There are people who are working hard, day in and day out, to discover the breakthroughs that can improve trauma treatment . . . And then there are the people, including many of you, who work hard to learn the latest so you can make a difference in the lives of your patients – trauma […]
What makes some people more vulnerable to trauma?
Sometimes it seems like there are two kinds of people in the world – those who can be so resilient in the face of stressful or traumatic events, and those who develop Post-Traumatic Stress. We know that some people are simply more vulnerable to developing PTSD than others . . . . . . but […]
How to Use Body Patterns to Discover the Impact of Trauma
Your body is constantly in motion, but how often do you pay attention to what these movements convey? Focusing on the way people move their bodies can actually show us a lot about the trauma they’ve experienced. But how can we help people learn to recognize what their bodies are reflecting about their trauma? By […]
The False Choice: Our Calling and Our Income
Last week, I talked about challenging ourselves to be brave. You shared a lot of beautiful responses and dreams – everything from learning to dance to leaving your agency to open a practice. Your stories and goals are inspiring to me. There’s so much each of us has to contribute to the world, and yet […]
Coping with trauma: Overcoming the strategy that could be worsening symptoms
Why is it that 33% to 53% of HIV-infected people have histories of childhood sexual abuse? Just take a look at the symptoms of childhood sexual abuse – helplessness, low self-esteem, dissociation, denial, self-destructiveness . . . these psychological difficulties that can result from childhood sexual abuse are often related to HIV risk behavior. Studies […]
The Polyvagal Theory: Looking at Trauma through a New Lens
Can trauma haunt the body the same way it haunts memories? According to Stephen Porges, PhD, not only does the body remember a traumatic experience, but it can actually get stuck in the trauma response mode. So even when life becomes safe, the body still perceives danger and its defenses stay engaged. Why does this […]
If I were brave . . .
I was reminiscing recently about our December conference in Hilton Head. We don’t host it anymore, but one moment made a lasting impact on me, and certainly touched many of the practitioners attending, too. It’s a song called If I Were Brave, by Jana Stanfield. Jana, a talented singer/songwriter, performed this inspiring song at a […]
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 […]
Treating PTSD with Mindfulness-based Trauma Therapy
Soldiers in a war zone experience more trauma in a week than many others experience in their lives . . . . . . but it still feels like our tools for treating trauma aren’t quite sufficient. Mindfulness meditation could be a powerful healing intervention – but does it work with soldiers? The early research […]
How to Recognize Childhood Trauma
When kids have trouble paying attention in school, when they’re too emotional, or reactionary, or downright aggressive, what can we do to help them turn it around? Perhaps too often, these behaviors are addressed with medication for ADHD or bipolar disorder. But according to Bessel van der Kolk, MD, the problem (and the solution) may […]