Traumatic Experience and the Brain: A Handbook for Understanding and Treating Those Traumatized As Children

by Ziegler, Dave, Ph.D.

• ISBN13: 9781935089421
• ISBN10: 1935089420
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-08-15
• Publisher: Acacia Pub Inc

Summary

Traumatic Experience and the Brain is the result of Dr. Dave Ziegler's three decades of experience with children traumatized by abuse and/or neglect. Containing almost 100 pages of new material, this newly revised and updated second edition details the effect of trauma on the developing brain, describing how it actually rewires one's perceptions of self, others, and the world. It is a book of hope for foster, natural, and adoptive parents of such "broken" children and the therapists, teachers and social workers who attempt to help them. Dave Ziegler, M.S., Ph.D., is the director of Jasper Mountain, a residential treatment program in Oregon for some of society's most damaged children.

Author Biography

Dr. Dave Ziegler has seen, first hand, the effects on the brain of traumatic experiences during infancy and early childhood. As a result of his research and extensive experience with traumatized children, he describes in understandable terms the complex neural functioning of a very young brain. His work with trauma victims has exposed the formation of developmental psychopathology and the emotional triggers that are so resistant to change. His career is focused on ways to help traumatized individuals, and professionals who help them, learn new methods of healing deeply ingrained trauma. Dr. Ziegler is Executive Director of Jasper Mountain, a treatment program based in Oregon that treats some of society's most damaged children.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. 5
Foreword	p. i
The Blueprint of the Human Brain	p. 1
The Human Computer	p. 2
Neurons: The Building Blocks of the Brain	p. 7
The Main Centers of the Brain	p. 10
The Brain Stem	p. 11
The Diencephalon	p. 12
The Limbic System	p. 14
The Neocortex	p. 16
The Human Being-Least Suited of the Animal Kingdom for Independent Survival at Birth	p. 18
The Role of the Brain in Adaptation	p. 21
Use-Dependent Neurodevelopment	p. 21
Neuro Templates	p. 24
Core Processes of Neurodevelopment	p. 27
Memory and Adaptation	p. 29
The Purpose of Memory	p. 32
Types of Memory	p. 33
Treatment Implications	p. 36
Trauma and the Brain	p. 39
Adaptation	p. 44
Imprinting	p. 47
Sensitization	p. 50
Overactivation/Deprivation	p. 51
Effects of Trauma on the Body	p. 53
Treatment Implications	p. 56
The Effects of Trauma on Perception and Internal Experience	p. 59
Biological States Produced by Trauma	p. 59
Stuck in Survival Mode	p. 62
Absence of Self-Regulation Is Pervasive Among Traumatized Children	p. 62
Self-Aggression - Never Intended by Nature	p. 64
Perception of Retraumatization	p. 67
Deprivation of Experience	p. 68
Internalizers/Externalizers	p. 70
Trauma Response Continuum	p. 73
Treatment Implications	p. 76
Trauma and Self-Perception	p. 79
Inner Working Model of Self-Perception	p. 80
Set Points of Self-Perception	p. 87
Behaviors Produced by the Traumatized Self	p. 89
Treatment Implications	p. 90
How Traumatized Children Perceive Others	p. 93
Perceptual Inner Working Models of Others	p. 94
Safety Threat	p. 95
Interpersonal Threat	p. 98
Easy Mark	p. 102
Irrelevant	p. 104
Emotional Set Points Related to Others	p. 105
Treatment Implications	p. 108
The World View of Traumatized Children	p. 111
Inner Working Model of the World	p. 111
Emotions - From a Help to a Hindrance	p. 115
Negative Perceptions of the World Affect Behavior	p. 118
Treatment Implications	p. 119
From Neural Templates to Inner Working Models	p. 123
The Brain Is Built from Experience	p. 123
Neurons to Neural Networks to Neural Templates	p. 125
Experience to Memory to Inner Working Models	p. 127
Treatment Implications	p. 133
Four Case Examples - Understanding and Intervening	p. 135
Not So Crazy Mike	p. 135
Renee Put the "R" in Rage	p. 141
Brad's Brain Impairment	p. 146
Taming the Animal Within Tammy	p. 153
Treatment Can Make a World of Difference	p. 159
The Primary Ingredients of Trauma Therapy	p. 161
Trauma Is More Than a Diagnosis	p. 162
Trauma Is an Internal Experience	p. 163
Primary Goals of Trauma Therapy	p. 165
Cognitive Responses to Trauma	p. 165
Affective Responses to Trauma	p. 166
Behavioral Responses to Trauma	p. 167
The Ten Necessary Steps of Trauma Therapy	p. 169
Trauma Treatment is a Difficult but Rewarding Journey	p. 179
Neurological Reparative Therapy: A Roadmap for the Therapeutic Journey	p. 181
Neuro-transformation	p. 182
The Five Goals of NRT	p. 185
Facilitate Perceptual Changes of the Self, Others and the Child's Inner Working Model	p. 186
Enhance Neuro-integration	p. 191
Alter the Region of the Brain that Processes Information	p. 196
Facilitate Orbitofrontal Cortex Activation	p. 200
Neuro-template Development Through Repetitive Practice	p. 205
Neurological Reparative Therapy in Practice	p. 209
The Five Steps of NRT	p. 210
Assess the Extent and Causes of Neurological Impairment	p. 211
Identify Specific Cognitive, Emotional and Behavioral Problematic Impairments	p. 213
Implement Interventions Addressing the Identified Problematic Emotional and Behavioral Symptoms	p. 217
Decondition the Child's Stress Response Cycle Through Multiple Forms of Relaxation and Allostatic Training	p. 221
Environmental Enhancements Promoting the Building Blocks of Brain Development	p. 228
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