How to make the most of our time today

Remove any distractions:

• Shut the door

• Silence the phone

• Turn off everything that is operating in the background including email, Skype, instant messaging
or any programs you may have running

Write notes.
Today’s Session Agenda and Objectives
Brain Plasticity & Trauma
Project of a Scientific Psychology – 1895
Sigmund Freud

Freud trained and worked as a

neurologist.
He carried out pioneering
neurobiological research, under Ernst
Brücke in 1877.
Studying the biology of nervous tissue,
an endeavour that would last for 10
years.

Link
 Neocortex
(Neopallium)

The ‘Triune Sometimes referred

to as the Cortex

Brain’ What makes us

human

1960’s
The neurologist Paul
MacLean proposed that
our skull holds not one
brain, but three.
Each part representing
a distinct evolutionary Limbic System
Cerebellum
function (Paleomammali)
(Archipallium)
Sometimes referred
Sometimes
to as the
referred to as the
Mammalian Brain
Reptile Brain
 Neocortex
Language ,Abstract,
Thought ,
The ‘Triune Imagination,
Consciousness
Brain’ Reasons ,
Rationalises

1960’s
The neurologist Paul
MacLean proposed that
our skull holds not one
brain, but three.
Each part representing
a distinct evolutionary
function Limbic System
Emotions,
Link Memories
Cerebellum
Fight or Flight
Habits
Autopilot
Decisions
The Brain basic function
Limbic System
Our emotional
Frontal Cortex (middle) brain
Our emotional
regulator

Cerebellum
Actions – flight,
fight ,freeze
Amygdala responses
Alarm Hippocampus
Video memory
 The Brain and Attachment- Key Facts
• Frontal Cortex – Our emotional regulator

• Limbic system – Our emotional system

• Cerebellum – Reptilian brain , actions – flight, fight ,freeze responses

• Hippocampus – Our ‘video memory’ does not develop until the third or fourth year of life,
children who are abused may only get a snap shot of what happened

• Amygdala – Brains ‘fire alarm’ connects directly to the cerebellum , online from birth .
 Hippocampus
The Brains
YouTube
The Limbic
System
This part of the brain is
where our emotions live.
The Hippocampus stores
video clips of life events.
The Amygdala in times of
stress activates memories
in the Hippocampus so
we know what danger
looks like.
Amygdala
This is why people with
PTSD get flashbacks . The Brains
Fire Alarm
 The Brain and Cortisol
Researchers such as Steven Porges have concluded that in times of stress we
produce a hormone called cortisol.

This chemical travels from our kidneys through the polyvagal system to our
brains, its role is to trigger the survival instinct of the limbic system.

It’s at this point the amygdala and the hippocampus shut down leaving the limbic
system to go in to survival mode.
Quick experiment !

In a second I am going to reveal a

picture .
When you see this picture your
Hippocampus will activate and
trigger a video memory in you!
 Hippocampus
Replays video
memories to remind
The flight/fight us what the threat is

response
Amygdala
But what happens if the Sends messages to the
THREAT
Threat Cerebellum
threat is real ? Flight /Fight/ Freeze
activated
How does the brain
react in times of
danger?

Amygdala Cortisol is
now being
Switches on pumped from
the Nervious the Kidneys to
system the Brain
And it does this in less than
-

1/5,000 of a second.
The Five F’s Survival System
Our survival system
Friends (Looking for support in a stressful situation)
Fight (Fighting the assailant)
Flight (Running away)
Freeze (Staying where you are)
Flop (Amygdala and hippocampus become over loaded with
cortisol, at this point you are playing dead or splitting in to
dissociative state)

Referenced work of Zoe Lodrick Click

The brain in trauma
Cerebellum
Limbic System Actions – flight,
Takes executive fight ,freeze
control responses
Frontal Cortex
Closes down Adrenalin
is now being
pumped around
the body making
it ready for flight
or fight

Amygdala Kidneys
Overloads. Pump cortisol through
activates the Hippocampus the polyvagal system
Cerebellum Closes down Effectively Sending the
to action brain in to red alert
When happens in the brain if
children are abused or neglected ?
On the right you see a brain On the left you see a brain
scan of a child who has scan of a child who has been
been neglected. cared for.

The areas in Red and Yellow The areas in Red and Yellow
show brain activity. show brain activity.
What happens if a child is neglected or abused.

If children's needs are not met , the following may happen-

• Splitting
• Fragmenting
• No self regulation
• Loss of trust.

Can lead to anxiety , depression, yearning , rage, self soothing - these

are survival strategies.
Q. So what is brain plasticity ?
A. It’s the ability to form new neural
pathways
The Human Connectome Project Link
So is there hope?
‘The Rescuing Hug’ (Massachusetts 1995) Link
Quick facts on attachment and the brain
• Our brain can repair our attachment style by developing new neural
pathways (although this can take time) Work of Dan Segal Link
• As a child, in times of stress the brain gets flooded with cortisol, which
shuts down both the amygdala and the hippocampus as a form of self
soothing and emotional protection mechanism.
• If this happens often as a child the hippocampus does not develop to full
size.
• When the amygdala is soothed , cortisol is stopped being spurted out ,the
hippocampus can grow .
• Cannabis use elicits cortisol generation, it is not unusual for children with
attachment issues to use cannabis as it self sooths the brain . Link
Working with attachment and
self regulation in clients
First and foremost….

Therapists should be encouraged to

understand their own attachment style.
Working with attachment can bring up issues
for from the therapists past.
 Provide a secure base
Those who will serve as attachment figures for children are:
The ones who are most responsive to crying and to interact socially

Those who will serve as attachment figures for adults are:

‘The ones who are most responsive to anxiety/fear and to social
interaction’

“ The good enough other “

Quick Recap

• Brain plasticity allows new neural pathways to develop.

• Traumatic events such as trauma can change our attachment style.
• In times of intense trauma we are likely to revert back to our primary
attachment style. (Our old brain wiring)
• Children can have the same experience of neglect and abuse but may
go on to develop differing attachment styles.
 How is this done in the therapy room ?
n Being constant is paramount to object consistency
n Staying the client's frame of reference , let the client know
what impact they are having on you , be thoughtful on praise.
n Remind the client that their feelings are from the there and
then, (the feelings they are experiencing are from childhood)
n Understand that emotional functioning may be difficult
n Comment on how they are in the session
n Always budget for a relapse.
References and reading list
 References
Shemmings. Et al, "Fostering and adoption," in Fostering and adoption, 2014. [Online]. Available:
http://fosteringandadoption.rip.org.uk/topics/attachment-theory-research/. Accessed: Aug. 2, 2016.
Knibbs,C. (2016) S.P.A.R Model of Trauma Recovery, Available at: http://www.catherineknibbs.co.uk/#!spar-model/zoajw (Accessed: 30th of
August 2016)
Lodrik, Z. (2016) Trauma article, Available at: http://www.zoelodrick.co.uk/training/article-1 (Accessed: 30th of August 2016).
Segal, D. (2016) Dr, Dan Siegal, Available at: http://www.drdansiegel.com/ (Accessed:16th of October 2016).
van der Kolk, B.(2016) Dr, Bessel van der Kolk at Available at :http://www.traumacenter.org (Accessed:16th of October 2016).
(2016) The Rescuing Hug, Available at: http://www.snopes.com/glurge/healinghug.asp (Accessed: 12th October 2016).
(2016) The Triune Brain, Available at: http://uwf.edu/jgould/triunebrain.pdf (Accessed: 12th October 2016).
Northoff, G. (2012) Psychoanalysis and the Brain – Why Did Freud Abandon Neuroscience?, Available at:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3317371/ (Accessed: 14th October 2016).
Recommended reading ( Click Link )
• John Bowlby and Attachment Theory (Makers of Modern
Psychotherapy)
• Why Love Matters: How Affection Shapes a Baby's Brain
• The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of
Trauma
Questions
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