Volume VI, Issue 3, Article 1 (October, 2000)
The next article (Ogden & Minton, 2000) offers the reader an entirely new way of viewing traumatized people. Their approach, "Sensorimotor Psychotherapy," helps clients process traumatic memories by focusing on how the body's sensorimotor responses change when confronted with reminders of their specific traumatic experiences. Van der Kolk (1996) and others (e.g., Levine, 1997) have argued for years "the body keeps the score"; that traumatic experiences are associated with unassimilated somatic responses. These responses are both arousal and defensive responses that include but are not limited to PTSD symptoms. Ogden & Minton's Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is a method that integrates sensorimotor processing with the more traditional cognitive and emotional processing of trauma memories. Therefore they offer an approach that can be used with any trauma treatment approach, including family and couple work. They also suggest that their approach is especially beneficial for clinicians working with very difficulty cases. These include, for example, clients with Dissociation/Identity Disorders, those with flat affect, or low emotional reactivity or flat affect, frozen states or highly reactive/hyperaroused clients. The approach helps clients to cultivate self-awareness of their inner body sensations. The authors provide a step-by-step description of their approach through the first three sessions.
The next article (Bergmann, 2000) is a follow-up of previous article by Uri Bergmann (1998). Consistent with his first article and some speculation by Commons (2000), published in this Journal in the last issue. Commons suggests that the firings at the subcortical level preempt and overwhelm the frontal-lobe function and, consequently, the sufferer. If so, any of the treatment approaches may compete with and successfully interfere with the overwhelming emotional responses and delay the conditioned stimuli from directly eliciting fears and phobias until the frontal lobes can perform their interpretive function. Bergmann (2000), building on his previous work, the bilateral stimulation evoked in the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) procedures may activate the brain's REM sleep system. If so, Bergmann argues that this would lead to the activation of specific areas of the anterior cortex of the cingulate gyrus. If so, this area functions as a filter in enabling the client to more fully integrate his or her traumatic experiences into a more meaningful form that leads to new information. This theory accounts for reported reductions in both the emotional intensity associated separate areas of the brain. Also, Bergmann suggests EMDR stimulation activates the lateral cerebellum, which activates the ventrolateral thalamic nucleus, which in turn, activates the frontal areas. The cerebellum,acting as an additional association-area, therefore, facilitates the processing of the thalamus and the dorsolateral cortex.
The final article focuses on Thought Field Therapy (TFT) applied to an extremely difficulty group of clients, survivors of emotionally destructive cults. The Journal has published numerous articles about TFT (e.g., Callahan, R. (1995a;1995b;1997a;1997b; Hooke, 1997; Gallo, 1995; Commons, 2000). Here Monica Pignotti notes how cults induce physical, sexual, emotional, mental, and spiritual abuse. Consistent with the literature on cult victims, she notes that the typical effects of this abuse include depression, PTSD and other anxiety disorders (e.g., panic attacks) and various related symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares, guilt, self-blame, anger, shame, humiliation, and a variety of other distressing emotions. Unfortunately, most published reports of treatment approaches only focus on educating the person about the cults, normalizing their reactions, and only providing the minimum of counseling that is limited to helping them find ways to cope with their symptoms. Much of the article focuses on introducing the reader to and describing the methods for using Thought Field Therapy (TFT). Although research is limited, Pignotti's descriptions can serve as a first draft of a comprehensive treatment manual that can and should be subjected to scientific scrutiny.
Together these articles provide promising leads for both practitioners and researchers to understanding and treating the immediate and long-term unwanted consequences of traumatic events. As with every issue, the Editorial Board urges readers to consider contributing to the Journal. If not, we urge you to send us your comments about the articles and suggestions for special issues, books to be reviewed, and articles.
References
Bergmann, U. (2000). Further Thoughts on the Neurobiology of EMDR: The
Role of the Cerebellum in Accelerated Information Processing. Traumatology,
6(3), Article 4.
Callahan, R. (1995a). A TFT Algorithm for the treatment of trauma. Traumatology,
1(1).
Callahan, R. (1995b). A TFT treatment for trauma. Traumatology, 2 (2).
Callahan, R. (1997a). The case of Mary: the first TFT case”. Traumatology,
3 (1).
Callahan, R. (1997b). Response to Hooke’s review of TFT, Electronic Journal
of Traumatology, 3(3).
Commons, M. L. (2000). The Power Therapies: A Proposed Mechanism of Their
Action with Suggestions for Future Empirical Validation. Traumatology,
Volume 6, Issue 2, Article 5.
Hooke, W. (1997) A Review of Thought Field Therapy. Traumatology,
3(2), article 3.
Levine, P. A. (1997). Walking the Tiger: Healing Trauma. Berkeley: North
Atlantic Books.
Pignotti, M. (2000). Helping Survivors Of Destructive Cults: Applications
of Thought Field Therapy. Traumatology. Traumatology, 6(3), Article 5.
Van der Kolk, B. A. (1996). The body keeps the score; Approaches to the
psychobiology of posttraumatic stress disorder. In B. Van der Kolk, A.
C. McFarlane, & L. Weisaeth (Eds.), Traumatic stress: The effects of
overwhelming experience on mind, body, and society (pp. 214-241). New York:
Guilford.
Charles R. Figley, Ph.D. Editor
August 26, 2000
Tallahassee, Florida, USA