FIRST PART

Webinar With Sebern Fisher: “Calming The Fear-Driven Brain: On The Integration Of Neurofeedback And Psychotherapy In The Treatment Of Developmental Trauma”

The part one of this webinar will present this research and explore the implications it has for our understanding of affect regulation. Affect regulation is the primary goal of all therapies and close to impossible for those with these histories. Fear and reactivity are the core issues so we will look at how fear circuits fire and kindle in the traumatized brain. And we will focus on the impact on the Default Mode Network (DMN), the network in the human brain that makes a sense of Self and Other possible.

SECOND AND THIRD PART

Training the Brain for Affect Regulation: The key to treatment of developmental trauma – Sebern F. Fisher

Neglect and abuse in early childhood impact every major system and structure in the human brain from the brainstem to the cortex, from the sense of balance to the sense of self. (Lanius et al.) These developmental injuries are expressed emotionally, behaviorally, cognitively, physically and relationally. Whether or not one is interested in learning to work directly with the brain, everyone is much better able to understand their developmentally traumatized patients when they understand their brains. To that end, the first day of this course will provide a basic but comprehensive understanding of how these traumatized brains function and malfunction, particularly in the domain of affect regulation.

We can think of the gift of good enough mothering (and fathering) as the gift of affect regulation. Affect regulation is one of the brain’s top priorities, but for those with histories of neglect and abuse, the structures supporting self-regulation have either not developed or are significantly impaired. These patients are left essentially motherless and afraid, no, terrified. On the second day we will explore the connections between the fear-driven brain, the nearly ubiquitous sense of motherlessness and the shame and anger these patients feel as a result. In addition we will explore an effective treatment approach that relies on neurofeedback to quiet fear circuitry and provide affect regulation and relies on the therapist to be the devoted other to the patient, while addressing their history, present day dilemmas and the changes they will experience as their brains begin to regulate. When fear quiets a sense of self and other arises; therapy becomes possible.