How Brain Science Can Inform Interventions

Frank Anderson

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 difficult 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
• When it’s necessary to be the “auxiliary brain” for your client
• When to slow things down and hand over control vs. when you need to be bigger than the extreme symptom
• When to work from the top-down and when to work from the bottom-up

Frank Anderson, MD, is a psychiatrist as well as a psychotherapist. He’s the executive director of the Foundation for Self Leadership and a supervisor at the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute.