Brainspotting therapy has recently emerged as a promising new therapy for trauma victims. As mental health professionals progress in their understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), brainspotting therapy has been of special interest due to the unique way this treatment activates specific areas of the brain.
What Is Brainspotting Therapy?
Researchers have discovered that when a patient who suffers from PTSD talks about his or her traumatic experience, the part of the brain responsible for vision becomes more active. In addition, brainspotting has been shown to help the patient access the midbrain – the part of the brain responsible for survival instincts such as defending against or running away from threats. To help a patient recover from PTSD, brainspotting incorporates vision and midbrain stimulation. During a brainspotting session, a therapist uses bilateral stimulation and a fixed visual point to activate specific areas of the brain that can lead to healing from trauma. Patients are often asked to put on headphones that play a sound or music in alternating ears. By alternating the sides in which you hear the sound, the midbrain is bilaterally stimulated and activated for therapy. Next, the therapist will ask the patient to think about a specific traumatic event or memory that he or she wants to work on. With that memory in mind, the patient is asked to find a natural spot to gaze at while paying special attention to any bodily sensations that occur. While this process may seem simple, it has profound effects on trauma processing and healing.
How Does Brainspotting Therapy Help Trauma Victims?
Individuals who have suffered from various traumas often experience somatic symptoms (bodily sensations). Even if an individual’s trauma experience did not involve physical touching – such as if a person is threatened with a gun but is not touched by the weapon or perpetrator – the fear that a person experiences often causes physical sensations such as heat, sweating, trembling or pounding heartbeat. These physical sensations occur because the midbrain becomes activated and sends the body into a “fight or flight” response. PTSD can cause a person to re-experience these physical sensations long after the trauma is over. During a brainspotting therapy session, a therapist helps the patient identify the specific physical sensations associated with unpleasant traumatic memories. Then, with time and a supportive therapeutic relationship, the therapist can help the patient gain control over this bodily sensation and begin calming the body’s survival reflexes. Brainspotting should only be done by a licensed mental health professional who has completed advanced training in the brainspotting technique. Sources Corrigan, F. M. & Alastair, M. H. (2015). Recognition of the neurobiological insults imposed by complex trauma and the implications for psychotherapeutic interventions. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4478907/ Corrigan, F. & Grand, D. (2013). Brainspotting: recruiting the midbrain for accessing and healing sensorimotor memories of traumatic activation. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23570648 Grand, D. (n.d.). What is brainspotting? https://brainspotting.pro/page/what-brainspotting
Hivi majuzi tiba ya kuchunguza ubongo imeonekana kuwa tiba mpya yenye kuahidi kwa wahasiriwa wa majeraha. Kwa kuwa wataalamu wa afya ya akili wanaendelea katika uelewa wao wa ugonjwa wa shida ya baada ya majeraha (PTSD), tiba ya kugundua ubongo imekuwa ya kupendeza sana kwa sababu ya njia ya kipekee ambayo matibabu haya huamsha maeneo maalum ya ubongo. Tiba ya Kupunguza Ubongo Ni Nini? Watafiti wamegundua kwamba wakati mgonjwa anayepatwa na PTSD anapoongea juu ya uzoefu wake wa kiwewe, sehemu ya ubongo inayohusika na maono huwa hai zaidi. Kwa kuongezea, uchunguzi wa ubongo umeonyeshwa kusaidia mgonjwa kupata ubongo wa kati - sehemu ya ubongo inayohusika na hisia za kuishi kama vile kujilinda dhidi ya au kukimbia vitisho. Ili kusaidia mgonjwa kupona kutoka kwa PTSD, uchunguzi wa ubongo hujumuisha maono na kuchochea ubongo wa kati. Wakati wa kikao cha uchunguzi wa ubongo, mtaalamu hutumia kichocheo cha pande mbili na sehemu ya kuona ili kuamsha maeneo maalum ya ubongo ambayo yanaweza kusababisha uponyaji kutoka kwa majeraha. Mara nyingi wagonjwa huombwa wavae vichwa vya sauti au muziki katika masikio yao. Kwa kubadilisha pande ambazo unasikia sauti, ubongo wa kati huchochewa na kuanzishwa kwa ajili ya tiba. Mtaalamu wa matibabu atamuomba mgonjwa afikirie tukio fulani lenye kuhuzunisha au kumbukumbu fulani ambalo anataka kukumbuka. Kwa kuzingatia kumbukumbu hiyo, mgonjwa anaulizwa kupata mahali pa kawaida pa kutazama huku akitoa uangalifu wa pekee kwa hisia zozote za mwili zinazotokea. Ingawa utaratibu huo waweza kuonekana kuwa rahisi, una matokeo makubwa juu ya utunzaji wa majeraha na uponyaji. Tiba ya Kupunguza Ubongo Husaidiaje Waathiriwa wa Maumivu? Watu ambao wamepatwa na majeraha mbalimbali mara nyingi hupata dalili za kimwili (hisia za kimwili). Hata kama uzoefu wa mtu wa majeraha haukuhusisha kugusa kimwili - kama vile mtu anatishwa na bunduki lakini hauguswi na silaha au mhalifu - hofu ambayo mtu hupata mara nyingi husababisha hisia za kimwili kama vile joto, jasho, kutetemeka au kupiga moyo. Hisia hizo za kimwili hutokea kwa sababu ubongo wa kati huamsha na kutuma mwili katika majibu ya "kupigana au kukimbia". PTSD inaweza kusababisha mtu kupata tena hisia hizi za kimwili muda mrefu baada ya majeraha kumalizika. Wakati wa kikao cha tiba ya kuchunguza ubongo, mtaalamu humsaidia mgonjwa kutambua hisia hususa za kimwili zinazohusiana na kumbukumbu zisizopendeza za kiharusi. Baada ya muda na uhusiano wa matibabu, mtaalamu anaweza kumsaidia mgonjwa kupata udhibiti wa hisia hii ya mwili na kuanza kutuliza reflexes za mwili za kuishi. Utafiti wa ubongo unapaswa kufanywa tu na mtaalamu wa afya ya akili aliye na leseni ambaye amemaliza mafunzo ya juu katika mbinu ya utafiti wa ubongo. Vyanzo Corrigan, F. M. & Alastair, M. H. (2015). Kutambua matusi ya neurobiological iliyowekwa na majeraha tata na athari kwa maingiliano ya kisaikolojia. "Mfano: ""Mfumo wa Usimamizi wa Nchi"" (Corrigation System) na ""Mfumo wa Usimamizi wa Nchi"" (Mfumo wa Usimamizi wa Nchi) na ""Mfumo wa Usimamizi wa Nchi"" (Mfumo wa Usimamizi wa Nchi) na ""Mfumo wa Usimamizi wa Nchi"" (Mfumo wa Usimamizi wa Nchi)." Brainspotting: kuajiri midbrain kwa ajili ya kupata na uponyaji sensorimotor kumbukumbu ya uanzishaji wa kiwewe. "Ndio maana, ""NCC"" (NCC) ni jina la jina la ""NCC"" (NCC) ni jina la jina la ""NCC"" (NCC) ni jina la jina la ""NCC"" (NCC) ni jina la jina la ""NCC"" (NCC)." Utafiti wa akili ni nini? "Hii ni kwa sababu ya ""brainstorming"" (kuchunguza akili) na ""brainstorming"" (kuchunguza akili)."