Healing from the Effects of Trauma on the Brain

Healing occurs once the person acknowledges the fear (by accessing the right brain), speaking the fear (which activates the Brocas area) and releasing the fear, which it was not safe to feel at the time of the trauma.

As the right brain releases the trauma it enables integration between the right and left hemispheres, so the left brain is able to play a more important role in decision making in relation to life’s issues.  Each trauma release lessens the number of triggers and so we have an eventual lowering of the SNS.

There is no longer any doubt that psychotherapy can result in detectable changes in the brain. These changes occur in the emotional right brain. (Etkin,Pittenger,Polan&Kandel, 2005).

You cannot heal trauma via the left (thinking, talking) brain. Talking without feeling does not change brain structures. In trauma, the thinking analytical parts of the brain are all smaller and the understanding of the logic and consequences of actions are lessened. The sense of self and the ability to construct a life plan are seriously impeded.

Healing involves using this scientific knowledge and recognising the importance of lowering the SNS by creating a safe environment. Healing also involves understanding that maladaptive behaviours have been learned and therefore can be unlearned and that the feelings that are creating those behaviours need to be released to transfer trauma memory from the amygdala to the hippocampus, shutting off stress hormones and switching on the thinking areas of the brain.