Full Course Description

Rewire the Anxious Brain: Neuroscience-Informed Treatment of Anxiety, Panic and Worry

Program Information

Objectives

Ascertain the underlying neurological processes that impact anxious symptoms for clients.
Develop client engagement in treatment using personalized goals and attending to the therapeutic relationship.
Evaluate the differences between amygdala-based and cortex-based anxiety symptoms and identify how these symptoms inform treatment interventions.
Communicate strategies for calming and training the amygdala in order to alleviate symptoms of anxiety.
Implement methods for teaching clients to retrain the cortex so that anxiety is resisted rather than exacerbated.
Analyze how psychotropic medication impacts neuroplasticity in the brain; identify related treatment implications.

Outline

Use Neuroscience in the Treatment of Anxiety

Positives:
- We know more about anxiety-based disorders than any other disorders
- Science gives explanations, evidence, authority, destigmatizes difficulties
Concerns:
- It can be difficult to explain, answer questions
- Clients may feel a lack of responsibility
- Oversimplification is inevitable

Enhancing Engagement in Treatment

Don’t neglect the therapeutic relationship!
Address the challenges of anxious clients
Remember that strategies are effortful
Guide the process using client’s goals
Maintain motivation

Neuroplasticity

Define Neuroplasticity in everyday language
Therapy is about creating a new self
”Rewiring” as an accessible concept for change
Re-consolidation: the modification of emotional memories

Identify Two Neural Pathways to Anxiety

Amygdala – bottom-up triggering of emotion, physicality of anxiety
Cortex – top-down emotion generation based in cognition
Explain the two pathways to clients
How anxiety is initiated in each pathway and how pathways influence each other

Client Friendly Explanations

Use illustrations to create concrete understanding
Fight/flight/freeze responses
The “language of the amygdala”
Anxiety and the cortex
Help clients recognize the two pathways to anxiety

Neuroplasticity in the Amygdala (Essential for all Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, OCD, Depression)

Sleep and the amygdala
The influence of exercise
Breathing techniques to reduce activation
Relaxation, meditation, and yoga to modify responses
Exposure as opportunities for the amygdala to learn
Combatting avoidance
When anxiety indicates that the amygdala can learn new responses
Push through anxiety to change the amygdala

Neuroplasticity in the Cortex (Essential for GAD, SAD, OCD, PTSD, Depression)

”Survival of the busiest” principle – strengthen or weaken specific circuitry
The healthy (adaptive) use of worry in the cortex
”You can’t erase: You must replace”
Recognize and modify the impact of uncertainty
Training correct uses of distraction
Left hemisphere techniques – cognitive defusion, coping thoughts, fighting anticipation
Right hemisphere techniques – imagery, music
Mindfulness and anxiety resistances

Neuroplasticity and Medications for Anxiety Disorders, OCD, PTSD, Depression

Medication’s effects in the rewiring process
The myth of the chemical imbalance
The danger of sedating the brain with benzodiazepines
Promoting neuroplasticity with SSRIs, SNRIs
The effectiveness of CBT and meds

Moving Beyond Diagnostic Categories to Focus on Anxiety Pathways

Anxiety is a component of many diagnoses (depression, substance abuse, etc.)
Amygdala – and cortex-based techniques help in other disorders
Targeting brain-based symptoms rather than disorders
Worry, obsessions, rumination respond to similar cortex-based techniques
Panic, phobic responses, and compulsions respond to amygdala-based techniques

Research, Risks and Limitations

Empirical versus clinical and anecdotal evidence
Clinical considerations for specific clients and settings
Efficacy of particular interventions may vary

Target Audience

Social Workers
Psychologists
Counselors
Case Managers
Addiction Counselors
Therapists
Nurses
Speech Language Pathologists
Occupational Therapists
Occupational Therapist Assistants
Marriage & Family Therapists
Other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 04/28/2020

Ten Best-Ever Anxiety Treatment Techniques

Program Information

Target Audience

Social Workers
Psychologists
Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapist
Case Managers
Addiction Counselors
Therapists
Nurses
Other Mental Health Professionals

Outline

Assessment and Differential Diagnosis

The causes of panic, generalized anxiety and social anxiety that help select treatment
Differential diagnosis in children – ADD and ASD
Treatment approaches that change brain function for long-lasting recovery
The impact of insomnia in generalized anxiety

Techniques That Work to Modulate Physiology

The right way to teach and use diaphragmatic breathing
Develop the 4 competencies of stress management
Utilize different types of relaxation and discuss their use in different types of anxiety disorders
Four important lifestyle changes everyone can make to reduce anxiety

Techniques for Treating Cognitive Problems of Anxiety and Panic

The best thought-replacement methods for worry and rumination
Clear the mind of ruminative and racing thoughts
Know when anger triggers anxiety and how to work with it in worried clients
How to stop worry before it happens

Techniques for Managing Social Anxiety

Apply the “Three Deep Breaths and Good Preparation” model to construct treatment goals for social anxiety
Structure cognitive change through planned “counter-cognitions”
Apply ‘in vivo exposure’ techniques that optimize recovery from social anxiety

Limitations of the Research and Potential Risks

Controlled studies on the human brain structure and function are limited by challenges of studying the brain in action
New studies continually modify our understanding of how neurotransmitters interact and affect cognition, emotion and behavior
There are no significant risks associated with Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Assessment of an individual’s capacity to understand and utilize an intervention should always precede employment of the technique

Objectives

Determine the neurobiological causes of panic, generalized anxiety, and social anxiety and ascertain how this information impacts treatment decisions.
Implement strategies for stress management to reduce symptoms of anxiety in clients, including lifestyle changes, cognitive interventions and time management tools.
Perform effective use of diaphragmatic breathing techniques for physiological modulation in the treatment of anxiety.
Demonstrate how the process of memory reconsolidation can be utilized to reduce reactivity to trauma cues, including shame trauma, that trigger social anxiety or panic attacks and sets up effective exposures to promote rapid recovery.
Integrate specific clinical techniques to address persistent worry and understand how this changes the neurobiology of ruminative thought patterns in clients.
Utilize cognitive therapy interventions with clients to manage perfectionism, procrastination and rigid approaches to problems.

Objectives

Determine the neurobiological causes of panic, generalized anxiety, and social anxiety and ascertain how this information impacts treatment decisions.
Implement strategies for stress management to reduce symptoms of anxiety in clients, including lifestyle changes, cognitive interventions and time management tools.
Perform effective use of diaphragmatic breathing techniques for physiological modulation in the treatment of anxiety.
Demonstrate how the process of memory reconsolidation can be utilized to reduce reactivity to trauma cues, including shame trauma, that trigger social anxiety or panic attacks and sets up effective exposures to promote rapid recovery.
Integrate specific clinical techniques to address persistent worry and understand how this changes the neurobiology of ruminative thought patterns in clients.
Utilize cognitive therapy interventions with clients to manage perfectionism, procrastination and rigid approaches to problems.

Copyright : 08/23/2018

2-Day Intensive Training: Mindfulness Certification Course

Program Information

Objectives

Review the empirical support concerning the clinical applications of mindfulness.
Utilize easy to understand language to describe how mindfulness affects the neurological processes underlying clinical disorders.
Assess for potential contraindications for the use of mindfulness with clients.
Apply mindfulness skills to strengthen the therapeutic alliance.
Employ mindfulness practices to impact the stress reaction and shift clients to a relaxation response.
Use the mindfulness skills of awareness and metacognition to counter automatic thought patterns related to anxiety and depression.
Apply loving-kindness meditations to increase client well-being and relationship quality.
Practice the use of R.A.I.N. (Recognize, Accept, Investigate, Non-Attachment) to identify triggers and work with cravings that could lead to addiction relapse.
Utilize present-moment awareness and deep breathing practices to manage physiological and emotional anger responses.
Employ grounding techniques and breathing exercises to increase feelings of safety in traumatized clients.
Integrate brief mindfulness practices into clinical treatment to improve client engagement.
Demonstrate the three steps of the Giving and Receiving Self-compassion practice to increase clinician presence and improve clinical outcomes.
Adapt mindfulness practices for diverse populations to improve clinical efficacy.

Outline

Mindfulness and the Clinician:
“Know What You Teach” and “Teach What You Know”

Empirical support for improved symptomology and well-being
The latest research on therapists who practice mindfulness
Your mindfulness practice and how you can embody mindfulness
Situations that may contraindicate applying mindfulness in session
Research limitations

Mindfulness Psychoeducation Approaches:
Easy to Use Strategies to Enhance Motivation in Therapy

Mindfulness vocabulary
Visuals and metaphors to explain mindfulness
Motivate clients with neuroplasticity

Deepen the Therapeutic Relationship:
Build Presence, Trust and Empathetic Connection with Clients

Overcoming barriers
Affect regulation techniques for therapist and client
Strategies to create empathetic connection
Exercises to build clients trust in themselves

Teach Mindfulness to Clients:
Formal and Informal Mindfulness Practices

Tips for teaching clients about the senses and awareness
Strategies to shift from “Automatic Pilot”
Skill building interventions to increase responsiveness & reduce reactivity
Strategies to cultivate attunement
Approaches for deepened experience of mindfulness
Brief and other informal practices
How to adapt practices to special populations

Group Therapy vs. Individual Sessions

Effectiveness of group vs. individual mindfulness
How to set up and conduct a mindfulness group
- Screening for individual goodness of fit
- Encouraging client buy-in and commitment to practice
Mindfulness interventions specifically designed for groups

Anxiety and Stress:
Mindfulness Interventions to Relax the Body and Mind

Breathing practices that break the rumination cycle
Guided visualizations to lower the stress response
Movement strategies
Multi-sensory regulation techniques
Mindfully reduce the intensity of panic attacks

Mindfulness for Trauma:
Disempower Intrusive Thoughts

Muscle tension releasing – exercises to counter fight or flight
Guided meditations to disempower intrusive thoughts
Grounding exercises and sample scripts

Using Mindfulness in Depression Treatment

Recognize self-criticism and respond with self-love
Manage negative self-talk with awareness of thoughts
Meditations to boost well-being

Mindfulness for Addictions: Break the Habit Loop

Awareness vs. autopilot -- relapse prevention
Mindfulness for triggers
Emotional regulation for cravings

Mindful Anger: Breathing and Self-Soothing Techniques

Breathe through anger
Distraction and grounding techniques
Self-soothe with calming words and imagery

Mindfulness, Diversity, & Cultural Humility

Adapt mindfulness experiences with cultural sensitivity
Assess appropriateness of mindfulness interventions for individuals
Negotiate the treatment plan

Mindfully Conquer Compassion Fatigue

Right here/right now – stay in the moment to reduce anxieties
Effective and healthy ways to manage your emotions
Change limiting stories about caring for yourself
Release the negative – 3 steps to countering negativity bias

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
Marriage and Family Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Case Managers
School Counselors
Nurses
Other Mental Health Professionals