If you could predict how well your clients might be able to deal with stress, just based on a blood or saliva sample, would that change your treatment approach? There’s a specific gene that’s been getting a lot of attention lately because it affects how the brain processes serotonin – a chemical created inside the […]
Brain Science and Meditation: How to Improve the Brain
Stress is no joke. Aside from the sleepless nights and lots of tension, stress can also have a range of negative health effects. So how do you reduce stress? A team of researchers at the Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine started looking for answers. They gathered 18 patients who had received a diagnosis of […]
Guided Imagery and PTSD: A Different Approach to Treatment
When I visualize a traditional therapist’s office, and then a military boot camp . . . . . . I come up with two very different images. It might seem obvious to those of us within the helping professions that, in order for treatment to be effective, we need to match the intervention to the […]
How to Help People Overcome Social Anxiety (and Change Their Brain Response)
There’s something that affects about 15 million people in the United States alone . . . . . . and it can make simple things like talking to others, or even looking in the mirror, seem absolutely terrifying. I’m talking about social anxiety disorder (SAD) – a feeling of overwhelming emotional distress that, for so […]
The Brain Under Stress – Using Mindfulness to Regain Focus
Imagine having to keep your guard up every day because of bullying and the constant threat of violence . . . . . . this is what life is like for many of the adolescents incarcerated in high security prisons all over the world. And the high stress that it causes can wreak havoc on […]