PTSD treatments generally fall into two broad categories: past-focused and present-focused (or their combination) [4]. Past-focused PTSD models ask clients to explore their trauma in detail to promote “working through” or processing of painful memories, emotions, beliefs and/or body sensations about the trauma. In contrast, present-focused PTSD models focus on psychoeducation and coping skills to… Read More Gold Standard Therapies
Is (brainspotting/somatic experiencing therapy/hypnosis/neuro-linguistic programming/equine therapy/art therapy/thought field therapy/rapid resolution therapy) an evidence-based treatment for PTSD? No. These are not evidence-based. You can certainly try them! Some things may work for you, individually, that have not yet been studied sufficiently in scientific research. Generally, it probably makes sense to at least begin with one of… Read More Evidence Based Therapies
Background: Childhood maltreatment represents a strong risk factor for the development of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in later life. In the present study, we investigated the neurobiological underpinnings of this association. Since both depression and PTSD have been associated with increased amygdala responsiveness to negative stimuli as well as reduced hippocampal gray matter volume,… Read More Limbic scars
The number of children who experience neglect or abuse is high—about ten out of every thousand children in the United States in 2008.29 Identifying and helping these children is especially difficult unless there are bruises or physical injuries. The effects of early life attachment can lie dormant in the brain until later life. The impact of… Read More Effects of early life trauma
Much of this experience-dependent control of brain development relies upon the experiences either increasing or decreasing the neural activity of a cell. For example, unused neurons (neurons with little neural activity) will die, while used neurons will survive. This is a normal process that occurs in the developing brain—too many cells are born and are… Read More Brain Development
BDNF is a critical mediator of vulnerability to stress, memory of fear/trauma, and stress-related disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder.[92] Variants close to the BDNF gene were found to be associated with obesity in two very large genome-wide association studies of body mass index (BMI).[93][94] High levels of BDNF and Substance P have been associated with increased itching in eczema.[95] BDNF is… Read More Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)
Linda C J Turner | Trauma Therapist & Emotional Healing Specialist 