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 […]
Epigenetics Might Help Us Predict How the Brain Responds to Threats
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 […]
Smile Train: Celebrating One Million Smiles
Is it any surprise that one of the most popular songs on radio right now is about clapping along in happiness? If you’re anything like I am, some days the news of the world can seem so bleak, you’re just eager to hear something different. So it’s refreshing to see something uplifting go viral. And […]