When we treat patients who have experienced trauma, we’re often working with a brain that’s driven by fear. So for practitioners, it can be essential to know just what part of the brain to focus in on, and more importantly, what you can do once you know where to look. According to Sebern Fisher, MA, […]
Rethinking Trauma – Stephen Porges and the Polyvagal Theory
Following trauma, the body’s warning system often gets stuck on high alert . . . . . . but in Wednesday’s webinar with Stephen Porges, PhD, we got into some effective ways for “speaking” directly to a trauma survivor’s nervous system. Stephen revealed how things like tone of voice, certain gestures, and even the use […]
A Trauma Therapy Program for Children in Conflict Zones
If a single traumatic experience can change a person’s life for years to come, what must an average day be like for someone who faces traumatic events on a routine basis? For people affected by war or natural disaster, where entire populations from infants to the elderly have been exposed to so much suffering, what […]
Reframing a Patient’s Response to Trauma so They Can Heal
When a trauma occurs, our bodies simply react. But sometimes, when the body immobilizes in the face of trauma, this shutdown response can leave some trauma survivors (and even their loved ones) wondering why they didn’t “do” more to protect or defend themselves . . . . . . and often, this feeling of helplessness […]
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 […]