Overview of Program
Recent advances in neuroscience have increased our knowledge
of how and why people change. Brain-based therapy synthesizes
neuroscience, evidence-based treatment, psychotherapy research,
and attachment theory into a hybrid therapeutic model. This model
helps identify which elements of psychotherapeutic schools are
effective and which may be counter-therapeutic.
Brain-based therapy envisions the therapeutic process as brain
changing as necessary to change mood and behaviour. The model
proposes moving beyond the theoretical school paradigm. This
training will examine the use of brain-based therapy to enhance
outcome with people who have been traumatized. The role that
brain function plays in mood, memory and behaviour will be identified, including discussions on the
difference between male and female brains, the middle aged brain and how alcohol affects the
brain. Special attention will be given to addressing the neurodynamics of PTSD and the crucial role of
memory.
Using a synthesized model of neuroscience, attachment theory and evidence-based treatment, you
will learn how to more effectively treat clients with PTSD. In this training you will develop a new way
of looking at the therapeutic process enabling you to move beyond the traditional theoretical school
approach. You will learn how to use the Brain-Based Therapy approach to educateyour clients and
make the goals of treatment understandable and achievable.
Learning Objectives
Attendees will be able to:
1. Describe the role that attachment plays in the development of affect regulation and recovery
from trauma.
2. Explain why the future of treatment necessitates a dynamic understanding of the brain and a shift
away from the medical model.
3. Describe the relationship between diet and mental health.
4. Differentiate between implicit and explicit memory and their roles in therapy and recovery from
PTSD.
5. Describe how mindfulness meditation affects the brain and is used in the treatment of anxiety
disorders, including PTSD, and depression.
6. Explain how the fast and slow tracks to the amygdala play a role in anxiety disorders and therapy
with people with anxiety disorders.
Program Outline
Psychotherapy research and a psychotherapy ‘sea change’
The Demise of Pax Medica—the end of the medical model
 Evidence-Based Practices—what works based on the research
 Outcome Management—what clients say works
New Developments in Neuroscience - communicating complex concepts simply to enhance
therapeutic outcome
 Affect asymmetry—how depression and anxiety is processed in the brain
 Neuroplasticity—how to help clients rewire their brains
 Neurogenesis—how new neurons can develop
 Social brain networks—the capacity for or impairment of empathy
 Prefrontal cortex—the executive brain the fast and slow routes to the amygdala
The role of diet: how healthy brains can be enhanced or destabilized
 Amino acids—the precursors to the neurotransmitters
 Essential Fatty Acids —making sure that clients have their fats balanced
 Simple carbs—understanding how glycation impairs the brain
 The role of alcohol and other drugs create symptoms of dysfunction
 Alcohol—understanding residual cognitive and mood effects
 Marijuana—factoring out memory and mood problems
The developing brain through old age
 Temperament and Attachment—Nurtured Nature
 Adolescents—the development of the prefrontal cortex
 The middle years—enhanced affect regulation
 The senior years—assessing and minimizing deficits
The foundational role of memory
 Implicit memory—non-conscious memory systems
 Explicit memory—conscious memory systems
How stress is reconceptualized
 Allostasis
 Allostatic load affect the brain and psychological functioning.
Brain-Based Therapeutic Approaches for panic attacks and flashbacks
 The fast and slow track to the amygdala
 Interceptive Exposure.
The broad area of PTSD
 Pathphysiology
 Dual Processing Theory
Simple and Complex PTSD
Ÿ
. Intrusion, Avoidance & Arousal
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. EMDR, EFT, the Orienting Response, and the Reconsolidation of Memory
Brain-Based Therapeutic Approaches for: clients with PTSD with depression
Therapy with depressed clients
 The role of anxiety
 Cytokines and “sickness” behaviour
 The Effort-Driven reward system
 The use of mindfulness