I'm in Santa Barbara this weekend at Pacifica Graduate Institute recording the "Imagination & Medicine" conference about "the Future of Healing in an Age of Neuroscience."
The first presenter, Bessel van der Kolk, is a seriously high-powered researcher and therapist deeply involved in treating PTSD and psychotherapeutic brain physiology studies. He outlined the physiology of trauma and treatment recommendations which amount to a description of one of the main functions of the better Aikido dojos. So I got up to the audience microphone, told him so, and asked if he'd studied the effect of martial study on recovery from violent trauma. He responded that he had always wanted to study Aikido and considered it "the King" of martial arts as might be applied to trauma related suffering. I offered a class. He asked for it on Sunday morning. Who knows, the next step might be inclusion in his rhythm and movement Conference in Boston in June? That would be quite an adventure.
Now I have exactly the neurophysiology I needed to support the Aikido as metaphor part of my dissertation that supports the building of the Guardians of Peace and my approach to conflict work. Wahoo!
Here is his bio.
BESSEL A. VAN DER KOLK THE BODY KEEPS SCORE
Integration of Body and Mind in the Treatment of Traumatized People
In the wake of the new insights into trauma’s impact on the body, memory, and relationship to self and others, a range of radical new approaches to treatment have been developed. Many of these can be considered as fundamental shifts from earlier therapeutic paradigms. Given the fragility of the interpersonal bonds following disruptions of trust, issues of empathy, interpersonal repetition and boundaries within the therapeutic relationship require scrupulous attention. Preoccupation with the trauma and learned helplessness require a variety of interventions aimed at restoring active mastery and the capacity to attend to the here-and-now. In this context we will examine the role of Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Model Mugging and therapeutic work programs. Since traumatic memories often are dissociated and may be inaccessible to verbal recall or processing, attention needs to be paid to the somatic re-experiencing of trauma-related sensations and affects which may serve as engines for continuing maladaptive behaviors. With the aid of videotaped demonstrations and experiential techniques we will present approaches from the fields of hypnosis, body oriented therapies and EMDR to introduce these new treatment options and discuss the integration of these approaches during different stages of treatment.
BESSEL A. VAN DER KOLK, M.D. has been active as a clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of posttraumatic stress and related phenomena since the 1970s. He founded the first clinic in Boston, the Trauma Center, which specializes in the treatment of traumatized children and adults, in 1982. Dr. van der Kolk is past President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. He is Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University Medical School, and Clinical Director of the Trauma Center in Boston, Massachusetts. He is co-director of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Community Program in Boston and originator of, and currently on the steering committee of, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
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The first presenter, Bessel van der Kolk, is a seriously high-powered researcher and therapist deeply involved in treating PTSD and psychotherapeutic brain physiology studies. He outlined the physiology of trauma and treatment recommendations which amount to a description of one of the main functions of the better Aikido dojos. So I got up to the audience microphone, told him so, and asked if he'd studied the effect of martial study on recovery from violent trauma. He responded that he had always wanted to study Aikido and considered it "the King" of martial arts as might be applied to trauma related suffering. I offered a class. He asked for it on Sunday morning. Who knows, the next step might be inclusion in his rhythm and movement Conference in Boston in June? That would be quite an adventure.
Now I have exactly the neurophysiology I needed to support the Aikido as metaphor part of my dissertation that supports the building of the Guardians of Peace and my approach to conflict work. Wahoo!
I'll try to podcast our interaction and put a link here in the near future. Please subscribe to this blog and return to see when it becomes available.
Here is his bio.
BESSEL A. VAN DER KOLK THE BODY KEEPS SCORE
Integration of Body and Mind in the Treatment of Traumatized People
In the wake of the new insights into trauma’s impact on the body, memory, and relationship to self and others, a range of radical new approaches to treatment have been developed. Many of these can be considered as fundamental shifts from earlier therapeutic paradigms. Given the fragility of the interpersonal bonds following disruptions of trust, issues of empathy, interpersonal repetition and boundaries within the therapeutic relationship require scrupulous attention. Preoccupation with the trauma and learned helplessness require a variety of interventions aimed at restoring active mastery and the capacity to attend to the here-and-now. In this context we will examine the role of Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Model Mugging and therapeutic work programs. Since traumatic memories often are dissociated and may be inaccessible to verbal recall or processing, attention needs to be paid to the somatic re-experiencing of trauma-related sensations and affects which may serve as engines for continuing maladaptive behaviors. With the aid of videotaped demonstrations and experiential techniques we will present approaches from the fields of hypnosis, body oriented therapies and EMDR to introduce these new treatment options and discuss the integration of these approaches during different stages of treatment.
BESSEL A. VAN DER KOLK, M.D. has been active as a clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of posttraumatic stress and related phenomena since the 1970s. He founded the first clinic in Boston, the Trauma Center, which specializes in the treatment of traumatized children and adults, in 1982. Dr. van der Kolk is past President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. He is Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University Medical School, and Clinical Director of the Trauma Center in Boston, Massachusetts. He is co-director of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Community Program in Boston and originator of, and currently on the steering committee of, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.Labels: Aikido, psychology, PTSD, recovery, trauma
| posted by Unknown @ 4/27/2007 10:29:00 PM
