Neuroscience for Clinicians: Brain Change for Anxiety, Trauma, Impulse Control, Depression and Relationships

CPD

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Objectives

• Establish how neuroscientific findings that reinforce clinical methods can be employed to motivate clients to utilize interventions learned in therapy.
• Communicate how clinical interventions that impact the stress response can help clients manage their symptoms.
• Analyze attack, defend, and freeze behavior patterns and specify how they can be modified to help clients to regulate emotions.
• Evaluate the neurobiology of the traumatized brain and communicate the role of the memory in treatments to reduce the symptoms of trauma.
• Characterize how interactive mindfulness of body sensations and thoughts can be used to reduce symptoms of anxiety.
• Integrate techniques into therapy that help clients manage anger by diminishing the body’s fight-or-flight response.

Outline

Brain centers and neural pathways

• Find brain centers in the palm of your hand
• Rate where you and your clients fall on the reactivity scale

Brain-based strategies for common disorders: stress

• How stress alters the nervous system
• Bottom up (brain stem) regulation
• 8 tricks to calm the stress/fear pathway and strengthen the calm/alert pathway
• Breathe it to leave it exercises
• Find the fast-acting dive reflex

Anxiety and anger

• The anxious/angry brain reaction
• Horizontal (Brocca’s area) regulation
• Use words to calm reactivity
• Notice and narrate: name it to tame it
• 10 disorders that cause anger danger
• Panic disorder—turn off adrenalin
• OCD—Turn on dopamine to get unstuck
• Two minute hybrid yoga/mindfulness exercise to reduce reactivity

Depression

• The depressed brain pattern
• Top down (cortical) regulation
• Dopamine to dampen depression
• Brain structures in a heightened learning state

Trauma

• The traumatized brain
• Regenerate the hippocampus
• New treatments for trauma
• Integrate traumatic memories
• Trauma-informed chair yoga

Impulse control disorders

• Brain areas involved in impulsive behavior
• Distinguish compulsions from impulsiveness
• Identify the positive feeling state
• Rewire the reward pathway
• Practice mindfulness of urges

Transform brain research into interventions

• Change the brain’s negative bias
• Externalize & personify negative thoughts
• Rapidly activate centers for positive emotions
• No-fail homework assignments
• 4-step method to overcome negative self-talk: demonstration and practicum
• Replace controlling, critical inner voices with compassion and curiosity
• Use memory tricks to increase mindfulness
• Learn the prerequisite for deep therapeutic change
• Mix everyday tech savvy with neuroscience

Interpersonal neurobiology: the social brain

• Identify client attachment style
• Change reactions into responses
• How individuation can cause primal panic
• Learn the untold truth about assertiveness

Stop the vicious cycle of insecure attachment

• Change attack/defend, pursue/distance interaction patterns
• Demonstration: how to breathe calm into life’s cruel moments
• Affirm to calm and bond with oxytocin
• Ask questions: from fight to forethought
• Actively listen: from anger to containment
• Hidden hints: use soothing hypnotic language
• Observe non-verbal Aikido demonstration
• Practice text role-plays
• Learn a protocol for disarming responses
• Applications for parents, spouses, toxic families, and the workplace

Target Audience

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