing to be addressed… and this adds a very interesting perspective to explore as to what her immune system might be fighting or attempting to repair… Thank you for this additional insight.