Dr. Arielle Schwartz, trauma expert and EMDR Therapy consultant is going to cover Complex PTSD and how it differs from what typically comes to mind when we think of trauma. Trauma exists on a spectrum and many people walking down the street, whether it’s you or me, may have a degree of Complex PTSD that we are attempting to overcome in ourselves.

Trauma theories and therapies have been gaining a lot of attention in our field in the last decade. It’s really for a good reason. Neuroscience and the advancements of somatic therapies have unlocked new ways of working with trauma that were very difficult to treat.

We will look closely at what's happening in our brain when we can't process an overwhelming event and get traumatized, why it’s important to distinguish between the different forms of trauma and also differential diagnosis between others disorders.

A major piece of healing complex PTSD comes from understanding post-traumatic growth models, and how resiliency and wisdom often rise from the places that were so difficult in our past.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Why one person experiences trauma during an event and others don't
  
• What's happening in our brain when we can't process an overwhelming event
  
• How is Complex PTSD different from other forms of trauma
  
• Differential diagnosis between Complex PTSD and others disorders
  
• The evolutionary purpose of dissociation and how to overcome it
  
• The interplay between traumatic histories and relationship issues

Visit www.higherpractice.com/podcast to get the show notes for this episode and to learn more about Arielle’s full course in the Higher Practice Institute.

Max Brandel, psychotherapist, is going to discuss the Enneagram and the transformational power it has in a psychotherapeutic application. Unlike other personality systems, the Enneagram looks deeply into both the health and neurotic tendencies of personality types.

This allows us to use it as a psycho-educational tool with clients and how they show up in their lives, but also as a therapeutic intervention which you will hear more about. You’re going to get to learn about the nine personality types in the Enneagram and will leave with some ideas about which type you are and what that means for your life.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• What is the Enneagram and how did it develop
  
• The nine types of personalities...which one are you
  
• How the Enneagram classifies mental health and mental suffering
  
• Ways the Enneagram can be used with therapy clients
  
• Putting the Enneagram to use in couples counseling

Visit www.higherpractice.com/podcast to get the show notes for this episode and to learn more about Max’s full course in the Higher Practice Institute.

Lisa Dion, founder of the Play Therapy Institute of Colorado and Synergetic Play Therapy talks to us about authenticity and expression as play therapy clinicians and why your own “window of tolerance” matters more than your think. And we’re not just talking about Play Therapy here...this information applies to parents every where who are trying to learn the most effective ways to help their children grow in a healthy manner.

In an optimal environment, most children will experience a healthy developmental process and not exhibit signs of overwhelming distress and emotional imbalances. Unfortunately, parenting is not common sense as many people expect. In a world filled with many distractions, it’s quite easy to mis-attune to our children and have significant issues surface that need attention.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How to use the signals in your own body to have an information exchange with the child
  
• The impact on the nervous system of Play Therapy versus talk therapy
  
• A brief history of Play Therapy
  
• Synergetic Play Therapy, addressing the lower brain stem and why it's so healing for children
  
• Why Synergetic Play Therapists see so much transformation in their own lives
  
• A young child's brain can't tell the difference in play between real and imagined and why that matters
  
• When instruction is useful and how it can undermine teaching internal regulation to the child
  
• An amazing case example of overcoming aspects of autism through Synergetic Play Therapy

Visit www.higherpractice.com/podcast to get the show notes for this episode and to learn more about Lisa’s full course in the Higher Practice Institute.

Jayson Gaddis, founder of the relationship school, is here to talk to us about how to do relationships in a truly meaningful and healthy way. He’s going to discuss a new model for you on why so many people struggle and how to break out of the cycle.