Getting to know protective parts of ourselves: An IFS (Internal Family Systems) Therapy Exercise
In Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy, there is an assumption that all humans have different parts of themselves. Have you ever said to yourself something like, "A part of me feels like…but another part of me thinks…." You have? Congrats, you're a normal person. With different parts, or facets, of your personality.
It can be an enriching and healing process to go inside and interact with these different parts of us, to give attention to them and interact with them as if they are another character inside us with their own opinions, beliefs, and priorities.
Prominent in most people's inner worlds are characters we might call Protectors. These parts have priorities to protect you from pain. These parts have great intentions (who doesn't want to avoid pain?), but often can result in some difficult behaviors that get in the way. For example, a perfectionistic part of me likes to say, "I don't need to start this activity until I have the time to devote in order to make it perfect." This part is trying to protect me from failure and rejection if I don't do things just right. But that gets in the way! Sometimes I just need to get things done whether they end up being great, or just good enough.
The following exercise helps you get to know one of these protective parts of your system. Look inside and communicate with this part of you.
Think of a time that you reacted in a certain way to an event--a reaction that was not grounded in compassion, gentleness, wisdom or clarity. Maybe it's a time you reacted in anger-- that's an angry part of you. Maybe it's a time where you exhibited people pleasing--this might be a people pleaser part of you. Other times it might be an intellectual part. Or an anxious part. Or an inner critic.
Think about this part of your personality. Where in your body do you notice this part showing up? (Examples: an anxious part might show up in butterflies in the stomach. Or when thinking about an angry part, you might notice your fists balling up.)
Focus on this part. Turn your attention inside.
Can you imagine seeing this part? What does it look like? Sound like? Do you imagine it doing something when you see it?
How do you feel toward this part?
Often here another part of us, sometimes a critical part, will jump in and influence these thoughts.
In this exercise, we are trying to let True Self emerge so that the Real You can interact with this other part of you. True Self looks like this:
Calm
Clarity
Compassion
Creativity
Connectedness
Courage
Curiosity
Confidence
If your impulse towards this part of you isn't characterized by the above 8 C's, another part is jumping in to influence the process. Gently ask if this other part can step to the side right now so you can connect with the target part while embodying the above 8 C's of the True Self.
Befriend the part by finding out more about it. You can ask questions of this part like the following:
How did it get this role?
If it didn't have to do this role, what would it rather do?
How old is it?
How old does it think you are?
What else does it want you to know?
What does this part fear?
What does it want for you?
What would happen if it stopped doing its job?
In these kind of parts interactions, it is important to remember to interact with this part as you would interact with someone else you're meeting for the first time. You want to be kind, open, curious, and benevolent, because you are interested to get to know this part, and you don't want to be rude.
For further exercises like this one, I highly recommend the book No Bad Parts, by Richard Schwartz, PhD. https://www.amazon.com/No-Bad-Parts-Restoring-Wholeness/dp/1683646681/ref=sr_1_1?crid=KZ6GBOWEB7BC&keywords=no+bad+parts&qid=1656514933&sprefix=no+bad+parts%2Caps%2C112&sr=8-1
Written by: Mary Beth Stevens, M.Ed, LPC, BCN
What a Trauma Therapist Learns from Their Clients
Perseverance
Many of our clients come to us after years of trying talk therapy. Upon hearing that we do things a little differently here, they decide to try again with a new approach. That act alone is amazing-- that they can hold out enough hope to try a new thing. They keep sticking with it and find that there are practical ways we can assist their brain in healing itself. But they can't just come to a few sessions and experience the full benefit. They have to apply themselves, keep coming week after week, and keep hammering away at the blockages in their lives. The work required in the healing process is immense. The most successful of our clients are those that know they can't just expect to work hard for an hour a week and all will be well. They go home and apply things every single day. They commit to a new way of life. Nothing changes if nothing changes. This perseverance inspires me to keep applying the same healing principles in my own life, and not to slack off and expect my own therapist to do all the work for me, because it just doesn't work that way.
Creativity
In working with trauma, there tends to be a lot of imagination and imagery used, to bring in different resources to the client's inner experience. This has allowed me to see inside the imaginative world of clients like no other. Clients have allowed me to understand intimate moments between them and their younger selves or what it feels like for them to be at their most peaceful. I've seen monsters, healing figures, perfect imaginary worlds of fulfillment, and sacred boxes containing their most wounded selves. The innate wise self in each of my clients takes on such different forms but is uniquely creative and knows just what they need. It's a bit like reading a great novel, where the author has created a beautiful and complex world of creatures and characters. I get to visit these worlds, where my own mind is exposed to new ideas and is invited to grow.
Courage
Nothing inspires me to keep courage in my own life and healing process quite like my clients. The things we look at to reprocess in therapy are often dark and difficult, but they have seen what the other side can be like--being free from their past experiences and set free to enjoy what Is, now. So they dig deep and walk forward with me into the darkness. While there may be tears in that darkness, the darkness starts to let up, and they walk out into a clearing with lots of light. It's a terribly beautiful thing to witness, but what amazes me most is their grit to go there in the first place. It's not easy, but it is good.
Keep going. I'm here for it.
Written by: Mary Beth Stevens, M.Ed, LPC, BCN
How to Sit with Your Feelings, Instead of Avoiding Them
In therapy, we typically teach resources to better cope with emotions. What I’ve noticed is that people often end up suppressing emotions rather than coping with them. This can easily be done when using coping strategies like compartmentalizing and distraction. People will distract from the issue and then never come back to deal with it. The issue with this is that suppressing emotions can lead to increased shame, mental health symptoms, and physical stress on your body.
I’ve had many clients come to me after practicing coping resources and saying that they were able to distract or compartmentalize, but they don’t know now how to go back and deal with the emotion. This is when I like to guide them through this exercise:
1. Where does this emotion sit in your body?
E.g., Anxiety sits in my stomach
Identifying the physical location of emotions can be helpful in gaining insight into what body sensations align with specific emotions.
2. Describe what this emotion looks like: size, shape, color, texture, movement
E.g., My anxiety looks like a pencil scribble in the shape of a ball, with no beginning or end, moving but staying in place.
Being able to describe and/or visualize emotions can help give you some power over being able to get this emotion in your control.
3. Take this image of the emotion and “place” it somewhere in the physical space around you where you can “see” it.
E.g., I’m holding the ball of anxiety in my hands in front of me.
Being able to take this emotion and view it objectively can take some of the power this emotion has away by allowing you to see it as a part of something other than yourself.
4. How old is this emotion? (At what age did this emotion first develop/what is the earliest memory you have of feeling this?)
E.g., I remember feeling this when I was taking swimming lessons when I was 5.
Identifying the age that this emotion developed could help develop some compassion for yourself in feeling this.
5. If this emotion had a positive purpose when you were five years old, what might it be?
E.g., It was trying to warn me that jumping into a deep pool could be dangerous.
Identifying the purpose of emotions can help you develop a sense of gratitude in knowing that in the early development of emotions, they would be adaptive if given the proper environment to process.
6. With this knowledge, does this emotion look any different now?
E.g., It’s moving more slowly and it’s more of a wavy looking line rather than a jumbled ball.
Sometimes being able to develop compassion for yourself and gratitude for the original purpose of emotions can make the strength of the emotion lessen in the moment.
7. Bring this emotion back to where it is typically stored in your body and utilize another coping resource if the emotion is still too strong.
E.g., I’m no longer visualizing the emotion in my hands, and it is now sitting back in my stomach.
Many times, you will notice that sitting with your emotions can help lessen the strength of them in the moment. It’s often difficult to allow yourself to feel emotions, as many of us are taught to “suck it up” and move on. You’ll soon realize that when you allow yourself to feel instead of suppress, emotions will hold less power over you.
Written by: Olivia Clark, LPC, BCN
How Neurofeedback Has Helped Me Personally
I’ve done neurofeedback at least twice a week for over a year in both forms that we offer here at Alternative Therapeutics. Every person is vastly different in how they will respond to neurofeedback training, but I thought it might be helpful to offer some real-life examples of how things can change. For more case examples, check out the book Neurofeedback 101 here.
1. Greater focus, concentration, and follow through on tasks
It’s much easier for me to follow through on tasks I know I need to do. I can sit down and finish something with greater efficiency and intention. That space in between, “I know I need to do something” and “I am doing that something” is smaller—I jump in there before procrastinating the task endlessly.
2. Decreasing use of psychiatric medications
With strong family history of depression, I was on antidepressants as a support for many years. With neurofeedback training, I felt strong enough to wean down off of these medications. This has been a great personal triumph for me.
3. Stabilization of emotional reactions
One of my favorite examples of this is when something frustrating happens in traffic. Instead of yelling alone in my car at the idiot who decides to slam on their brakes randomly, it rolls off of me like water off a duck’s back. I am able to recognize frustration but not get swept away into it, drowning in my own emotional reactions.
4. Greater ability to examine past traumas
Instead of getting overwhelmed at certain memories, I can look at them with acceptance, without getting overwhelmed. Neurofeedback works in part by stabilizing the nervous system. So instead of my nervous system getting overactivated, I am better able to keep homeostasis even as I think through emotionally difficult topics.
5. The ability to read a book
Okay, that sounds extreme. I can read books. But sitting down and just reading a book took a lot of effort for me before neurofeedback. The other night I sat down to read a nonfiction book that I had been intending to read for a while and sat there for a full hour, undistracted. That never happened before neurofeedback.
6. More positive outlook
This was one of the first and most noticeable things I noticed from neurofeedback training. It’s like my brain takes hold of positive thoughts instead of negative ones more often than before. This has led to a less depressive outlook on life in general, which contributed to #2 above.
7. Peak performance
I graduated with my master’s degree, studied for and passed my licensure exam, completed the licensure process, took a neuroscience course, started a new caseload, got trained in EMDR therapy, and completed my board certification for neurofeedback within a span of 2 months this year. I was also hitting neurofeedback training super hard during this time. I was efficient, focused, and goal oriented. This is not a typical standard of performance for me. I am more of the take it easy type than a super driven performer. But I was able to maintain focus on my goals and follow through with excellence. I believe I was able to perform these tasks smoothly without exhaustive effort because of neurofeedback’s incredible effects on my brain.
I always say everyone can benefit from neurofeedback. We can’t predict what it’ll do for you, the timeline it would occur in, or that it would work in the same way as it did for me. But I can say it is worth a try. You never know what might become a possibility.
Written by: Mary Beth Stevens, M.Ed., LPC, BCN
How to Find the Right Therapist for You
One of the most difficult parts of therapy is reaching out to get started. I wanted to write this blog for those who are thinking about reaching out, but aren’t sure where to start! Here are a few things you should know when looking to find a therapist that is right for you.
1. One of the easiest resources to help find a therapist is psychologytoday.com. You type in your zip code, and the therapists that show in the results are located within 5 miles. From there, you can filter further by the type of insurance you have, specific types of therapy, and more.
2. It can be helpful to know what therapist credentials mean since there are quite a few options! The CSWMFT Board can be a great resource to learn more about specific credentialing. Don’t worry, I’ve taken the information from their website (cswmft.ohio.gov) and summarized it here:
Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC, LPCC, LPCC-S) have specialized knowledge, education, and training in the fields of human behavior, counseling principles, counseling methods and problem solving.
LPC: Licensed Professional Counselor- a therapist with this license has earned a master’s degree in counseling and passed the licensure exam.
LPCC: An LPC may upgrade to a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) after completing two years of training experience under the supervision of an LPCC-S.
LPCC-S: Supervising Counselor- a therapist with this license has at least one year of post LPCC experience and additional continuing education hours in clinical supervision.
All Licensed Professional Counselors must complete 30 hours of continuing education every two-year renewal period.
Licensed Social Workers (LSW, LISW) have specialized knowledge, education and training in the fields of human development and behavior, methods of social intervention, social welfare and policy and social work theory.
LSW: Licensed Social Worker- a therapist with this credential has at least a bachelor’s degree in social work and has passed the national exam.
LISW: An LSW may upgrade to a Licensed Independent Social Worker (LISW) after completing two-year post-master’s supervised experience and pass the national exam.
All Licensed Social Workers must complete 30 hours of continuing education every two-year renewal period.
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT, IMFT) have specialized knowledge, education and training in the fields of human behavior, marriage and family studies, appraisal of individuals and families, and problem solving.
MFT: Marriage and Family Therapist- a therapist with this license has earned a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and passed the national exam.
IMFT: An MFT must complete a two-year post-graduate supervised experience period before becoming an Independent Marriage and Family Therapist (IMFT).
To keep their licenses, all MFTs must complete 30 hours of continuing education each two-year renewal period.
3. Another piece of information that will be helpful to know is the different types of therapies offered. Here are some common therapies you may see listed in your search:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapy treatment that helps people learn how to identify and change destructive or disturbing thought patterns that have a negative influence on behavior and emotions.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy treatment that was originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories. After successful treatment with EMDR therapy, emotional distress is relieved, negative beliefs are reformulated, and physiological arousal is reduced.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a modified type of CBT. Its main goals are to teach people how to live in the moment, develop healthy ways to cope with stress, regulate their emotions, and improve their relationships with others.
Play Therapy is a method of therapy that uses play to uncover and deal with psychological issues, primarily used with children.
Neurofeedback (not so common) is a cutting edge, non-invasive, research supported approach for teaching the brain to function in a more balanced and healthy way. Individuals learn to self-regulate their own brain wave patterns through a learning process which can help improve many symptoms including mood, anxiety, sleep, relationships, memory and ability to focus on accomplishing goals.
4. Read bios of different therapists on Psychology Today, or on the company’s website. You might be able to get a feeling of which therapist might be a good fit for you. Usually, the bios will explain any specializations they may have, or populations that they work with most.
5. Once you choose a therapist, go for a few sessions before deciding if they are a good fit or not. The first session is always the intake and is filled with a lot of questions and a lot of information. It may take a few sessions to begin to feel more comfortable and get an idea of the therapist’s personal counseling style.
6. It’s okay to “shop around”. If you go to a few sessions, and still feel like the therapeutic relationship doesn’t quite click, it’s okay to ask for a different therapist at that company or find a new therapist elsewhere.
Written by: Olivia Clark, MA, LPC, BCN
5 Reasons You Should Try EMDR Therapy
EMDR, also known as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a revolutionary trauma-focused therapy designed to help people gain freedom from their traumatic experiences that have come to define how they approach life. Don’t get tripped up by the word trauma—trauma can be big events that we typically think of (e.g., bad car accidents, war combat, or sexual abuse), or less dramatic events that can impact us just as much (e.g. dysfunctional family dynamics, hurtful childhood experiences, or job loss).
Trauma is anything that your nervous system experiences as too much too soon, or too little for too long—when things are overwhelming. These experiences are then stored maladaptively in your body and brain, causing trouble. Everyone experiences trauma in some form and is impacted by their past, whether they’re aware of it or not. Here’s some reasons why you might consider trying this form of therapy for yourself.
1. You want freedom from your difficult past experiences
Many of us are triggered (again, whether we’re fully aware of it or not), by our past experiences in daily life. EMDR allows your body to fully process and re-digest the traumatic experience. The memory literally moves locations in your brain: from raw emotional memory storage to long term memory storage where it belongs. When this happens, your brain understands that the past is truly in the past, instead of experiencing it as a present reality (the feeling of being triggered).
2. You are sick of the same old patterns repeating in your life
Traumatic experiences create reactions in the brain that build templates for how we will act in the future. EMDR Therapy is designed to allow you to let go of those past experiences and create templates for better functioning in the future.
3. You find it hard to talk about (or remember!) your traumatic experiences
One of the coolest things about EMDR is that it doesn’t require you to go into detail about what has happened to you. It’s not necessary for your therapist to know all the nitty gritty details. You can keep those to yourself if you want, and the work can still be just as effective. This is also relevant for those whose memories around their trauma might be hazy. EMDR works with how the brain naturally stores traumatic memories, which involves body sensations, emotions, negative beliefs, and sensory experiences, not just autobiographical movie clip-type memory playback.
4. You want a natural approach to healing
Many clients come to us because of our focus on holistic, natural methods to healing. EMDR is as natural as you can get. EMDR therapists simply make the conditions right for your brain to be able to heal itself. This is why healing from EMDR is so deep and transformative. The body is able to work out the trauma, and the insights and new perspectives you’ll get are coming from your own mind—not the therapist’s.
5. You’ve tried talk therapy and it isn’t cutting it
EMDR is very efficient and powerful. Every 1 year of EMDR Therapy is about equivalent to 3 years of traditional talk therapy. I often get reports of how much EMDR has changed someone’s life in just a few weeks, after doing years and years of regular talk therapy elsewhere. EMDR is designed to get to the very root of your problems, instead of addressing symptoms of those problems. This ends up being more cost efficient, too, which is always a good thing.
Check out our page on EMDR for more information.
By Mary Beth Stevens, M.Ed., LPC, BCN
Can Neurofeedback Help with Covid Long-Haul Symptoms?
In a March 2021 Journal of Clinical Medicine article, researchers discuss findings related to shifts in EEG patterns in the brains of patients with Covid-19. Overall, they found changes in function in the frontal lobe of the brain as well as abnormal increases in slow wave Delta and Theta activity.
Common lingering symptoms of COVID-19 include:
- Headaches
- Altered Consciousness
- Slowed Thinking, Poor Concentration, Brain Fog,
- Fatigue, Insomnia, Sleep Disturbances
- Depression, Anxiety, PTSD
- Obsessive-Compulsive Behaviors
Much of the research indicates that patients suffering from COVID-19 may develop encephalopathy. Encephalopathy means damage or disease that impacts the brain. These impacts can be manifested as a slowing down of thinking processes, memory impairment, personality changes, impaired concentration and sleep disorders.
If these effects and changes can be measured via EEG, it is reasonable to infer that EEG training via neurofeedback therapy may be of benefit to these patients suffering with post-COVID brain symptoms.
Nationally recognized neurologist (and neurofeedback supporter), Dr. Majid Fotuhi, MD, PhD suggests the importance of better assessment, documentation and treatment of neurological manifestations of the COVID-19 disease, and to keep in mind that patients who survive, may continue to have long-term brain deficits. Him and other experts in the field have suggested that neurofeedback therapy may be a helpful solution to getting patients back to pre-COVID functioning.
If you or someone you love are suffering from Covid Long-Haul symptoms, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Written by: Britney Cirullo, MA, LPCC-S, LICDC, BCN
Olivia's Top 10 Favorite Self-Care Strategies
Everybody knows that self-care is important, but it’s often marketed as getting your nails done, taking a bath, having a facial. These things definitely count, but self-care isn’t always…
Everybody knows that self-care is important, but it’s often marketed as getting your nails done, taking a bath, having a facial. These things definitely count, but self-care isn’t always pampering and fun! Here are 10 of my favorite self-care strategies ranging from free and time-conscious to budgeting a little more time and money for myself!
1. Snuggling with my cats (free, 5-10 minutes)
Pets are a great with helping to decompress and de-stress after a long day. They are non-judgmental, will listen without interruption, won’t tell you what you don’t want to hear, and have unconditional love for you. Plus, there is research to show that a cat’s purr alone can help humans with stress relief. My younger cat always greets me at the door if she hears me coming, and my older cat is always on my bed to greet me with a meow.
2. Limiting my time to complain (free, 5 minutes)
Sometimes, complaining is a good way to vent and let out some frustration. I noticed, though, that I used to complain A LOT. To the point that I would get MORE frustrated from continuing to bring up the frustration that I was feeling so often. So, I came up with the idea to give myself a limited amount of time to complain, and then I would drop it and not talk about it again.
I want to specify that I use this for more trivial things and things that are out of my control, like complaining about the person on the highway that cut me off, or a person at the grocery store who kept stopping in front of me with their cart in the middle of the aisle. For things that are more important to me, like something to do with a personal relationship, I make sure to communicate with the person I am frustrated with.
3. Cleaning my house (free, 15-60 minutes)
I am not a huge fan of cleaning. Actually, I kind of hate it. However, I noticed on the days I work from home, I cannot concentrate and get anything done if my house is a mess. So, I make sure to reserve some time to tidy up a little bit- making sure the sink is clear of dirty dishes, or the litter box is clean. Knowing my house is more organized, helps me concentrate better and makes my mind feel more organized.
4. Going on a walk (free, 10-30 minutes)
Everybody knows that exercise is not only good for physical health, but good for mental health as well. I often lack the motivation to go to the gym to exercise. Usually, I find that I have more motivation to go outside and take a walk. I don’t have to change my clothes, I can go on my lunch break at work, I can enjoy the evening outside when I get home, it doesn’t take up a big chunk of my time if I don’t want it to. So, even on the weeks when I don’t have motivation to get a more strenuous workout in, I always feel good when I get outside- even for a short walk.
5. Reading before bed (free with a library card, 15-60 minutes)
During grad school, and shortly after, I wanted to read for fun, but I had absolutely zero motivation to pick up a book. I felt that this is something I wanted to do because I always enjoyed getting lost in a book when I was young. So, I decided to make it a routine to read for at least fifteen minutes every night before bed, and now I have been through more books in the past 4 months than I have in the past 4 years. And, as another bonus, it gets me away from mindlessly scrolling on my phone, giving my brain a chance to calm down before I fall asleep!
6. Personal training (splurge but worth it, 60 minutes)
As I mentioned before, I often lack the motivation to go to the gym, even though it is something I actually do enjoy. I began personal training a while ago because I wanted mentoring for beginning strength training rather than just doing some body weight exercises. I don’t feel that I need the mentoring as much now as the accountability. Having a commitment to a personal trainer keeps me in the gym at least once a week, and continuing to reach my fitness goals!
7. Scheduling alone time (free, a few hours-a couple days)
I love my friends and family, and I can over book my schedule easily with social events. Sometimes I have to remind myself to reserve a day or a weekend to stay at home, because I need that time to recharge, or I will get too stressed from having too much to do.
8. Making time for hobbies (free or little cost, 30-60 minutes)
I am a huge fan of crafting- cross stitching, knitting, making things with my Cricut. I can get so focused on work or other things that it is easy for me to stop working on a project for a long time. I try to make sure I get at least an hour each week doing something I enjoy just because I enjoy it!
9. Meal planning (cost of groceries, sometimes feels like forever)
If you couldn’t tell by now, I like to keep myself busy. I also have to work a few evenings weekly so I can see clients after their normal work/school hours. This means I don’t really have time to cook dinner on a regular basis. Meal planning is one of those things that I don’t like doing, but it makes my life easier for the week. Every weekend, I make sure that I sit down to plan out what food I will be eating for the week, go grocery shopping, and make whatever food I will need to last me the week. Not fun- but necessary!
10. Setting boundaries (free, doesn’t take much time at all!)
The last and arguably most important thing I do to take care of my mental health is setting boundaries. This kind of encompasses the other self-care strategies in this list- saying no to social engagements and scheduling time for myself, limiting my time to complain, making sure I take time to read before bed and work on my hobbies. Beyond these things though, I set boundaries in life where I feel they are needed. If you feel you might need some help setting boundaries for yourself, take a look at our old blog post (one of the first blogs posted!): 10 Tips for Setting Boundaries.
Written by: Olivia Clark, MA, LPC, BCN
Why Neurofeedback Doesn’t Work
While the success rate of neurofeedback is incredibly high, there are sometimes cases where neurofeedback doesn’t create the expected positive impact. Why is that?
While the success rate of neurofeedback is incredibly high, there are sometimes cases where neurofeedback doesn’t create the expected positive impact. Why is that? Through years of experience and collaboration with other experts in the field, I’d like to review some of the most common barriers to success with neurofeedback.
1. Diet. The food we put into our body is what fuels our brain. Choose your fuels carefully. This is a topic I could dig into deeply, but I’ll stick with the basics. Two important factors for a healthy brain are low inflammation and a healthy gut. Inflammation is the arch nemesis of the brain. The foods we choose have the power to create/enhance inflammation or reduce/eliminate inflammation. The gut and the brain also have a very close-knit relationship, they say “healthy gut = healthy brain”. Choose foods that are whole, organic (when possible) and unprocessed. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store as much as possible. To read up on the topic, I recommend looking into Dr. David Perlmutter’s work, specifically his book “Brain Maker”.
We recommend taking a close look at your diet and making some healthy shifts while undergoing neurofeedback therapy. Your brain is making significant and important changes and needs the best fuel possible to get the job done! Feeding your brain Taco Bell and McDonalds is counterproductive. Your brain is working hard, don’t you think it deserves the best?
2. Hidden allergies. Allergies can come in many forms, mold allergies, food allergies, environmental allergies and much more. At the end of the day, allergies create one thing in the body—inflammation. Remember? The enemy of the brain. Many people have unidentified food allergies and sensitivities, which can trigger issues with mood, sleep, behavior, anxiety and mental clarity. Untreated allergies can hinder progress with neurofeedback. Seek counsel from a qualified naturopathic or functional medicine doctor if you suspect you many have undiagnosed allergies. Some local trusted sources are:
3. Underlying health issues. Common health issues that can block progress are thyroid issues, hormonal issues, Lyme disease, Hashimoto’s disease, leaky gut, heavy metals toxicity and other toxic exposures. Getting these concerns diagnosed and treated through traditional medicine can be very difficult. Again, I would encourage you to explore options that focus on treating the underlying cause of these issues instead of the symptoms. In my experience, naturopathic and functional medicine do this quite well. Check out this website for more information and use the search function to find a practitioner near you!
4. Giving up too early. How many people quit the gym before getting into shape? Real change takes time, commitment and patience. We tell all of our clients up-front, expect a minimum of 20 sessions in order to reach your goals. For some clients, 20 sessions is great! They feel amazing and the results they have stand the test of time. For others, depending on the client’s age, severity of presenting symptoms, length of time of symptoms and potential underlying factors (see above), their progress can take significantly longer. There are also nearly always “ups and downs” experienced throughout the neurofeedback journey. Our job as clinicians is to be your coach and cheerleader, celebrating milestones and normalizing bumps in the road as they come up.
5. Not applying skills/tools suggested in therapy. Yes, at the end of the day we’re all therapists here and we have been trained to spot unhealthy patterns and behaviors in your life. We have a lot to offer in terms of teaching coping skills, relaxation skills, stress management, boundary setting, self-care routines and lifestyle habits. Clients who expect neurofeedback to do all the heavy lifting while they make no personal changes to become healthier, are often left disappointed. Neurofeedback works best in clients who take their training and therapy seriously and work just as hard outside the office as they do inside our office.
Written by: Britney Cirullo, MA, LPCC-S, LICDC, BCN
The Neurobiology of Addiction
“You’re in the desert and it’s day five with no water and your organs are shutting down and you’re literally going to die. And I hand you a bottle of water…
“You’re in the desert and it’s day five with no water and your organs are shutting down and you’re literally going to die. And I hand you a bottle of water. But I tell you if you drink this, I’m going to take your kids, your job, your wife, your house -- you would drink the water. Everyone would. There’s no macho person out there who thinks they can withstand this, it’s not possible.” “So you drink the water, satiate that tiger, the midbrain, so that the urge to live is taken care of, and then other part of your brain comes back on line and starts going, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe I gave up all that stuff for water,’ and you start trying to manipulate me into giving your stuff back. That’s exactly what addicts do.” – Dr Nicole Labor
When someone mentions addiction, what do you think of? Back in the 1930’s, when research on what fuels addictive behaviors began, the consensus was that people with addiction were somehow “morally flawed” or simply didn’t have the willpower to quit. Many people still hold this stigmatized view of addicts, although science has now shown us that this is not the case. If you saw someone with heart disease, would you look down on them and believe they are “morally flawed”? Probably not. The same way heart disease attacks your heart, addiction attacks the brain. The disease of addiction changes both the structure of the brain and how it functions. If you look at an addicted brain vs. a non-addicted brain, the differences are glaring.
So, let’s look at the brain! The brain has an area called the frontal cortex and another called the midbrain. The frontal cortex makes you, you. It’s the seat of self and personality and where our conscious choice and willpower lie. I’ll say that again, this is part of our CONSCIOUS brain. Now the midbrain on the other hand, is our primitive, subconscious brain that holds the key to survival. We have NO CONTROL over the midbrain. It acts immediately with no planning or thought of future consequences. The midbrain comes on when life is threatened. Eat, kill, sex. That’s the midbrain. All drugs (and alcohol) work in the midbrain.
Our brains are equipped with a nice little neurotransmitter called dopamine. When we experience pleasure our brains get increased dopamine. Every addictive substance attaches to different neurotransmitters, but the one they all have in common is dopamine. With alcohol and other drugs, the brain gets absolutely flooded with dopamine. Over time, the brain figures out that it doesn’t really need all of the dopamine receptors it has naturally because it’s constantly being given more, and they basically get killed off. This significantly increases the brains “pleasure threshold”, basically the level that needs to be reached for us to derive pleasure from something. So things that you used to enjoy, like music, sports or gardening, are no longer pleasurable. We can’t reach that pleasure threshold from natural sources anymore. That’s also where tolerance comes into play, you need more and more of the alcohol or drug each time to feel the same pleasure.
Ok, now, back to the midbrain. When the midbrain is repeatedly exposed to a highly rewarding chemical (flooding it with dopamine), it starts to think that this chemical is necessary for survival. Because truthfully, we need pleasure to survive. But probably from music or gardening, not heroin. All drugs work in the midbrain, this includes alcohol. In true addicts, the midbrain is lit up like a Christmas tree and there is very very little activity in the frontal cortex. People who use alcohol and other drugs and don’t get addicted show much more activity in the frontal cortex and are able to use their judgment, morals, values, and power of choice.
So who decides who gets addicted and who doesn’t? Genetics. Epigenetics. There’s a gene for lung cancer, there’s a gene for heart disease, there’s a gene for addiction. Most people have at least one of these addiction genes, many people have more than one. Ever wonder why some people can smoke a pack a day for 30 years and never get lung cancer while someone who has never smoked a day in there life does? That pack a day smoker just didn’t have the gene, or those 10,000+ packs just weren’t enough to turn their gene on. Addiction genes are activated by specific drugs in specific quantities, and everyone is different. Your gene could be activated by 1 beer, while someone else might use cocaine 12 times before it gets activated. You just don’t know, until you know.
This is a very brief glimpse at some of what happens inside the addicted brain. If you want more information and details, check out our podcast, MindTap. And if you, or someone you love is struggling with addiction, please call the ADM Board addiction helpline at 330-940-1133.
Written by: Grace Williamson, MA, LPC