Looking back at our upbringing and how we learned to adapt in early relationships can help us make sense of our current behaviors. The "Healing Our Core Issues" model offers an exploration of our upbringing, as well as an experiential process for re-parenting those parts of ourselves that perhaps were not adequately parented when we were children. It is a more embodied process (operating on a different level from traditional "talk therapy," which tends to reside in the thinking/problem-solving part of our brain), where new neural pathways can be formed and contribute to lasting change. In conjunction with this process, we develop skills to be more functional, connected to others, and at peace in the present day. For more information about the "Healing Our Core Issues" model and the work of Jan Bergstrom, M.Ed, LMHC, SEP, and Dr. Rick Butts, LPCC-S, SEP, you can visit the website here: https://www.healingourcoreissuesinstitute.com/
Present-day triggers or over-reactivity can be connected to historical memories that were never properly processed, therefore becoming stuck in the limbic system, or the emotional/feeling part of our brain. These trigger responses can be very frustrating because no matter how hard we try to work on them or do things differently, they seem to come up over and over again. EMDR helps past memories become more adaptively stored in the prefrontal cortex, with a sense of resolution so we can move about our day with more ease, and frankly, just feel more like ourselves. EMDR can be used to process old memories as well as recent memories. Just as our bodies know how to heal ourselves, our minds know how to do the same. EMDR just helps that process along. https://www.emdria.org/
PRT helps identify pain and other symptoms that may have more of a mind/body origin. Just as our hearts race or our stomachs churn when we think of something stressful, many body sensations or symptoms we experience are connected to the mind. We tend to believe that pain comes from the flesh or from the body, but all pain is actually a message sent from the brain. Sometimes our brains misfire or create pain when there is nothing wrong with the body (a good example of this is phantom limb pain). People with more ACEs (or Adverse Childhood Experiences) tend to be more prone to chronic pain because our bodies are on higher alert to signs of danger. Pain is our brain’s way of telling us that we are not safe, so we need to protect ourselves. This is an evolving field. PRT uses hands-on techniques to re-teach the brain that it is actually safe and to reduce the fear of symptoms that has kept the symptoms locked in. https://www.painreprocessingtherapy.com/
EFT is a beautiful model that helps couples identify unhelpful patterns of communication and places where they seem to get stuck and disconnected. Often, there is so much happening beneath the surface in these moments (that is connected to our early attachments in life and ways we learned to respond to others). The process of EFT helps slow down these moments, to help each partner get a deeper understanding of what’s happening for the other person so they’re not simply reacting, but able to respond more attentively to one another. EFT is an experiential model, in that we create new experiences in session; not just problem-solving, but a new “felt sense” of empathy between partners that leads to more meaningful and lasting change. https://iceeft.com/
