The treatment of psychological trauma is revolutionizing our understanding of the brain, with profound implications for how we approach mental health issues in general.
Beginning in the ’90’s, research has revealed the ways trauma affects not just psychological states, but brain functioning and development as well. The brain loses the flexibility it needs for the person to meet life’s challenges. It doesn’t fully distinguish between past and present and keeps re-living the past. It gets caught in a loop. This could be the definition of PTSD.
Effects of trauma
While the form of trauma most often studied has been PTSD experienced by war veterans, our understanding of trauma has greatly expanded. We now see that childhood emotional trauma resulting from instability, abuse and neglect, can have even more devastating effects than a single traumatic event. The growing child literally becomes trapped in the past.
The effects of trauma are many and varied. Sleep disorders, anxiety, reactivity, fearfulness, dissociation, anger, or general dysfunction, can all result from trauma. Often the effects don’t fit into any one or two clear diagnostic categories, resulting in confusion and ineffectiveness on the part of the treatment team. Usually the option, even for children, is medications.
Pre- and perinatal trauma
Trauma may be experienced pre- and perinatally. We underestimate the effects of trauma at this stage of life. The effects of traumas in utero and during birth are not only physical but psychological as well. The newborn experiencing hypoxia or other life-threatening situations, knows it’s in trouble, knows its life is in danger. Getting stuck in the birth canal, having the cord wrapped around the neck are profound psychological experiences. A C-section birth may have psychological effects due to its abruptness.
Another issue is the use of Pitocin to stimulate labor. Over a third of births in the US involve this drug. We can wonder – a drug strong enough to induce contractions in the mother – how is it experienced by the newborn? In my experience, I can usually spot a Pitocin baby – difficulty relaxing, problems with transitions, a rigidity and inflexibility. Pitocin is implicated statistically in both ADHD and Autism.
Neurofeedback for trauma
The effects of birth and other traumas may not show up for years but they always take their toll. Medications administered to a traumatized nervous system may exacerbate the problem with disastrous results.
Many difficulties resulting from trauma, such as reactivity, dissociation, flashbacks, sleep disorders and aggression, may be greatly relieved by neurofeedback. Often this is the first modality in what may be a lengthy process of addressing this problem. Neurofeedback prepares the brain and enhances the effects of other therapeutic modalities, such as EMDR, body-oriented therapies and psychotherapy. While neurofeedback may reduce the symptoms, additional therapies may be needed to address the psychological component of trauma.
Length of treatment
Problems with sleep, reactivity, dissociation may see some relief in the first few sessions. Fully dealing with trauma may take 20 sessions or more depending on the severity and length of the trauma and may also require other modalities.
