Summary An event is characterized as traumatic when: 1) the person perceives it as a threat to her or his physical survival; 2) it overwhelms the individual’s coping capacity, producing a sense of powerlessness; 3) it produces a feeling of isolation and aloneness; and 4) it violates the person’s expectations. Psychological trauma is not a …
The VA Could Have Remediated PTSD for Half the Cost of One Drug During the first decade of this century, the U.S. Veterans Administration (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) spent $791 million on a drug called risperidone (Tal, 2013). Initially touted as a treatment for PTSD, a clinical trial published in the Journal …
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The Trauma Capsule What happens when a child experiences an event so disturbing that it cannot be assimilated into ordinary consciousness? Examples of such events might be being beaten for no reason, becoming the object of a parent’s sexual desire, hearing harsh unprovoked criticism, or being physically harmed. Children don’t understand that such events are …
Bringing the Traumatized Brain Back Online The brains of people with PTSD do not process information as effectively as normal brains. The parts of the brain are unable to work in synchrony. Normally, all the regions of the brain work together when presented with incoming information. Figure 13 shows the difference (van der Kolk, 2014, …
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Trauma Is Physical as Well as Psychological Psychological trauma is not a merely psychological problem; it affects the body at the most fundamental levels. The most basic need of any organism is survival. Other needs, such as digestion, reproduction, and self-actualization, cannot be met if the organism fails to survive. The survival mechanisms of our …
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Attachment: Secure vs. Disorganized During WWII, in order to keep them safe during the Blitz, the rain of bombs dropped on London and other industrial cities, children were often sent away into the countryside and housed with strangers or in group nurseries. A pioneering psychiatrist named John Bowlby was struck by how strongly children were …
Pervasive Psychological Trauma Psychological trauma is widespread. While news reports focus on the high levels of PTSD found in veterans, trauma is far more prevalent in the civilian population than most people realize. Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began in 2001, far more Americans have died at the hands of family members than …
Download Chapter 11 – The Affect Bridge in EFT: A Reliable Method for Finding Core Issues Brigitte Hansoul and Yves Wauthier Abstract In most EFT sessions, a key factor to success resides in the ability of the practitioner to identify the core issues provoking the client’s present symptom. With long-term practice, the EFT professional may be …
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Download Chapter 10 – Integrating EFT and Traditional Trauma Treatment: A Four- Stage Model for Safely Treating Trauma Mary T. Sise Abstract Increased understanding of the brain’s response to trauma has led to a shift in the way clinicians view trauma treatment, and an explosion of new techniques. However, energy psychology methods, such as …
Download Chapter 8 – Energy for Healing Trauma: Energy Psychology and the Efficient Treatment of Trauma and PTSD Fred Gallo Recently there has been increasing interest in investigating energy psychology theoretically and as clinical intervention. This chapter provides an overview of energy psychology, including its history, theory, active ingredients, and empirical research on the effects …
