“Psychologists usually try to help people use insight and understanding to manage their behavior. However, neuroscience research shows that very few psychological problems are the result of defects in understanding; most originate in pressures from deeper regions in the brain that drive our perception and attention. When the alarm bell of the emotional brain keeps signaling that you are in danger, no amount of insight will silence it.”
― Bessel A. van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
Carrie was familiar with the long-felt painful emotions that arose from a nagging belief: “I’m not good enough”. This belief was embedded into her as a child through years of emotional abuse from her parents. After years of talk therapy, she rationally understood the error of this belief as she worked to debunk it. However, this persistent narrative always crept into every encounter. She was fired from numerous jobs and her relationships were suffering. She could not move past these self-sabotaging behaviors. Her child-self was still dictating her present-day behavior.
Carrie’s situation is common for those experiencing trauma-based, chronic mental health conditions such as Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD. Long-time sufferers have often been through the gamut of Top-Down therapy approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) …Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), or Psychodynamic Therapy.
Numerous studies on trauma have found Bottom-Up approaches that incorporate the body and mind connection have been necessary to pair with Top-Down approaches for treatment. These could include Somatic Experiencing, Yoga, Equine Therapy, Drama Therapy, Biofeedback, and others.
Understanding the differences between these approaches requires a comprehension of the functions of the parts of the brain. Simply put, the upper brain is associated with cognition. The younger part of the brain is responsible for newly developed traits…
Imported from Accelerated Resolution Therapy Blog – Read More
