316 - Treating Complex Trauma Clients at the Edge: How Brain Science Can Inform Interventions

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Therapists often get shaken and lose confidence in their approach when a client’s trauma response edges into seemingly uncontrollable extremes of rage, panic, or suicidal desperation. This workshop provides an essential road map for treating relational trauma cases through a detailed exploration of the neurobiological processes of hyperarousal and parasympathetic withdrawal underlying extreme symptoms. You’ll discover:

• How to stay clear and calm while working with clients in extreme states
• The difference between a compassionate and empathic response, and how each can either benefit or escalate you client
• When it’s necessary to take over, be the “auxiliary brain” for your client, and work top-down, with the mind first, emotions next, and body sensations last
• When it’s best to slow down, hand over control, and work with the body