The Nature of Trauma: Developmental Neurobiology, Neuroimaging Research and Effective Intervention

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Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD Related seminars and products

Trauma Research Foundation

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Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD, is a clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of post-traumatic stress. His work integrates developmental, neurobiological, psychodynamic and interpersonal aspects of the impact of trauma and its treatment.

Dr. van der Kolk and his various collaborators have published extensively on the impact of trauma on development, such as dissociative problems, borderline personality and self-mutilation, cognitive development, memory, and the psychobiology of trauma. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed scientific articles on such diverse topics as neuroimaging, self-injury, memory, neurofeedback, Developmental Trauma, yoga, theater, and EMDR. 

He is founder of the Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts and President of the Trauma Research Foundation, which promotes clinical, scientific, and educational projects. 

His 2014 #1 New York Times best seller, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Treatment of Trauma, transforms our understanding of traumatic stress, revealing how it literally rearranges the brain’s wiring – specifically areas dedicated to pleasure, engagement, control, and trust. He shows how these areas can be reactivated through innovative treatments including neurofeedback, somatically based therapies, EMDR, psychodrama, play, yoga, and other therapies.

Dr. van der Kolk is the past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and professor of psychiatry at Boston University Medical School. He regularly teaches at conferences, universities, and hospitals around the world.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Bessel van der Kolk is a professor at Boston University School of Medicine, the Director of the Trauma Center, and the National Complex Trauma Network. He receives royalties as a published author. Dr. van der Kolk receives a speaking honorarium, recording royalties, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Bessel van der Kolk has no relevant non-financial relationships with ineligible organizations.

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Objectives

1. Analyze the history of trauma theory and development of treatment interventions
2. Evaluate the impact of trauma on neurological structures and subsequent impairments in brain development
3. Analyze current approaches to trauma psychotherapy informed by brain imaging research
4. Inspect the role of varied brain structures in symptomatic expression of trauma and response to psychotherapeutic interventions

Outline

Effects of trauma on brain organization

            Attachment and brain development

            Impact of developing technologies – psychopharmacology

            Neuroimaging - implementation and limitations

Brain structure – sequelae of trauma

            Limbic system structures affected by trauma

                        Fear response unconscious, not subject to logical resolution

                        Trauma affects deepest areas of brain and basic bodily functions

Somatic approaches to healing deep brain function

            Effects of early trauma on disrupting brain development

            Development of self-perception and resilience

Therapeutic methods for clarifying self-perception

Brain structures associated with fear and threat response

            Therapeutic methods for accessing trauma related disruptions

Utility of varied approaches to trauma treatment, psychotheater, synchronization

Developmental process of synchronicity and responsiveness in children

            Case demonstration of separation response in early childhood

Impact of trauma on key brain structures underlying emotional regulation  

            Neuroimaging research findings

            The nature of traumatic memories – loss of sequence and time sense

            The nature of therapist response to client experience

            Case example – central importance of movement in therapeutic intervention

            Dissociation and alexithymia as persisting responses to trauma

            Case demonstration – expressions of neurocognitive alterations

Predictors of treatment outcome – psychotherapy dos and don’ts

            Historic antecedents of current therapeutic approaches

            Necessity of incorporating brain-body connections into trauma therapy

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