Regardless of the kind of therapy we practice, the primary treatment goal with those who have suffered developmental trauma is affect regulation. Neurofeedback can teach brains how to quiet their own limbic eruptions and ease the pulses of fear, shame and rage that overtake these patients. Developmental trauma is, however, a relational disorder. At its core is the profound experience of motherlessness. This cannot be addressed by neurofeedback alone. With understanding, skill and neurofeedback, psychotherapists can begin to provide an experience of regulation that these patients have not had and with that an experience of having been mothered. This workshop will focus on what the therapist treating developmental trauma must know about the interplay of affect regulation and motherlessness, how neurofeedback can affect the therapy relationship for both patient and therapist and what to anticipate in the therapeutic relationship as you begin to quiet affect. We will touch on the latest developments in the neuroscience of trauma to better understand well- tested and newer protocols for those suffering the aftermath of developmental trauma.
We will then focus on the process of protocol assessment, initial and ongoing, as it takes place within the therapy relationship. We’ll look at the clinical issues that arise when we integrate neurofeedback and psychotherapy. We will discuss the critical issue of motherlessness and the lack of capacity to regulate affect and explore how this state of affairs bears on the nature of the patient’s expectations of the therapist and of neurofeedback. Sebern has been integrating neurofeedback with psychotherapy for almost 20 years and she will reflect throughout this workshop on how neurofeedback has changed her and her understanding of the therapeutic relationship. At least one year of experience with neurofeedback is recommended.
