In recent decades, neuroscience and psychotherapy have joined forces in seeking to understand the biological bases of behavior. The brain is a complex organ, and as we study its function and adaptations we create a window of understanding into how our brains, bodies, and psyches respond to traumatic stimuli.
Have you ever heard of the triune brain? This is a simplified, three-part model of the brain, as originally explained by Dr. Daniel Siegel, that helps us to understand the neurological development of our species and clarifies both the reactions to and treatment of trauma.
Try this with me: Hold your dominant hand out in front of you. Have your palm facing you and look at your wrist and the base of your palm. We will call this your brain stem. (Stay with me now; we’ll explore what that means below.)
Now fold your thumb in toward your palm, as if you are signaling the number four with your extended fingers. This thumb will be your limbic brain. Lastly, cover your thumb with those four fingers, wrapping them over the thumb. This third part, the fingers, we’ll call the prefrontal cortex.
Look at that: your brain is in your hands! You now have a portable brain model that you can carry with you and use to share this information with others. Now let’s explore the function of each of these three parts of the brain.
[To read the rest of this article by Lisa Danylchuk, click here.]
[Image: goodtherapy.org]
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