Speaker(s):
Presentation: Trauma is at the root of all addiction and often results in dissociative and personality disorders. When the addiction is comorbid with these disorders, treatment can become difficult. Often treating the trauma that is creating reactivity and dissociative states becomes primary. This presentation covers recent research in trauma, the way it changes the brain and how we can begin rebuilding neural connections by processing the trauma and using mindfulness as a tool to keep the client from dissociating and in the room with the therapist. By using mindfulness and a few basic techniques we can begin expanding the emotional window for our clients while keeping them emotionally regulated and allowing them to reprocess the trauma. Some basic techniques in mindfulness and directed meditations will be discussed for aiding the client through those difficult spaces.
Objectives:
- Identify structures in the brain affected by trauma and how that affects emotional development
- Describe forms of dissociation and potential signs of its occurrence
- Review methods of using mindfulness to regulate through anxiety and keep the client present
- Discuss mindfulness for somatic experiencing in the processing of trauma
- Demonstrate several mindfulness exercises that attendees can use with patients
Slides and Handouts: