Adult Bullying: Under the Bully’s Mask

Posted by: Jonathan Delisle on June 10, 2015 8:33 am

Ever wonder why bullies bully? What’s their problem? That’s exactly the point… they are struggling with a problem. Bullying is an act of violence, and violence is an expression of anger. Bullies have an anger problem. Following Karyn Hall PhD’s thoughts (2012), the bully’s anger serves a few possible purposes: to protect himself, to control, and to connect:

Emotional Shield: Bullies fight hard to protect themselves from feeling powerless. As former victims themselves, they’ve had their share of feeling powerless. Anger is an empowering feeling that pushes them to break that all-too-familiar barrier of paralyzing fear.

Source of Control: Bullies fear to lose their victim as a scapegoat, which they desperately hold on to. Through anger, they can intimidate and manipulate others into submission to play the abuse game by their rules.

Safer Connection: Dr. Hall paraphrases Steven Stosny’s words on core hurts from his book Treating Attachment Abuse (1995): “He identifies core hurts, some of which are feeling ignored, unimportant, accused, guilty, untrustworthy, devalued, rejected, powerless, and unlovable”. These core hurts are the result of serious narcissistic injuries. They give rise to difficult emotions, such as fear, sadness, depression, vulnerability, etc. Anger then becomes a way of connecting with other people without having to deal with those difficult emotions.

Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

A Narrative Psychoeducational Introductory Tool for Trauma Work

Posted by: Trudi Wyatt on June 5, 2015 2:08 pm

Following emotional trauma, people may develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) such as flashbacks, avoidance of reminders of the event, negative cognitions or mood, and hypervigilance (1). Observing that some clients with these symptoms seek an understanding of why they experience them, David Leong, MA, LMFT, created and often starts off therapy with a “story” about the neurological effects of trauma on the brain (2). While David notes that his story (based on work by Dr. Dan Siegel) might be over-simplified, he finds his clients find it helpful. This post is a summary of the story:

The brain can be thought of as a fist: Your forearm leading up to it is the spinal cord, and the base of your palm is your “lizard” primitive brain, that manages such automatic body functions as heartbeat and sweating. Next, if you fold your thumb sideways across your palm, this is your mid-brain—your “limbic system.” It houses emotion, memory formation, and the “fight or flight” response. Two important structures within it are the amygdala, thought to be a key player in emotional/fear/implicit memories (3,4), and the hippocampus, thought to be a key player in converting information into memory codes (4). The “language” of the limbic system is emotions. Finally, if you fold your fingers over your thumb, you have your cerebral cortex, which speaks in words, and houses sense of time and explicit memory—a more abstract, gist-based, structural recording of episodes than implicit memory (3). Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

Posted by: Andrea Cashman on June 4, 2015 9:35 am

1 Reply

My thoughts and a brief introduction on Sensorimotor Therapy for Trauma Clients

In April, I attended a workshop on Trauma and the Body – The Theory and Practice of Sensorimotor Therapy presented by Anne Westcott on behalf of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute (SPI). I’m particularly interested in theories designed to implement treatment on trauma clients. This particular workshop opened a new realm of possibilities for me. I had my sights on becoming specialized in EMDR in the future but perhaps SPI’s three level certification program is another avenue to explore for me and for anyone seeking to work exclusively with trauma clients. I don’t necessarily believe that one theory is better than another; however, I do believe it is about what works for you the therapist and your clients. The Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute was founded by Pat Ogden in the 1980’s out of her interest in the correlation of client’s disconnections from their bodies/their physical patterns and their psychological issues. Before PTSD appeared in the DSM, Pat recognized that treatments in that time seemed to trigger traumatic reminders in a detrimental way. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP) is drawn from somatic theories, attachment theories, neuroscience, the Hakomi method and cognitive approaches. Pat Ogden quotes “most human behavior is driven by procedual memory – memory for process and function – and is reflected in habitual, automatic responses and well-learned action patterns: movements, postures, gestures, autonomic arousal patterns, and emotional and cognitive tendencies.” This SP workshop explores the processes of memory and how this information can be utilised to change procedural learning in a window of tolerance for the client with PTSD. Specific skills such as tracking and attuning the body are taught. Dysregulation is noted with trauma responses of fight, flight or freeze and how the neuroscience behind the sympathetic and parasympathetic brain structures play a role in these trauma responses. SP uses movement to move the client in a state of active mobilizing defenses into a state of triumph.
Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Riding the Elevator with Dr. Peter Levine

Posted by: Angela Herzog on June 3, 2015 2:06 pm

Leave a reply

There he was, the man I’ve studied from for the past five years. I have poured over his books and practiced his skills, and there he was, Dr. Peter Levine, the creator of Somatic Experiencing.
My heart was beating fast as I assessed the situation:

My colleague, myself — Levine and his wife.
Contained within four walls of a tiny elevator.
Levine — a foot across from me.

My thoughts colliding with each other, picking up momentum with each collision.

It’s Levine
Here’s my chance
It’s Levine
I can make contact
It’s Levine
Say something Angela

Nothing came out, but a sheepish grin as I stole a glance.

Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Do You Help People Heal From Traumatic Events? Part 2

Posted by: Lisa Shouldice on May 29, 2015 12:33 pm

Leave a reply

How To Set Up The First Sandtray Session

In my last blog I wrote about Sandtray Therapy (http://www.ccpa-accp.ca/blog/?p=4171) and how I find it is such a wonderful therapeutic technique to help heal traumatic events and related mental health issues. I sometimes hear therapists that are new to using Sandtray say that clients look at a tray of sand and tiny figures and feel the idea of playing in the sand is “weird” or childish. So I wanted to outline what a Sandtray session looks like and present tips on how to present it to clients.

For those of you who know little about Sandtray Therapy, Picture it…you walk into a room that has two comfortable chairs and a small table between them. On that small table is a tray or large bowl with sand in it. On a nearby table or placed on shelves are hundreds of tiny figures. These figures are a combination of everyday items that are miniscule ex. A house, chairs, animals…these figures also include mythical ones ex. mermaids and unicorns…and small sculptures that are more abstract. Some of these figures will fascinate you and some will feel odd or meaningless.

Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Adult Bullying: The Aftermath

Posted by: Jonathan Delisle on May 29, 2015 8:19 am

1 Reply

Living under the influence of a bully is no walk in the park, as we’ve seen in my last post. To add insult to injury, the battle doesn’t end with the realization of what’s happening or the desire to put an end to the abusive influence. There are consequences to deal with in the aftermath of the abuse. In her book Le harcèlement moral: la violence perverse au quotidien, Mrs. Hirigoyen lists four steps to the aftermath of bullying.

Shock: There is a crucial turning point in abusive relationships when the victim realizes what the bully was doing all this time. While being the first step towards liberation, that moment of enlightenment hits the victim like a tidal wave. From this point on, the victim relives every bullying moment in his/her mind, seeing for the first time the extent of the abusive nature of the relationship. This experience can be quite traumatizing. With it comes turbulence of emotions: hurt, helplessness, humiliation, and eventually anger when the shock wears off. Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Do You Help People Heal From Traumatic Events? Part 1

Posted by: Lisa Shouldice on May 14, 2015 8:22 am

Leave a reply

My work as a therapist has included working with clients that are present with abuse histories, and often complex trauma. I find this can take years to heal and is hard emotionally and spiritually on both the client and the psychotherapist. So enter my training in Sandtray therapy!

Sandplay is a wonderful technique that taps into the unconscious to access deep emotions and experiences that can then be healed in a gentle way. What I love about this technique is that the natural healing centre chooses unconsciously what and how deeply a person needs to heal something, sometimes surprising them. It can be used in a single session or every session until a person has met their goals. It is great if a client has expressed feeling “stuck”. It is also a way to connect with the elements and heal without talk as the central modality.

Using figures of a person’s choosing and the arrangement of the sand in the tray, your client becomes the “world builder,” and watches whatever reveals itself. It can be transformational helping to process grief, past hurts or help to identify and process what is causing or maintaining depressive and other mental health symptoms, enabling recovery. It provides the possibility, to set up a world corresponding to the clients’ inner emotional state. Through free, creative play, unconscious processes are made visible in visual form.

Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Tribute to Creative Art Practitioners Around the World

Posted by: Priya Senroy on May 1, 2015 8:47 am

Leave a reply

I am very optimistic that I will soon see a plethora of greenery outside my window even though Spring has been illusive in my garden. The buds, the birds and the weeds are finally getting out of their hibernation and my energy is getting renewed as I am planning my next steps in my work.

This month has been catastrophic in many parts of the worlds, especially in Nepal and it has resonated deeply as it’s a place that I have visited many times and when the tremors were felt as far as in India, it struck more as that’s where home is.

A part of me wants to jump on the next flight and join many organizations including Art therapy Without Borders to be part of the humanitarian work and use my skills for a cause which is beyond words for many.

I have done work with some PTSD but not directly been involved as other practitioners have during the deadly hurricanes, tsunamis or like the recent earthquake. When we talk about using creative arts or even counselling in such a broad spectrum, it’s important I think to remember the ways art can be used when words are not enough. It can be used as a compliment to assessment, to recovery, to healing. This is the time when creative arts can be transcultural, transformative and transnational, something that is advocated by Art Therapy Without Borders. Since I started practicing as a creative arts therapist in 1995, I have always been amazed by the flexibility, the adaptability, the ability to connect and the diversity of this field. Not only is the cultural and diverse fabric of the field is enriched by those who practice it , it’s the client group, it’s the techniques and it’s the materials which are constantly changing and adding to this melting pot of creativity.

This blog is a salute, a tribute and a standing ovation to the field, to the practitioners and to the world out there who believe in the power of creative art.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

MOT: SLCHG Pilot Project – “Out With the Old In With the New” [1]

Posted by: Linda AK Thompson on February 26, 2015 1:04 pm

Leave a reply

According to the old saying [native speaking], the traditional idiom, “Out with the old in with the new” is said around new years implying change, a letting go of the past with a natural understanding that what one faces in the current concept at hand has no rational explanation nor reference to belonging or material things. I know and totally get this idiom!

Transitioning out of the “regulated” helping professions and into a small practice in preparation for retirement, one’s golden oldie years, is an interesting shift. Reflecting upon one’s lifetime career, as I have been doing for the past two years is also an interesting process. I find myself recalling poignant words received from teacher’s throughout my 5 decades of service within the helping professions.

There have been no posts from me concerning trauma counselling and my last two posts: Collaborating and Simply Holding Healing Spaces. Much has transpired for me and I have been listening, consulting and contemplating, quite deeply this past 9 months, which is metaphorically the ideal time-span for delivery and birth of a new life. I did start this article back in September 2014 and have revised it many times, however, I am unable to achieve clarity on the contents, so I believe it is best to simply let it go and move on to my new year, focus, projects and service.

I am trying to find a photo of me from 1965, and as soon as I do I will begin to recall and reflect upon my teacher’s words and my career path, however most importantly, I do want to share with you how I am going to celebrate this professional milestone. It was suggested to me that perhaps, my career story might be an interest post.

Author: Linda AK Thompson, CCC Healing Trauma, Exit + Grief Counsellor
Owner, Matrix of Trauma (© MOT ™): Research, Advocacy, Healing

References:

www.usingenglish.com

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

SLCHG Project: SIMPLY HOLDING HEALING SPACES

Posted by: Linda AK Thompson on June 17, 2014 8:48 am

Leave a reply

SLCHG may be a small study, however, it provides a glimpse into the experiences of health care consumers regarding the ‘status quo’ of our health care system and use of collaborative teams in both the private and public health care systems. In my practice, I have been privy to work in both. One old controversial example that persists and noticeable at Intake is that candidates expressed reluctance to disclose historic and current use of CAM to their family physicians for fear of judgment, rejection and/or refusal to participate in their care plan, plus minimization of CAM beneficial effects including no discussions on the ‘placebo’ effect or mystical healings. I searched the net and found a great study on trends in use and attitudes from 1997 to 2006 concerning CAM written by Nadeem Eismail of the Fraser Institute

http://www.fraserinstitute.org/uploadedFiles/fraser-ca/Content/research-news/research/publications/complementary-alternative-medicine-in-canada-2007.pdf.

I witnessed professionals within the ‘traditional, publically funded medical health care system’ resistance to serve informed consenting patients [clients], who are self-directing their healing-to-cure programs utilizing choice, collaborators and blended treatment options. Some reasons for refusal to collaborate were:

1) Receiving reports via email is a violation of ‘physicians/surgeons’ code of ethics (?),

2) The physician in ‘independent practice’ can refuse to provide publically funded health care to a person, if he does not want to collaborate (?), and

3) The physician does not have to read reports submitted from professionals who operate outside of the publically funded system (?). This project has a fee schedule and the client pays for this collaborative service.

Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA