Is there a link between PTSD and our body’s immune response? Well, research published in the Journal of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity has stretched beyond focusing on what happens to the body’s nervous and endocrine systems after trauma. . . . . . and researchers have discovered a connection between trauma and the body’s immune […]
How Lessons of the Past, Present, and Future Infuse Our Life and Work
In his holiday classic, A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens tells a moving story of transformation. As the spirits of Past, Present, and Future visit the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge throughout the course of Christmas Eve, we see him learn to embrace a sense of compassion and generosity. After his experience, Scrooge says: I will honor Christmas […]
How Limbic System Therapy Can Help Resolve Trauma
When we’re working with clients who have experienced trauma, targeting the limbic system can make our interventions more effective. But what is the limbic system, and why is limbic system therapy so useful in treating trauma? In the video below, Bessel van der Kolk, MD answers these questions and explains why he uses this kind […]
How to Help Your Clients Understand Their Window of Tolerance [Infographic]
Clients are best able to cope with stressors and triggers when they can manage the resulting emotions. So how can we help clients who struggle to manage the anxiety, anger, and pain brought on by everyday stressors? In situations like this, psychoeducation can be one of our best tools – and one helpful concept is […]
How to Help a Client Come Back into Their Window of Tolerance
The window of tolerance is such an important concept when we’re working with trauma and dysregulation. For clients who have experienced trauma, that window often becomes quite narrow. They may space out and dissociate, or get too angry or anxious to focus. Or, they might fluctuate between hyper- and hypo-arousal. When they’re too far outside […]