TRAUMAPRO
The newsletter of the
International Association of Trauma Professionals, IATP, LLC

Mike Dubi, Editor
Jeanne Thomas, Associate Editor
 
Fall  2016
In This Issue
 
Check Out Our Upcoming Online Trainings!
 
Anger Management Treatment Professional (AMTP) online training
Sept 4 - Oct 16, 2016
Jan 1 - Feb 12, 2017
 
Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP) online training
Sept 4 - Oct 16, 2016
Jan 1 - Feb 12, 2017
  
Certified Sex Offender Treatment Provider (CSOTP) online training
Sept 4 - Oct 16, 2016
Jan 1 - Feb 12, 2017

Certified Youth Trauma Treatment Professional (CYTP) online training
Sept 4 - Oct 16, 2016
Jan 1 - Feb 12, 2017

Click here to register

Certified Family Trauma Treatment Professional (CFTP) online training
Sept 4 - Oct 16, 2016
Jan 1 - Feb 12, 2017
Click here to register
The Most Recently Certified Professionals

Ross Aalgaard
W.K. Abdul-Hamid
Biniam Abebe
Shelly Abernathy
Angela Adamcik
Raphael Aford
David Aichroth
Fatemah Alghamdi
Emily Allen
Lauren Allswede
Edwin Terrence Alspaugh
Melissa Alton
Sasha Ammersingh
Sharon Anchak
Debra L. Anderson
Elizabeth Anderson
Nancy J. Anderson
Lisa Ansel
Ghassan Arabieh
Krista Austin
Cheryl Austin-Brooks
Cynthia Avers
Denise Aydelotte-Wodesky
Jamie Lee Babtutzke
Melissa Bagge
Bridget Bailey
Mary Barber
Jeffrey S. Bare
Cynthia Barger
Bonita Barnes
Priscilla Bartarse
Erin Bartholmey
Lynette Battreall
Linda Bayer
Christina Bazemore
Jacquelyn Beech
Eliina Belenkiy
Linda Bell
Jody Bell
Christy Belmear
Karen Benitez
Hila Ben-Levi
Christopher Bennett
Johanna Bennett
Ronnie Bennett
Sherry Benson
Katharine Bergacs
Margaret Hughes Berry
Rachael Biggar

Oliver Birchwood-Glover

Michelle Bixler

Delores D. Blackwell
Fannie Blake
Kimberly Bland
Steven Blazing
Amanda Bollinger
Amy Bologna
Sara Bonilla
Rachel Borowiec
Julia Borum
Sheryl S. Boyd
Stacey Bradford
Heather Bradley
Nathan Bridenolph
John A. Britton
Pamela Brooks
Allan Brown
Linda Brown
Lisa Brown
Rhonda Brown
Bryan Brucks
Diana Burns
Rebecca Burruss
Hope Burton
Polly Burton
Louis Busacca
Priya Butcher
Loreen Button
Maria Caballero
Kristi Caggiano
Christopher Cahill
Scott Cameron
Jennifer M. Campbell
JoAnn Campbell
Tamika Campbell
Carmie Cantu
Denise Capurso
Jennifer Bratt Carle
Cynthia Carlson
E. Suzanne Carter
Shanzy Carter-Martinez
Cynthia Cassil
Shana Cauthen
Julie Clayton
Lora Cogliani
Annique Cohen-Wichner
Kathryn Coker
Michelle Collins
Heather Conyers
William Cooper
Amanda Corrigan
Reagan Courliss
Paul S. Covey
Natasha Cramer
Frances E. Crangle
Thomas Crangle
Deborah Cremieux
Rosemarie Crenshaw
Judith A. Cresson
Amanda M. Crisp
Richard Cross
Lisa Crouse
Christina Crow Cruz
Tammy Curtis
Elizabeth Cush
Jessica Custer
Suzanne Cyr
Dawn Dailey
Samuel Daily
Sarah Daily
Christina Dalton
Margaret Daniels
Monje M. Deas-Moore
Barbara J. Defazzio
Vincent Defazzio
Shashi DeHaan
Sherry Dehn-Smith
Maria DelVillar
Kenneth Dennis
Anna Desai
Marie Dezelic
Sara Diaz
Augustus Dickens
Victoria Dodman
Linda Doty Miller
Kathryn Dougherty
Linda Douglas
Stacy Dove
Tallia Doyle
David Drake
Jill Driest
Edythe Dunn
Elizabeth Earnshaw
Melanie Eddy
DAntoinette Edwards
Jennifer Edwards
Stacy Eggsware
Glenda Eklund
Victoria Elizarde
Tammy Elliott
Nicole Ellis
William Emahiser
Cludia Estrada-Solares
Karlin Evans
Tyanna Evans
Joseph Ewegbeje
Kisa Fardosen
Mary Farmer
Melonie Feldstein
Amanda Felice
Kenneth Fields
Krysta Fink
Kim Finucan
Lucy R. Flowers
Caleb Folkerts
Jill Follensbee
Justin Forman
Barbara Fouts
Jennifer Francke
Debbie Frank
Ann M. Frank
Carol Franklin
Margaret Freiberg
Michelle Fridman
Jenn From
Judith H. Frost
Jay Fry
Lynne Gallagher
JaneAnna Galli
Robert M. Garber
Michelle Gasper
Douglas A. Geering
Amy Geffers
Tony Geiselman
Pamela Gerdes
Melissa Gerken
Charles Gerlach
Ashley Gillies
Nancy Giraldo
Tania Glenn
Heather Gonzalez
Katherine Goodman
Diane Gould
Sonja Goyco
Iris Graham
Kimberly Graham
Nichole Graves
Shari Green
Julia Greene
Kimberly Greene
Jason Griner
Lani Grogan
David Grossman
Davin Grossman
Phyllis Grossman
Nicole Haas
Tara Nicole Haas
Judith Hails
Margaret Hammes
Michael Hammonds
Eizabeth Hampton
Edward Hanks
Sabrina Lynn Hanson
Laura Harper
Sarah Harris
Candice Hart
Holly Hartman
Amanda Hatch
K. Brooke Heidelberg
Bridgette Hensley
Gia Hepfler
Brandon Hess
Melanie Hetzel-Riggin
Carean Heyliger
Amber Hickman
Shannon Hicks
Catherine Hilario
Sharron Hill
Simon Hillier
Tanya Hiser
Shemeka Hollis
Alexis Holmes
Renee Holoviak
Marianne Hommel
Rodney Hoopai
John Howard
Linda Howard
Kristine Huenink
Dolores Huffman
Samantha Hurkmans
Kristy Hyde
Patricia A. Hydock
Ilani Ighedosa
Diana Iniguez-Corlew
Sara Irin
Kristi Irving
Delores Jackson
Shalanda Jackson
Shari Jacobs
Syretta James
Laura Janson
Andres Jaramillo
Janene Jeffery
Christine Jeffries
Carolyn Jenkins
Cindy Johnson
Jacquelyne Johnson
Susan Johnson
Angela T. Jones
Cynthia Jones
Lisa Jones
Lisa M. Jones
Marietta Jones
Shelley Jones
Nicole Jordan-Jones
Drue Kaplan
Russell Kauitzsch
Sarah Kavanagh
Tanya Kavicky-Mels
David Keller
Abbey Kelly
Annette Kerr
Susan Myambura Kihato
Thomas Killian
Sharon Kim
Pearl King
Sheila King-Miller
Rachelle Kliewer
Amy Koehn
Kim Kriesel
Mary Kruithoff
Amanda Krzemien
Stacey Kuhl
Michelle Kukla
Nanci J. Lamusga
Susan Lane-Baldwin
Tameka Lavender
David Lawless
Valerie Le Cann Jones
Kisha Lee-Taylor
Alicia Leggett
Sanna Lehtonen
Sandra Lenke
Harold Leonard
Anna Lepine
Jennifer Leverett
Amy Liesmaki
Janet Lighthill
Laura Limpert
Jakki Ling
Samantha W. Monticue List
Kristen Litvak
Pei-Hsuan Liu
Rebecca Livingston
John Llauget
Miesha Lockett Smith
Roderick Logan
Alexis Lombardo
Kristi Lombardo
Jennifer Lombardo
Diane London
Tekia Long
Sara Lorenzen
Sylvia Loumeau
Wendy Loyd
Kamiko Lucas
Kira Lumpkins
Lindsay Lupo
Julie Lyons
Katherine MacDonald
Joanne Mackie
Lisa Mader
Lauren Maguire
Kimberly Malloy
Angela Malone
Lekeshia L. Malone
Brenda Maltz
Nestor Mantilla
Julie Manuel
Carrie Many
Joshua Martin
Idaliz Perez Martinez
Allison Masters
Paul M. Mastrofrancesco
Jodi Mathys
Jennifer L. Mazur
Kathryn McClearn
Brad McConnell
Mary-Helena McInerney
Christopher B. McKillop
Diane McLane
Karen Mclean
Karen McLendon
Xiomara Medina
Howard Meier
Amy Menna
Lillian Merchant-Sullivan
Jessica Metcalf
Kari Mika
Julius Miles
Teneka Miles
Heather Miller
Jennifer Miller
Kyle Miller
Robert S. Miller
Steven Miller
Jennifer L. Mire
Carrie Mitchell
Jeannie Mitchell
Bobbi-Jo Molokken
Janus Moncur
Tina Monette
Carol R. Morack
George Moredock
Cheryl Moses
Linda Muise
Celeste Mullen
Jeffrey Munn
Diana Munoz-Galvan
Duglas Murphy
John D. Murphy
Steven Murray
Nicole Nardozzi
Rose Navarro-Castillo
Kathleen M. Neill
Fatoumata Nelson
John Nelson
Valencia Nero
Michelle Niedfeldt
Arthur Nixon
Sandra Northcutt
Joanna Nunez
Shannon Oberndorf
Ashley O'Brien
Sandra J. O'Connell
Dennett O'Connor
Jessica Owens
Jennifer Page
Vaughan Pankhurst
Kristina Peary
Drew Pease
Nicole J.M. Peeke
Rebecca Perrenoud
Brandy Peterson
Rebecca Peterson Reeder
Tiffany Pham
Yvonne Phillips
Jennie L. Pinion
Deborah Planting
Rita Platt
Mansi Poddar
Kimberly Poirier
Shari Pope-Williams
Eizabeth A. Potter
Veronica Powell
Laura Preston
Amanda Price
Robert Purdy
Annette Quiett
Jesseca Randall
Katherine Rappel
Matthew Raulston
Carlada Razmus
Candice Reagan
C. Alan Reber
Mandy Reber
Frankl Reddick-Gibson
Susan Reisman
Julia Renolds
Monica Revak
Melissa Rhodes
Torey Richards
Michelle Risser
Jean Rivard
Iraida Virginia Rivera
Shanty Robbennolt
Shaun Robbs
Deborah Robinson
Natasha Robinson
Susan K. Rockefeller
Kelly Rodriguez
Heather Rogers
Yolanda Rogers
Marie Roman-Cifton

George Rosch
Nicole Roskens
Nancy Lee Roubideaux
Shannon Rowland
Lourdes Rubio-Fitzpatrick
Jamie Rusconi
Patricia Rutledge
Kate Rylander
Leslie-Jo Sampso
Elliot Sanchez
Stephanie Sanders
Janine Saul
Lauren Saville
Rachel Schiessel
Andrea L. Schmitz
Suzanne Schunk
Michaela Schwander
Ariana D. Scott
Kimberly Scott
Leodis Scott
Jan Seltzer
Bet Shaddinger
Stephen Shafer
Kathryn Sharpe
Sherron Shaw
Joshua Sheets
Sarah Shein
Aurora Shinn
Eleanore M. Shrader
Jolene Shull
Nicole Silva
Bernice Simmons
Naiya Singh
Grace Sisneros
Andrew Slavens
Holly Smith
Lauren Smith
Marta Smith
Stephanie C. Smith-Jefferson
Sharon Smith-Kemper
Teresa Smithson
Angela Snyder
Al Soto
Shelley Spear Chief
Jenae Spencer
Charmetria Spencer-Akala
Desiree Stang
Kensi Stauffer
Marianne Stinson
Abigail Stockman
Kristi Stuckwisch
Melinda Sullivan
Lila Sussman
Pauline Svare
Aleccia Taborn
Tammi C. Tanner
Jillian Taylor
Wendy Taylor
Audrey Taylor
Catherine Tempel
Megan Tennant
Angela Thomason
David Thomason
April Thornton
Jacalyn Tippey
Denise Tonkin
Cynthia Torres
Mary Torres
Christine Towns-Metrik
Jennifer Tracy
Anna Tran
Tiffany Trawick
Michael Trexler
Patricia Troyer
Joe Truland
Alberta Turner
Sallie Twentyman
Jahanara Ullah
Christine M. Urban
Kathe Vagasky
Lisa Vana
Lisa Vander Weyden
Melissa Vanderhoof
Marty Mae VanSickle
Cynthia Vardhan
Alvaro Vargas
Norman Veierstahler
Raphael Velez
Kristyn Verderosa
Darlene Viggiano
Katina Walker
Natalie Walker
Marty Wallace
Yashauna Wallace
Laura Walton
Min Ting Wang
Hillary G. Ward
Angela Warren
Christopher Webster
Dawn Weisenberger
Jason Weisman
Judith Welsh
Kristen Wetzel
Kristen White
Tammy White
Anne Wiggs
Amy Wilcox
Hubert P. Williams
Keren Williams
Adam Wilshire
Abigail Wilson
Judith K. Wimpee
Mindy Windholz
Ligia Wipfli
Jane Wood
Thomas A. Woodard
L. Monique Woods
Sarah Woodward
 
Colleen Worrell
Sara Wye
Justin Wynn
James Yackuboskey Jr
Ying Yang
Jennifer Young
Kenneth Zimmerman
Mara Zukaitis
 
   
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Welcome to the Fall 2016 edition of TraumaPro. IATP continues to grow each year with new certified members and state of the art  trainings. We are currently exploring the possibility of developing affiliates in the United Kingdom, Europe and Latin America to further expand our trainings on the international stage.
 
IATP has  teamed up with the Arizona Trauma Institute (ATI) headed by Robert (Bob) Rhoton, Psy.D., as well as being  VP of IATP.  Together our organizations can serve more mental health professionals and expand course offerings, thereby ensuring that the people who need the most help will continue to get the very best and latest care.
 
IATP faculty are on the cutting edge with their trauma research, writings and course development - we are proud of our IATP family. In this edition of TraumaPromo, check out Eric Gentry's new book: Forward-Facing Trauma Therapy: Healing the Moral Wound. This ground breaking book is a must for  all trauma professionals.

Mike Dubi, President

If you would like to submit an article for this newsletter, contact dubi@traumapro.net. Please include your complete contact information. We reserve editorial license.

Upcoming Training Sessions

         
  

The next cycle of our core 6-week, online trainings begins on September 4th. These self-paced trainings are ideal for working professionals. You can log on any time, but you must complete the week's assignment within that week. Allow 2.5 to 3 hours per week. The cost of each training is $200. Optional certification after successful completion is $99. For outlines and objectives for each training session, go to traumapro.net/new sessions
  • Clinical Trauma Professional (CTP)
  • The Angry Brain and Anger Management (AMP)
  • Sex Offender Treatment Provider (SOTP)
  • Youth Trauma Treatment Professional (YTP)
  • Family Trauma Professional (FTP)
Our advanced level Expert Trauma Professional (ETP) is now scheduled for January 2017. If you are interested, send an email  to Cindi at labadie@traumapro.net. As soon as we set the date, she'll get in touch with you.
 
Our list of new certificate holders is so large, that we will list everyone in this and subsequent newsletters.  Many thanks for your continued support of IATP and our mission of educating mental health professionals in order to help those with the greatest need--trauma survivors.
  
Communication Notes

Business questions concept with a question mark symbol on a red paper and a multitude of question marks signs on scattered white papers.   
One of the biggest hitches we see while communicating with our participants, members and certificate holders is that some of you have spam filters and firewalls which prohibit you from getting our emails. Please be mindful of that and look in your spam folder! This applies especially to those of you contacting us from institutional emails/websites. If you would like to provide an additional address to ensure timely communications, send an email to info@traumapro.net 

Arizona Trauma Institute (ATI)

Arizona Trauma Institute is the leader in Trauma Sensitive Care in Arizona and the southwestern states, focusing on the provision of foundational learning from which leaders can emerge.
  
The community trainings offered throughout Arizona and the Southwest, zero-in on individuals expanding their knowledge of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), stress as a physiological response, and healing as a collaborative process for trauma and other personally challenging situations and conditions. In developing this trauma lens, deeper understanding and compassion is developed towards self and others. Caregivers increase intimacy with their children, healers increase effectiveness in their craft, clients increase empowerment in their own process.

ATI provides a framework where each individual healer can develop their own identity to achieve Master Healer status. If you would like to find out more about ATI, here is the link:  Arizona Trauma Institute          
Forward-Facing Trauma Therapy:
Healing the Moral Wound
by
Eric Gentry, Ph.D., LMHC 

 

Best Eric Photo

IATP Vice President J. Eric Gentry's new book  introduces pioneering new treatment for traumatic stress.

The International Association of Trauma Professionals is pleased to announce the release of a groundbreaking new book by IATP founder and vice president J. Eric Gentry, Ph.D., LMHC. In Forward-Facing Trauma Therapy: Healing the Moral Wound, Dr. Gentry builds on the pioneering insights of such luminaries as Porges, Herman, and van der Kolk to introduce Forward-Facing Trauma Therapyâ„¢ (FFTT), the next evolutionary leap in the treatment of traumatic stress.

Unlike many traditional psychotherapies, FFTT
eschews the flawed assumption that stress and its destructive effects can be eliminated merely by changing our faulty perceptions and skewed thought processes. Instead, FFTT attacks trauma and its destructive symptomology at its source, the dysregulation of our autonomic nervous systems and hypervigilant threat response caused by adaptation to painful past experiences. In this wide-ranging book, Dr. Gentry provides a step-by-step guide for implementing the three-pronged FFTT methodology and demonstrates how and why the techniques work so effectively. He also explains how anyone experiencing stress can apply FFTT to achieve immediate change and an enduring sense of joy, self-worth, and personal integrity.

Forward-Facing Trauma Therapy opens with an overview of the key historical developments in our
understanding of stress and how these insights inform today's leading evidence-based treatments for traumatic stress and PTSD. In ensuing chapters, Dr. Gentry examines some of the common myths and misconceptions about the causes and meaning of stress and provides a comprehensive roadmap for eliminating stress and ameliorating trauma that draws on the latest research in brain science and the foundational concepts of Porges' Polyvagal Theory. One of his key insights is that stress is not an externally imposed feature of our environment that we are powerless to control, but rather an automatic response to perceived danger that exists entirely within our own bodies and minds. Once we learn how to control this response, we can eliminate our entrenched reactivity and begin to eradicate stress from our lives.

Dr. Gentry observes that any meaningful approach to eliminating the scourge of chronic stress must satisfy a number of critical requirements. First and foremost, it should employ methods that anyone can learn to apply with a little practice and dedication. Buddhist monks spend decades mastering advanced meditation techniques that enable them to control their heart rate, suppress their involuntary startle responses, and "light up" different parts of their brains at will. However, few of us possess the time or discipline to devote ourselves in this way. Thus, any realistic approach should reduce the impact of stress on our lives as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Dr. Gentry also reminds us that the stress response operates along a continuum. Some of us are contending with the relatively mild levels of arousal associated with such things as getting stuck in traffic when we're late for work. At the other end of the spectrum, some of us are contending with the life-altering panics and intrusive thoughts that come with full-blown PTSD. A viable stress reduction approach should therefore work effectively for everyone, regardless of where they find themselves on the continuum.

Dr. Gentry emphasizes that we cannot and should not ignore the painful learning that caused us to become dysregulated in the first place. However, we don't have to painfully excavate and wallow in every trauma we've ever experienced in order to heal. Instead, our stress elimination regimen should gently empower us to make choices today -- in the present moment -- that reflect our most cherished goals and aspirations for the future. We should be inspired to look forward with hope, not backwards with anger and sorrow.

Lastly, the techniques we apply should embody life strategies that promote self-reliance and personal growth rather than dependency and victimhood. We should be able to apply them as broadly as possible in every aspect of our lives.

Introducing Forward-Facing Trauma Therapy
 
Forward-Facing Trauma Therapy (FFTT) is presented as a gentle, self-directed, real-time treatment method that is explicitly designed to address all of these requirements and more. Readers learn to apply simple, intuitive techniques that allow them to control how their brains and bodies react while they are being triggered and experiencing the intrusive feelings, images, and thoughts that are often evoked by severe stress or trauma.

FFTT is a three-phased treatment and self-empowerment protocol designed to:
 
Restore homeostasis . We can't just flip a switch and reboot our brains into a state of harmony and homeostasis. But we can indirectly force the neurological systems responsible for the fight-or-flight response to loosen their grip by developing the skill of interoception, or "bodifulness," which allows us to become fluent in the silent yet eloquent language of our bodies. We won't be able to entirely prevent our bodies from producing the stress response (nor would we want to when confronted with a real threat to our safety), but we will be able to rein it in rapidly and effectively when it runs amok.
 
Align our behavior with our values. In the throes of the stress response, we're much more likely to lose control and behave in ways that are destructive to ourselves and others. Reducing the frequency and intensity of these episodes is certainly a worthwhile goal in itself. However, an equally important goal is learning to act in accordance with our ideals, values, and principles. Dr. Gentry shows how we can apply "intentionality" to achieve this goal through a process of self-exploration that culminates in the development of a written Covenant and Code of Honor. These documents - and the exercises that go with them -enable us to navigate the vicissitudes of life with intentionality and purpose.
 
Identify and manage our triggers. When we experience chronic stress, we can enter a state of hypervigilance in which our threat detection systems are always running on overdrive. In that state, anything we unconsciously associate with past painful learning experiences - a sound, smell, or physical sensation - can plunge us into a full-scale fight, flight or freeze response. As a result, we may be triggered dozens or even hundreds of times each day. The last phase of FFTT involves learning how to identify our triggers and negate their power by applying our new skills of self-regulation and intentionality on an ongoing basis in real-time.
 
Unlike traditional trauma-oriented psychotherapy, which is primarily designed to reduce and eliminate symptoms, FFTT provides an ethical and moral framework for living with intentionality. The primary goal of FFTT, therefore, is to develop resilience and the capacity to live meaningful, principle-based lives. According to Dr. Gentry, FFTT aims at nothing short of personal transformation; reinstating the natural maturational processes that have been stalled by our ingrained reactivity. In other words, FFTT is unique in helping us heal our pasts while forging our futures. This means developing new, more mature strategies to respond to stress that preserve our personal integrity and align with our moral compass. However, the key point made in Forward Facing Trauma Therapy is this: In FFTT, we rely on the wisdom of our bodies and psyches, not our conscious minds, to begin guiding us towards wholeness.
 
FFTT vs. Traditional Psychotherapy
 
The primary goal of traditional trauma-oriented psychotherapy is to reduce and eliminate symptoms, not to provide an ethical or moral framework for living with intentionality. In contrast, the primary goal of FFTT is to develop resilience and the capacity to live meaningful, principle-based lives. As it happens, the techniques employed in FFTT help us accomplish both goals at the same time.
 
Like other forms of psychotherapy, FFTT provides a structured approach to treatment that can be practiced effectively by trained therapists in the clinical setting. However, there are some essential differences.
 
In many forms of psychotherapy-especially those based on cognitive-behavioral techniques-there is an implicit assumption that psychological problems are caused or exacerbated exclusively by the client's faulty perceptions and skewed thought processes. Thus, the therapist's job is conceived, in part, as helping clients develop the insight needed to deconstruct these patterned responses so they can more effectively navigate their lives.
 
When practiced by a warm and empathetic therapist, this process can produce a raft of meaningful cognitions and an array of new skills that the client is excited to put into practice in their day-to-day lives. All too often, however, these apparent gains evaporate as soon as the client leaves the therapist's office. Once triggered into stress, the client immediately loses access to the high-level brain structures where their hard-won insights reside, causing them to revert instantly to the primitive thinking patterns and behaviors associated with their outmatched threat-response systems. This ultimately becomes a double whammy to their confidence and hopes for change.
 
Filled with shame and doubt, they may ask themselves, "What's wrong with me that I can't apply what I've tried so hard to learn when it really matters?" This destructive self-perception is further compounded when they return to therapy to report their "failure," only to be told they must simply "work harder." When this pattern inevitably repeats, many clients lose hope and exit therapy prematurely. In truth, however, it's not the client who has failed. The failure lies with a therapeutic approach that requires clients to utilize logic and abstract reasoning when the high level brain structures that make this possible have been switched off by their threat detection system.
 
In FFTT, the therapist doesn't function as a doctor whose job is to "heal" the client, but rather as a coach who assists the client in removing impediments to their maturational trajectory. FFTT practitioners recognize that it is the underlying threat-response system that is causing our primitive thoughts and reactions and that these will naturally wither away in the course of restoring homeostasis. Depending on one's level of dysregulation, some clients may find that certain triggers are so powerful and primal that they're plunged into reactivity despite their best efforts to self-regulate.
 
Dr. Gentry explains that this is most often the result of traumatic learning that causes the threat response system to spike so quickly and intensely that the space between stimulus and response collapses. In these cases, treatment methods such as Eye Movement Reprocessing and Desensitization (EMDR) can be utilized by a skilled therapist to reduce the intensity of one's triggers until they are no longer so overwhelming. Once this occurs, FFTT and self-regulation can resume productively. However, many individuals will be able to employ FFTT successfully without ever visiting a therapist's office. Thus, FFTT can accurately be described both as a clinical treatment methodology and as a self-help model for achieving lasting personal transformation.
Dr. Gentry is careful to point out that the self-regulation techniques applied in FFTT are easy to learn, but they must be practiced diligently every day for the rest of one's life. In Forward-Facing Trauma Therapy, he provides a set of simple, straightforward techniques for recalibrating our stress response systems and illustrates how this can enable us to optimize our performance and become our "best self." The book also contains several inspiring stories drawn from his 33 years of clinical experience about women and men who have utilized FFTT's core principles to regain hope and transform their lives.
Dr. Gentry concludes by noting, "Since opening my practice in 1990, I've helped thousands of patients experience the benefits of FFTT. Many report dramatic reductions in their stress levels within a matter of weeks. I've also conducted workshops across the U.S., training hundreds of thousands of therapists in the techniques described in this book. We still have much to learn about the biology of stress and why FFTT is so effective. But, simply put, FFTT works."

This article contains excerpts from Forward-Facing Trauma Therapy: Healing the Moral Wound (Compassion Unlimited, $19.95, ISBN: 978-0-9975292-0-3). This new book by J. Eric Gentry, Ph.D., LMHC, is available  Amazon.com as well as major online retailers.
     
In Praise of Forward-Facing Trauma Therapy
 
- "I highly recommend this book to psychotherapists working with PTSD and other trauma-related presenting problems. Dr. Gentry's book has the potential to substantially increase the effectiveness of psychotherapy for the traumatized with a one-two punch: (1) Direct exposure to the root of the traumatic memories paired with (2) resilience-building self-care practices that promote principle-based living. In contrast to therapist-centered treatments, Forward-Facing Trauma Therapy helps to resolve PTSD symptoms with a client-guided approach that focuses on current and future challenges while rapidly optimizing the client's quality of life."
 
Prof. Charles R. Figley, Ph.D., The Paul Henry Kurzweg, MD Distinguished Chair in Disaster Mental Health at Tulane University, pioneer of traumatic stress treatment and research.
 
- "As a leader in the field, J. Eric Gentry brings an invaluable new perspective on treating traumatic stress and compassion fatigue that is firmly grounded in the latest brain science. In Forward-Facing Trauma Therapy, he makes a compelling case that stress reduction and symptom alleviation are only the first steps in the healing process and that our ultimate goal must be to help our clients achieve a congruent life based on integrity and choice. Whether you're a counseling professional or simply looking to derive more meaning and satisfaction from your life, you will find much to value in Gentry's informative and thought-provoking book."
 
Robert Rhoton, Psy.D., LPC, D.A.A.E.T.S., CEO of the Arizona Trauma Institute, VP of the International Association of Trauma Professionals.
 
- "FFTT is a gift. This powerful growth model outlines a sure pathway to healing while engaging your moral compass. This book is a wonderful resource for trauma professionals and survivors alike."
 
Anna Baranowsky, Ph.D., C. Psych., founder/CEO of the Traumatology Institute (Canada), author of Trauma Practice: Tools for Stabilization and Recovery and What is PTSD? 3 Steps to Healing Trauma.
 
To purchase Forward-Facing Trauma Therapy: Healing the Moral Wound, visit  Amazon
Go With Your Gut

Go with Your Gut:
The MGBA - Trauma Connection
by
Dr. Andy Brown and Amanda Harrington, MA

"When all else fails, go with your gut. It usually already knows what the brain is still trying to figure out."

This catchy internet meme comes complete with a forked path that conveys serenity and possibility in the background. It is meant to be inspirational for those at a crossroad of indecision, but contemporary researchers are proving this old adage may be on to something. Deconstruct the familiar concept of "gut feelings," and a quintessential mind body connection is discovered. Advances in medical technology paired with a better understanding of human physiology has placed researchers on a path of discerning just how instincts and intuition are connected through our guts, emotions and behaviors. Discerning this connection may shed further insights on healing trauma and trauma related disorders.

The gut and the brain, or food for thought?

Gastrointestinal issues and mental health issues were traditionally seen as two distinct entities, operating within two totally separate regulatory systems. IBS...that's a digestive thing. Depression...that's a brain thing. The reality, however, is these systems are inextricably connected via the microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA) and have a direct impact on hormone and neurotransmitter levels. In fact, the trillions of homeostasis promoting bacteria found within our microbiomes are revealing themselves to be key players in regulating the trifecta of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, all of which play a role in trauma related symptomology and trauma treatment.

Get on the train or get off the tracks

The importance of the MGBA has launched a scientific inquiry train in which practitioners from all disciplines boarded. Traumatologists, nutritionists, psychologists, neurologists, and biologists began putting forth their hypotheses. Every individual's microbiome is as unique as a finger print, but there appears to be certain balances associated with better health outcomes. Researchers concluded that manipulating existing microbiomes in specific ways would promote balance and improved functioning in the MGBA. Since we know regulation of this axis is critical to regulation of hormones, the idea was that manipulation of the bacteria could ultimately improve overall mental health functioning and trauma treatment.

Survey says...

Studies using mice have been conducted over the past decade with consistent findings of decreased stress responses in those with manipulated microbiomes. There are direct implications in treating trauma stress, as well as improving depression, anxiety, and mood dysregulation symptoms. The introduction of new bacteria in animal studies are the direct implications in the treatment of symptoms that occur more frequently in one gender than the other. Transference of a microbial community from one test subject to another resulted in the recipient's behaviors changing to more closely resemble the donor's. Most promising are recent clinical trials in humans revealing similar positive results. A study published just this year revealed significantly decreased scores on the Beck Depression Inventory after 8 weeks of treatment using probiotics for individuals diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder as compared to those in the control group. This is further evidence that the mind-body connection is vital when working with a variety of mental health diagnoses.

Would you like ketchup with that?

Bacteria is not a sugar pill, nor is it a panacea for trauma stress reduction. Simply taking a probiotic with specific strains of bacteria may actually improve mental health functioning. Even if a therapist does not wish to "prescribe" a probiotic, it is becoming glaringly obvious that as a field we need to move from agreeing that the mind body connection exists to consistently practicing from a foundation predicated on this as fundamental fact. It is not that our clients should always "go with their guts," but it is about recognizing the complex role our bodies play in mental health. This means guiding our clients to gain awareness of the incredible power we each possess, literally within us, to adapt and facilitate change in our emotions, behaviors, and lives.

References

Rao, A. V., Bested, A. C., Beaulne, T. M., Katzman, M. A., Iorio, C., Berardi, J. M., & Logan, A. C. (2009). A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study of a probiotic in emotional symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome. Gut Pathogens, 1, 6. http://doi.org.library.capella.edu/10.1186/1757-4749-1-6

Akkasheh, G., Kashani-Poor, Z., Tajabadi-Ebrahimi, M., Jafari, P., Akbari, H., Taghizadeh, M., Esmaillzadeh, A. (2016). Clinical and metabolic response to probiotic administration in patients with major depressive disorder: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Nutrition, 32(3), 315-320.
 
Jasarević, E., Morrison, K. E., & Bale, T. L. (2016). Sex differences in the gut microbiome-brain axis across the lifespan. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371(1688), 20150122. doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0122
 
Messaoudi M, Lalonde R, Violle N et al. Assessment of psychotropic- like properties of a probiotic for- mulation (Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 and Bifidobacterium longum R0175) in rats and human subjects. Br J Nutr 2010; 26: 1-9.
 
Cryan, J. F., & O'Mahony, S. M. (2011). The microbiome-gut-brain axis: from bowel to behavior. Neurogastroenterology & Motility, 23(3), 187-192. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2982.2010.01664.x
 

About the Authors


Andy Brown, Ed.D., LPC is a full-time professor in Mental Health Counseling.  Andy holds advanced certifications in Program Management, Behavioral Coaching, Strength and Conditioning, Traumatology, Hypnotherapy, EMDR and Brainspotting. 
 
Amanda Harrington, MS is pursuing her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision effectively allowing her love of learning and human nature to become her career.
  

The Lifelong Impact of

Childhood Trauma

                
Sad boy. Depressed teenager at home. Problems at family  
by
Andrea Taylor
 
Most people are already aware that a child's mind is a fragile thing. Traumatic experiences in the early years of a child's life can have far-reaching negative consequences if the child does not receive the help he or she needs. Presented below are some of the factors that make childhood trauma such a severe threat to developing children.
 
Forms of Trauma
 
Young children, just like other people, are subject to emotional and physical stress. When children are still developing, these stressful incidents can be divided into three categories: positive stress, tolerable stress, and toxic stress. The primary difference between these events is defined by how long they go on and how much support children receive from parents and other adults.
 
Toxic stress is the type most likely to cause severe trauma. These are typically extended periods of mistreatment with minimal support (or even abuse) from adults. Tolerable stress can be either brief or ongoing, but the key difference is the availability of supporting caretakers who can help children manage the situations they find themselves in. Divorces, accidents, and deaths are all examples of tolerable stress. Positive stresses are simply brief, transient incidents (e.g. meeting strangers or getting vaccinated) that can actually help children develop stress management techniques.
 
Why Trauma Is More Severe at Young Ages
 
When young children are exposed to toxic stress for long periods of time, the chance of it causing permanent damage increases greatly. This is because children's brains are still developing, both psychologically and physically. At a biological level, the brains of severely traumatized children resemble those of post-traumatic stress disorder victims, and they often have to deal with the same kind of mental and behavioral issues.
 
Young tr auma sufferers are faced with severe challenges because their experiences both slow down the process of mental development (placing them behind their peers in this critical field) and often cause the formation of harmful or inappropriate associations. Children who lack a strong network of caring and dedicated adults around them are more at risk of suffering permanent damage when exposed to stress and trauma.
 
Developmental Issues Caused By Early Trauma
 
Because they experienced stress while they were still very young, many traumatized children withdraw into themselves mentally and refuse to engage with the people and environments around them in the same way that un-traumatized children do. This robs them of the opportunity to experience the formative events that help them learn healthy behavioral patterns and understand normal social interactions.
 
This effect tends to "snowball" over time as the traumatized child's development continues to lag. Their lack of constructive experience can, without careful treatment of the underlying traumas, lead them to display inappropriate, immature and even dangerous behaviors as they grow older.
 
Behavioral Problems Throughout Life
 
While the formal causative links between early childhood trauma and adult self-destructive behavior are still poorly understood, scientific research has revealed a clear correlation between the two. Increases in the number and severity of traumatic incidents during childhood correspond directly to an increased likelihood of violent behavior, addiction, and attempted suicide.
 
These potentially-fatal consequences are more than enough to justify the prompt and thorough treatment of children who suffer through traumatic events. Effective treatment can take many forms, but the most crucial part of the process is introducing and enhancing the support network of caring adults that ordinarily help shield children from adversity.
 
Although the precise biological mechanisms that go to work when young children are traumatized have yet to be uncovered, no one can deny that developmental trauma tends to go hand-in-hand with a host of risks and problems later in life. This is why it's vitally important to recognize situations which may traumatize children and give their potential victims the attention and care they need.
 
About the Author
 
Andrea Taylor is the Coaching Support Director at Life Coach Hub, a site that networks life coaches with individuals looking to make improvements in their own personal and professional lives. The site provides useful information about life coaching - what it is, how it works, if it's the right choice for you and advice and tips as well as a platform where coaches can network, start or further develop their own businesses. Visit <a href="www.lifecoachhub.com">lifecoachhub.com</a> to learn more or connect with your own personal life coach.