Bessel van der Kolk Trauma Workshops: 2015
The Body Keeps the Score
A series of two-day workshops in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney held in March 2015
This event has passed and the information below is for reference purposes only. View our upcoming events here.
Bessel van der Kolk at wisemind.com
Bessel’s workshops may have finished for now but he’s online at wisemind.com, along with other renowned figures such as Janina Fisher and Pat Ogden.
In March 2015, Byron Clinic presented Dr Bessel van der Kolk in a series of training workshops held in Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane.
Psychological trauma causes significant damage to self-organization and perception, which is reflected in measurable alterations in brain function and structure. As a result, survivors lose the capacity to render the experience in words, endure unrelenting hyper- and hypo-arousal. They lose a sense of continuous inner presence and abiding calm.
In these workshops, Dr van der Kolk investigated specific changes in organization of self and perception that result from severe trauma, abuse and neglect. At the cutting edge of research in trauma, he examines measurable alterations of brain function and structure – as well as specific clinical interventions that may reverse or compensate for such alterations. He is currently working with a number of leading trauma researchers on adaptation and resolution, and shares the very latest findings from this work at these workshops.
In these workshops, Dr van der Kolk examined how neuroscience research has elucidated how, in the course of development, children learn to regulate their arousal systems and to focus on what is most relevant. We then examined how trauma, abuse and neglect derail these processes and affect brain development. Since traumatic imprints are stored in subcortical brain areas and are largely divorced from verbal recall, a central focus needs to be to the somatic experiencing of trauma-related sensations and affects. These deep imprints are the engines for continuing maladaptive behaviours.
Fixation on the trauma and learned helplessness require interventions aimed at restoring active mastery and the capacity to attend to the here-and-now.
With the aid of videotaped demonstrations and experiential demonstrations of affect regulation techniques, we examined the role of body oriented therapies in resolving the traumatic past and discuss the integration of these approaches during different stages of treatment.
- What is trauma and what are its effects on mind, brain, families, and society
- Neuroscience: How does the brain deal with stress and trauma, Self- regulation, attachment, rhythms, attunement, mirror neurons; neglect, abuse and invisibility
- Trauma and development; Developmental Trauma Disorder
- What does a chronically traumatized brain look like and what does that mean for treatment
- Pharmacotherapy
- Somatic therapies, Sensory Integration and meditation/mindfulness
- EMDR and trauma processing
- Power of movement and action: yoga & martial arts
- Neuro feedback
- Theatre & Psychodrama
- Trauma and society – implications for policy
This event has passed and the information below is for reference purposes only. View our upcoming events here.
Latest News
Bessel van der Kolk: Restoring Joy and Treating Traumatic StressTrauma victims cannot recover until they become familiar with and befriend the sensations in their bodies. Being frightened means that you live in a body that is always on guard. Angry people live in angry bodies. […]
Why do so many people find psychological change so difficult?Change, in the brain, is not a rare event, it is the day to day modus operandi. But if that’s the case, why do so many people find psychological change so difficult? If change is so possible, why do some people seem to get more rigid as time passes? […]
Anorexia and the “Plastic Paradox”Anorexia Nervosa and other eating disorders have the highest mortality rate in all of mental health. Norman Doidge explores a new approach that takes the best of depth psychology psychotherapies and the newest developments in neuroplasticity and brain training. […]
Norman Doidge: Why Two Brains?Why do we have two different brain hemispheres? And what difference does understanding this make in our lives and in how we treat patients? […]
Using Shakespeare to Ease the Trauma of WarBessel van der Kolk will introduce a short piece of LIVE theatre at his coming workshops and then open the room up for comment and discussion. […]
Janina Fisher: Alienating OneselfJanina Fisher explains "splitting" through developments in neuroscience and our ability as humans to dissociate from our emotions to build a more socially acceptable image. […]
Marsha Linehan: Interpersonal EffectivenessInterpersonal Effectiveness is one of Marsha Linehan's DBT skills which enables individuals to balance priorities, reduce anxiety and live a life worth living. […]
Janina Fisher on Memory of TraumaJanina Fisher explores the importance of investigating “memory triggering” for a successful treatment outcome when working with trauma clients. […]
Bessel van der Kolk: Trauma, the Brain & the BodyTrauma victims cannot recover until they become familiar with and befriend the sensations in their bodies. Being frightened means that you live in a body that is always on guard. Angry people live in angry bodies. […]
Pat Ogden on PTSDAn Individual with PTSD will often relive the traumatic events through nightmares, flashbacks and can experience feelings of isolation, irritability and guilt, frightening thoughts, numbness and feelings of detachment from others. […]
Pat Ogden on Resolving Childhood TraumaThe language of the body communicates implicit meanings and reveals the legacy of trauma and of early or forgotten dynamics with attachment figures. […]
