Foundations of Trauma
Laying out the groundwork for understanding trauma.
The Foundations of Trauma lecture and the optional CEU content
This lecture examines how we understand what trauma does to the mind and body and explores the rich history of trauma, as considered by some of the great thinkers of the western canon’s past. This foundational approach provides insights into our modern perceptions of and approaches to discussing, treating, and reimagining trauma and how it inhabits the body.
Foundations of Trauma focuses on the history and physiology of trauma. With insights from Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, Pierre Janet, and Ivan Pavlov, Dr. van der Kolk lays the groundwork for understanding how trauma is lived out in heart-breaking, gut-wrenching sensations and how traumatic experiences condition responses and predispose the traumatized to fixation on what happened to them. Because treating trauma requires more than talk, we will examine why we must manage states of hyperarousal with deep, visceral experiences in order to rewrite our internal maps of the world and restore a sense of safety. We will examine the role of interpersonal rhythms and attunement in establishing a sense of self and community and consider how trauma affects self-awareness and self-regulation.
Course duration 60 minutes
At the end of this lecture you will be able to
Discuss how we understand trauma in historical and cultural contexts
Identify ways in which the history of trauma and trauma research influence modern perceptions of trauma
Describe how key historical figures have contributed to modern perceptions of trauma
Compare contemporary treatment paradigms and their limitations
Discuss body-oriented treatment modalities
List two physiological changes that happen to the brains and bodies of traumatized people
Describe two critical ways that the brain and body communicate with each other
Critique barriers to treatment for traumatized people
Discuss the core issues of trauma
Vietnam, PTSD, and the DSM
PTSD is more than memories
Universality of trauma
Failure to acknowledge trauma
What trauma does to people
Trauma is persistent
Early experiences shape the mind
Dynamics of family life
The importance of synchrony
Resilience and community
Human connections
The consequences of an unstable family dynamic
The world through the lens of PTSD
What it means to be stuck in trauma
How trauma changes our perception of the world
The traumatized body
The relationship between trauma and medical conditions
Cultural responses to trauma
Restoring a sense of safety
Challenges with studying trauma
Brain scanners in studying trauma
How PTSD diminishes connections
Insights from Charles Darwin
Embodied emotion
The vagus nerve
The survival brain
The sensations trauma produces in our bodies
When parents traumatize
The vagus nerve is reciprocal
Self regulation
Insights from Pierre Janet
Fixation on trauma and how that translates to repeating and reliving the trauma
Insights from Sigmund Freud
Talk is important, but it is not enough
Insights from Ivan Pavlov
Conditioning and deconditioning
Helplessness is at the core of trauma
The importance of a sense of purpose