Handbook of Traumatic Stress "The History of PTSD" History of Psychiatry in Trauma Chapter 2 Bessel A. van der Kolk

I actually want to have an in-depth discussion on what works and in what situations because It will help me when I counsel families and their patients... It is important to have this information even if I am not a psychiatrist because most psychiatric care (especially in rural areas) where there are no therapists trained in this area... and it will be years (tortoise and hare) before this information is available to all those out there in rural areas and as I learn ..... i can spread this knowledge.... I know where I am it is 5 min med reviews for childhood trauma... it never works for DTD and so the kids end up on all these meds that will affect their growing brain and very possibly negatively (there is no long term research on these meds in the long term) so it is important to look at.... these issues and we can learn from each other ... the meds get approved for a "disorder" for example "social anxiety" and then they get used for everything under the sun... I did cancer research and so am aware of drug company influence and their spread of drug use..... I am against this.... we have no idea of how these medications affect the developing brain and there is no funding to study this and it may even be unethical.... randomize kids to drugs for x disease..... what will happen to their brain 20 years later..... I don't think that would ever pass an IRB

I watched Van der Kolk talk about EMDR (and before there was the amount of information available now about traumatic stress --- in 2000 I did EMDR for a year) for me it did not help but Van der Kolk really says it works for one time trauma.... Auto Accident.... etc but not what I am referring to ... Chronic, severe, pre-verbal and into verbal early childhood trauma that is non-remitting. We need a group to discuss this... Maybe we can start a group ... maybe it should be members only and we can go through the best research out there on how to heal.  I would like that ... ACEs makes me feel safe in a way no place else does cause I know you are all on the same page.... Thanks Robert (Bob).  Is it okay to call you Bob? 

Just saw a new item on EMDR. I'm sure Michigan has some EMDR certified clinicians, and that the PTSD Physiologic symptoms can be addressed by Somatic Experiencing. Somatic Experiencing Primary Care practioner David (Berger, I think) works for a family practice program in Concord, N.H. and may know of counterparts in Michigan...

A similar group in Britain's NHS (National Health Service) exists, although much begins on similar premises noted in "Caregiver, Caretaker: From Dysfunctional to Authentic Nursing Service."--which interviewed all the Bachelor degreed R.N.'s in California (85% of whom acknowledged growing up in Alcoholic Households!!!)....

Yes maybe we can form a consumer - run forum where we all help ourselves heal our trauma too. To be most effective it starts with you.  The reason I ask this is because I was desperate for good therapy after decades of dealing with UM (it is called the Rachel UpJohn Center for Psychiatry). The UpJohn was a drug company bought out by another drug company (Eli Lilly I believe).  When your namesake if from a drug company and you get most research funding from drug companies you tend to promote drugs. Drugs do not treat Developmental Trauma Disorder or the Adult Manifestations.  So I called the Trauma Center at JRI and was willing to go there to Boston for an Evaluation.  I spoke to Angela Lin.  I figured they could do an evaluation and then coordinate care with my psychiatrist at UM.  (There are NO TRAUMA informed psychiatrists at UM). After a week they called me back and told me it would be unethical for them to take my money for a trauma evaluation as in the entire state of Michigan, they did not feel there were appropriate resources to coordinate in treating an individual like my self with DTD.  So in a state with 9.5 million people, there is no one who can treat developmental trauma.... 

Peter Levine's book, "Waking the Tiger" notes an incident where Bessel van der Kolk, asked him to do a consult with a patient of van der Kolk's..... I won't spoil the story, by trying to summarize it for readers....Every item in Peter Levine's book (Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma) is worth the read. I commuted to Vermont to partake of Levine's "Somatic Experiencing" therapy....Perhaps there's a way to provide [Consumer-run] Trauma-Informed Intentional Peer Support that includes techniques like Peter Levine, Babette Rothschild, Albert Pesso-Boyden, and others who address the PHYSIOLOGY of PTSD, have developed to address How the Body Keeps The Score....as Tina has suggested!

I should have copied that review by Dr. Felitti (he knows its there) and all the other excellent trauma experts when I first saw it. Cannot find it now..   But this book is probably something those who have been wondering about how to heal our traumatized bodies know..of course older and seen his lectures and work... love yourself via yoga, exercise, theater, expression of a self that is authentic you... My request... to you ACEs followers who are suffering from psychological trauma .... lets start a group.... the body and our friends keep the score.... we exercise, we do yoga, we do whatever is available in our community and we heal... thanks tina