Sde.regulationandresiliency

The Neurobiology
of Regulation and Resiliency

Presented by:
Sophia Deborah Erez, MS, LPC, MFT

Shared Hope International
November 30, 2011

Slide by Sophia Deborah Erez © 2008 520.302.5859

The Triune Brain

• Neo cortex
Thinking - Cognition, language,
thought, speech

• Limbic Area
Emotional - Expression and
mediation of emotions and feelings,
including emotions linked to
attachment

• Reptilian Brain
Survival/Instinctual - Digestion,
reproduction, circulation, breathing,
and the execution of the "fight or
flight"


The “unthinking” response


Stages of the Arousal Cycle

Stage 1: Prepare for Defensive Action
 Muscles tense, orient to source of threat

Stage 2: Mobilization
 Production of Adrenalin and Cortisol in order to provide energy
needed to defend

Stage 3: Release of Energy through Fight or Flight
 Running, Defensive Responses, Vocalizations

Stage 4: Return to Central Nervous System Equilibrium
 Parasympathetic responses-Homeostasis


Autonomic Nervous System

Sympathetic Parasympathetic
Prepares for ACTION Prepares for REST

The SNS controls organs during The PSNS controls the body
times of stress during rest

Breathing rate Breathing rate
Heart rate Heart rate
Pupils Dilate Pupils Constrict
Blood Pressure Blood Pressure
Sweating Sweating
Stress Hormones Stress Hormones

Digestion Digestion
Saliva Saliva


Autonomic Nervous System

Sympathetic - prepares for action

Release
charge
charge

Parasympathetic - prepares for rest

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM Miller-Karas.
*adapted from a slide by Elaine AND TRAUMA
Trauma Resiliency Model

Nervous System Dysregulation
Hyperactivity
Hypervigilance Stuck on “High”

Normal Range
Elation/Mania
Hyper arousal

Window of
Anxiety/Panic

Tolerance
STRESS Rage

Depression
Stuck on “Low” Disconnection
Deadness
Hypo arousal Exhaustion
Numbness
*adapted from a slide by Elaine Miller-Karas.


Functional Priorities

We do not have
access to our higher
cortical functions if
our more primitive
needs are not
secure.


Trauma and Affect Regulation


Window of Tolerance

Hyper arousal - too much arousal to integrate
A
R
O
U Perceived Safety
S
A
L
Hypo arousal - not enough arousal to integrate

Adapted from Empowering the body in the treatment of trauma: The role of Sensorimotor Processing in trauma, by P. Ogden, 2006. Paper
presented at the conference: The Embodied M ind: Integration of the Body, Brain, and M ind in Clinical Practice, Los Angeles, CA.

Therapeutic Goals
Help client develop the ability to stay within
their “Window of Tolerance”.
Self regulation

Help client expand their “Window of Tolerance”.
Positive and negative affect tolerance
Build a bigger container


Learning to shift to a resourced state
helps clients experience a sense of
control over their body and traumatic
memories.


Resilient Affect Regulation
“Resilient affect
regulation can
tolerate disruption
and return to
equilibrium in a
timely and efficient
manner”
Sophia Deborah Erez


Trauma and memory


Aspects of Memory

•Sensations
•Images
•Meaning
•Affect
•Belief


Nihil est in intellectu quod non fuit
prius in sensu:

Nothing is in the understanding,
which was not first perceived by
some of the senses.

John Locke


A Fear Network

Dissociation following traumatic stress: Etiology and treatment.
By Schauer, Maggie; Elbert, Thomas
Zeitschrift für Psychologie/Journal of Psychology, Vol 218(2), 2010, 109-127.


Triggers and Flashbacks
•Over coupling of different aspects of memory.

•When triggered, a person’s ANS responds “as if something is
happening right now.”

•Can be defused through trauma therapy.

•Bridges to the past. Can be reframed as an opportunity for
healing.

•The ability to recognize a trigger and respond differently than in
the past can be installed as a resource.


Dissociation
•Is an under coupling of
different aspects of
memory.
•Disruption in sense of
self in time and place or
between ego states.
•Is on a continuum.
•Can be reframed as a
tool that may no longer be
useful.


Change is Possible!
“What we are now learning about the brain is
that it is plastic throughout the lifespan. We do
have the ability to nurture alternative neuronal
pathways that will allow us to “pause” before
reacting and access higher cognitive functions
than our preprogrammed fear response’s.
This gives us access to alternate, hopefully
more appropriate reactions.”

Sophia Deborah Erez


Resilient Memory

“Resilient memory is the
ability to recall an event in the
context of time and place
while remaining wholly and
fully grounded in the present.”
Sophia Deborah Erez


Trauma and Perspective


Resilient Perspective
“Resilient perspective
is similar to empathy.
It is the ability to take
responsibility for your
experience while
acknowledging that
other equally valid
points of view may
exist.”
Sophia Deborah Erez


Circle of Compassion

A human being is a part of a whole, called by us
'universe', a part limited in time and space. He
experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as
something separated from the rest... a kind of optical
delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind
of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires
and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our
task must be to free ourselves from this prison by
widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living
creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
Albert Einstein


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