This is Your Brain on Trauma: Bessel Van Der Kolk s Version

Transcription

1 This is Your Brain on Trauma: Bessel Van Der Kolk s Version Lois A. Ehrmann PhD, LPC, NCC Certified EMDR Consultant; Certified IFS Clinician Certified Attachment Focused Family Therapist Certified in Clinical Hypnosis & Trained in Neurofeedback Founder and Executive Director The Individual and Family CHOICES Program 2214 North Atherton Street, Suite 4 State College, PA (814)

2 Welcome and Training Objectives By the end of this presentation participants will: Describe at least two mechanisms the brain uses when experiencing a traumatic event in order to attempt to protect the organism from further harm. Identify at least two treatment approaches that take into account the connection between brain processing and physiological effects in the human body.

3 Looking At the Brain Our brains are wired for survival. It s the Primary Purpose! Faced with a threat we go into Fight, Flight, Freeze or Automatic Submission. If we come out the other side of those responses recovery and healing happen. Getting stuck in one or more of the responses=ptsd

4 Brains do the Following to Survive 1. Generate internal signals that register what our bodies need such as food, rest, protection, sex, shelter. HALT! Don t get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired! 1. Create a map of the world to point us where to go 3. Generate the necessary energy and actions to get us there 4. Warn us of dangers and opportunities along the way 4. Adjust our actions based on the requirements of the moments

5 The Brain from the Bottom Up! Brain Area Reptilian Mammalian Neocortex Structures Involved Brain Stem & Hypothalamus Limbic System (Amygdala, Cingulate Cortex, Hippocampus, Dentate Gyrus, Cerebellum, Thalamus) Frontal Lobe, All the lobes and areas covering the mammalian brain

6 Page 56 Neurons that fire together wire together.. If you feel safe and loved your brain becomes specialized in exploration, play and cooperation; if you are frightened and unwanted it specializes in managing feelings of fear and abandonment.

7 The Emotional Brain Consists of the Reptilian Brain and the Limbic System Thalamus is the Cook: All the sensory information gets stirred into the pot The Low Road Amgdala is the Smoke Detector It s an Immediate danger The High Road Frontal Lobes Hypothalamus (Brain Stem) Whole Body Response (Fight, Flight, Freeze)

8 Rational Brain Frontal Cortex is the Watch Tower Page 63 Effectively dealing with stress depends upon achieving a balance between the Watch Tower and the Smoke Detector You can manage emotions better from the Watch Tower or from the Smoke Detector

9 Dorsolateral Pre- Frontal Cortex along with the Hippocampus are the Time Keeper

10 Emotional Brain Versus Rational Brain Are they really in competition? Rational Brain is the Rider Emotional Brain is the Horse Such a lovely movement when the Rider and the Horse are in sync with each other and work together emotionally! What happens when there is Trauma?

11 When a Person is Traumatized and Gets Reactivated The Smoke Detector goes off continually.beep beep.beep The Time Keeper stops working The Cook stops stirring We say the Brain goes off line

12 A Brain Offline. Dissociation, Fight, Flight Freeze, Automatic Obedience are the evidence that the brain is off line. Can we Talk to get the brain back on line for healing? What ways can we help the person s brain to get back online for Healing?

13 Body/Brain Connections Page 76 If an organism is stuck in survival mode, its energies are focused on fighting off unseen enemies which leaves no room for nurture, care, and love. For us as humans, it means that as long as the mind is defending itself against invisible assaults, our closest bonds are threatened, along with our ability to imagine, plan, play, learn, and pay attention to other people s needs.

14 Darwin..Wow.. He figured out more than just Survival of the Fittest!! Pneumogastric Nerve= When experiencing intense emotions the heart, lungs, guts and brain are connecting with each other. Gut wrenching Heart broken Mind exploding Back breaking Until very recently the brain-body connection was the sole property of Eastern Medicine..largely ignored by Western Culture

15 And then there was Stephen Porges And his Polyvagal Theory Autonomic Nervous System Sympathetic Nervous System Accelerator Fight or Flight Parasympathetic Nervous System Brake Self-Preservation Functions

16 Polyvagal Theory/ Safety and Danger Pg.81

17 Polyvagal Theory Continued Autonomic Nervous System regulated three fundamental states Dependent on the level of safety First level is Social Engagement (a call for help from the other)ventral Vagus Complex (VVC) Second level is if no one comes to help Sympathetic Nervous System Takes over (Mammalian Brain) Fight Flight Third level is if we are helpless/powerless and cannot fight or flee Dorsal Vagal Complex takes over (Reptilian Brain) The Ultimate Emergency System Freeze of collapse

18 What is Neuroception in PV Theory? Once traumatized the person perceives the world differently The nervous system is altered and therefore takes in stimuli that it perceives as dangerous even if in reality it is not. Neuroception is the capacity of a person s nervous system to evaluation danger and safety in the environment. How can we as professional helpers assist our clients to heal their nervous systems so that their perception of danger or safety is more accurate. No danger radar versus there is danger under every rock.

19 Social Engagement System and VVC Porges hypothesized that the Ventral Vagus Complex (VVC) evolved because of our increasingly complex social life. We banded together to mate, nurture the young, defend against common enemies and coordinate hunting and food acquisition. The more the VVC assisted the activity of the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous Systems the better the physiology of each individual could get attuned to that of other members of the tribe. Seen in parents caring for their young. The sing song voice, the attunement dance are all part of this and it gently teaches the newborn to regulate. Experience shapes the brain. We are naturally defensive for protection but in order to connect and attune our brains shut down the protective defense. Trauma happens when this system fails. Deep intimacy requires oneself to experience immobilization without fear. (John Briere- We have to make our clients uncomfortable at times to do good trauma therapy.)

20 Clues to Treating People with Trauma? Engage the Social Engagement System to increase Safety. How???

21 Affirming Yourself Through Affirming Your Body The Body is one way we know we are alive! Finding a way to know that others have a felt sense of me. Developing a felt sense of another. I matter. I count. At least to one person