“In complicated grief, what happens is, you haven't just lost the person, you've lost your identity.” ~Dr. Mark Rider

Mark Rider, PhD, has developed a language for understanding the lyrical relationship between body and brain. “We learned how to use music improvisation to mirror a person's pain, to mirror a person's imagery of their cancer. And then we would change that music [so] it went in a healing direction.” 

His work might best be described as a chemical connect-the-dots. Dopamine. Endorphins. Serotonin. There’s a reason your favorite piece of music makes you feel good - the brain produces all three of these chemicals in response. 

Mark has adapted that mirroring further, creating a revolutionary treatment option called revisioning. In practice, the psychotherapy technique “activates” the same neurotransmitters of the brain when a client sits across from and communicates with a mirror image of their loved one (in the instance of grief) or themselves (in cases of trauma, depression, PTSD, etc). 

As someone who’s experienced the power of revisioning in my own healing work, I am deeply grateful that this modality exists. I’m fascinated by revisioning as a stand alone treatment and how it can be employed in tandem with other modalities for addressing complex trauma. You can hear a firsthand account of my personal revisioning experience on CWH episode 134. 

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Dr. Mark Rider has been a licensed psychologist in Southlake, TX, for over 20 years. He has post-doctoral training in Neurotherapy, EMDR, Cognitive Hypnotherapy, and Psychopharmacology. His first book, The Rhythmic Language of Health and Disease (1997), demonstrated that neuroplastic shifts in the brain can be created by music and imagery, and were essential for health. His next book, Revisioning: Mirror Therapy for Unresolved Grief (2014) revolutionized the treatment of complicated grief. This technique has been shown to be 99% effective with this condition. Together with Lynn Heselton, their latest book, Revisioning: Rapid Mirror Neuron Psychotherapy for Grief and Trauma, has created groundbreaking treatments for PTSD, Personality Disorders, and Dissociative Disorders without the client having to relive the traumas. 

For full show notes, guest information, and resources, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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