acquired brain injury as a result of unregulated stress
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Transcript acquired brain injury as a result of unregulated stress
Understanding Trauma
(1) About trauma
Trauma means injury
In the context of recent research on brain function, trauma has
a specialised meaning – it means acquired brain injury as a
result of unregulated stress
Usually stress is good for us – when we can regulate stress, it enables
us to function at our best
But when for some reason we are not able to regulate stress we receive
an overdose of stress hormones that is toxic to the brain – traumatic
stress
Changed blood supply to key brain areas then leads to lasting injuries,
from which we will need to recover
Trauma is a normal part of human life
© Kate Cairns Associates 2011
(2) The impact of trauma
Traumatised people may find it difficult to:
Self-regulate – stress, mood, impulses
Process information accurately – make sense of the world around them
and of their inner world of feelings
Make and maintain relationships – understand and be interested in the
inner world of others
These difficulties have an impact on everyone involved
In addition, those who live and work with the traumatised
person may be affected by secondary trauma
Attitudes and behaviour may change
The network around the victim of trauma may disintegrate
© Kate Cairns Associates 2011
(3) What leads to unregulated stress?
Two key factors
The extent of the stress
Our vulnerability – how able we are to self-regulate
Some stress is so great that anyone would be injured by it
Some people are so vulnerable that any stress may injure them
Everyone is vulnerable to trauma
Resilience and vulnerability change constantly
© Kate Cairns Associates 2011
(4) What makes us vulnerable?
Being physically or emotionally depleted
Health
Grief and loss
Other external stresses
Lacking resilience
Chronic depletion – health, prolonged duress, multiple losses
Previous trauma
Unmet attachment needs from early childhood
© Kate Cairns Associates 2011
(5) Attachment and resilience to trauma
Humans are not born with the ability to regulate stress
Babies 'catch ' this ability from their carers by patterning
Attunement between the baby and the carer is the key to
developing stress regulation
When the baby is stressed the baby cries
This causes stress in the carer
As the adult soothes the baby their own acquired stress modifies
The attuned baby follows the change in physiology in the adult
This creates a brain pattern linking soothing with relaxation
This is the basis for stress regulation for life
© Kate Cairns Associates 2011
(6) Vulnerable people ..
.. may be less able to self-regulate stress
They may quickly become hyperaroused
They may dissociate and be switched off
They may alternate between these extremes
They may be driven by unmet baby needs to generate stress in others
around them, especially those with whom they have an attachment
relationship
.. are more likely to be traumatised
Being unable to self-regulate they can be injured by stresses that would
not injure someone more resilient
They may be driven to seek out high-risk situations
They may be targeted by perpetrators of harm
© Kate Cairns Associates 2011
(7) The impact of being traumatised
Regulatory disorders – challenging behaviour
Stress – hyperarousal and dissociation
Impulse – inability to manage or account for behaviour
Shame – hypersensitivity to criticism or apparent lack of remorse
© Kate Cairns Associates 2011
(8) The impact of being traumatised
Processing disorders – impaired understanding of:
The world around them – difficulty making sense of sensory information
Their inner world – difficulty making sense of feelings
© Kate Cairns Associates 2011
(9) The impact of being traumatised
Social function disorders – social exclusion
Understanding others – difficulty with empathy
Feelings of worthlessness – difficulty with self-esteem
Anhedonia – loss of the capacity for joy
© Kate Cairns Associates 2011
(10) Recovery phase one: Stabilisation
Three levels of intervention to promote stabilisation
Physiological: establishing safety
Cognitive: teaching about trauma
Emotional: teaching words for feelings
© Kate Cairns Associates 2011
(11) Recovery phase two: Integration
Three levels of intervention to promote integration
Physiological: teaching physiological self-management
Cognitive: enabling cognitive restructuring
Emotional: Enabling emotional processing
© Kate Cairns Associates 2011
(12) Recovery phase three: Adaptation
Three levels of intervention to promote adaptation
Physiological: teaching social responsiveness
Cognitive: building self-esteem
Emotional: enabling the development of the capacity for joy
© Kate Cairns Associates 2011