In today's #WiseGirl video podcast, I speak with trauma expert Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps The Score. He talks about the physiology behind what transforms trauma in the brain and body, how modalities like yoga can help transform trauma, self-awareness and curiosity about noticing what we're experiencing, how oppressive, systemic societal structures influence the degree of trauma people experience, how systems (housing, healthcare) that support greater wellbeing can help prevent trauma, and we also address who often does -- and doesn't -- have access to the kinds modalities often helpful for trauma healing. 

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http://besselvanderkolk.net/index.html

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​Bessel van der Kolk MD has spent his career studying how children and adults adapt to traumatic experiences, and has translated emerging findings from neuroscience and attachment research to develop and study a range of potentially effective treatments for traumatic stress in children and adults.
In 1984, he set up one of the first clinical/research centers in the US dedicated to study and treatment of traumatic stress in civilian populations, which has trained numerous researchers and clinicians specializing in the study and treatment of traumatic stress, and which has been continually funded to research the impact of traumatic stress and effective treatment interventions. He did the first studies on the effects of SSRIs on PTSD; was a member of the first neuroimaging team to investigate how trauma changes brain processes, and did the first research linking BPD and deliberate self-injury to trauma and neglect in early childhood.

Much of his research has focused on how trauma has a different impact at different stages of development, and that disruptions in care-giving systems have additional deleterious effects that need to be addressed for effective intervention. In order to promote a deeper understanding of the impact of childhood trauma and to foster the development and execution of effective treatment interventions, he initiated the process that led to the establishment of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), a Congressionally mandated initiative that now funds approximately 150 centers specializing in developing effective treatment interventions, and implementing them in a wide array of settings, from juvenile detention centers to tribal agencies, nationwide.

He has focused on studying treatments that stabilize physiology, increase executive functioning and help traumatized individuals to feel fully alert to the present. This has included an NIMH funded study on EMDR and NCCAM funded study of yoga, and, in recent years, the study of neurofeedback to investigate whether attentional and perceptual systems (and the neural tracks responsible for them) can be altered by changing EEG patterns.

​His efforts resulted in the establishment of Trauma Center that consist  of a well-trained clinical team specializing in the treatment of children and adults with histories of child maltreatment, that applies treatment models that are widely taught and implemented nationwide, a research lab that studies the effects of neurofeedback and MDMA on behavior, mood, and executive functioning, and numerous trainings nationwide to a variety of mental health professional, educators, parent groups, policy makers, and law enforcement personnel.

#WiseGirl: trauma expert Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score

Please come along! As of April 2019, #WiseGirl has rebranded as #ReRooted and can now be found with new podcasts posted every other Friday on Ram Dass's Be Here Now Network at:  https://beherenownetwork.com/category/francesca-maxime/
and on my website https://www.maximeclarity.com/podcast

My podcast still sits at the intersection of mindfulness, psychology, neuroscience, the creative arts and social justice.  ReRooted: Unearthing Our Natural Radiance, And Remembering The Roots We Share

Welcome to the ReRooted Podcast with Francesca Maximé, trauma-sensitive mindfulness meditation teacher and poet. Together we’ll take a closer look at approaches to transforming trauma with insights from psychology, neuroscience, spirituality, social justice and the creative arts. Join Francesca and her guests for an exploration of our shared connection and how we can cultivate greater compassion for ourselves and for others.
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#WiseGirl is where we invite you to discover your own inner wise girl or wise guy -- the wisdom within that has always been there, deep inside. The show aims to help us connect to our wisest self, to help guide us through our interconnected lives, with respect and compassion. WiseGirl aims to help us understand why we do what we do, and how we can relate to things differently so we can shift into a new way of being: to go from surviving to thriving.

About me: Brooklyn-based TV personality, certified  mindfulness meditation teacher, and wellbeing and life coach: Creating Space for Wellbeing & Mindful Brooklyn.  Journalist, poet/author/writer. Haitian-Dominican Italian-American. Harvard. Cats. Tennis. Yoga. Gratitude. Love.

#WiseGirl: trauma expert Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score

Francesca Maximé: #ReRooted on BHNN & #WiseGirl