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The “brains” behind this conference, Louise Phipps Senft is the founder of I C THAT and advocate for so many who have experienced life changing events
I C THAT non-profit was formed in response to Louise’s and her son Archer’s experience with crisis and quadriplegia, and to the listeners of Blink of an Eye Podcast who expressed a strong desire to know more about trauma and trauma healing. Louise and I C THAT want to educate about the experience of trauma and the potential for trauma healing while also helping other Spinal Cord Injured families navigate their upside-down lives in the ICU and rehabilitation in the first 30 days from injury.
Podcast
Blink of an Eye explores stories of trauma, loss, awakening, and epiphanies. Ms. Senft recounts her experience navigating a life-changing accident that rendered her son, Archer, paralyzed from the neck on down, and expands the story with interviews of those behind the scene. Told through real journal entries and inspiring guests, Blink of an Eye will inspire you to explore the true nature of our relationships and interconnectedness in the face of an event that changes everything.
Brain mapping involves the study of the anatomy and function of the brain and spinal cord with imaging using multiple approaches, including neuroimaging, neurosurgical intraoperative procedures (microscopic, endoscopic, and mult-itechnique imaging), immunohistochemistry, molecular and ontogenetic studies, stem cell and cellular biology, engineering disciplines (material, electrical, and biomedical), and neurophysiology to nanotechnology in order to provide improved understanding of the human brain. In this lecture we will see what trauma looks like in the brain as we study brain maps and explore the implications of this knowledge on the body and health and how we understand trauma as a long term experience. Alterations of brain function levels have already been related to the pathophysiology of a number of neurologic conditions, including trauma, tumors, stroke, dementias, trauma, neuroplasticity, movement disorders, epilepsy, demyelinating disease, neuro-metabolic diseases, migraine, drug abuse, and neuroendocrine diseases. Brain mapping information can provide clinicians with a powerful tool to evaluate and serially follow diseases. Measurements of certain cerebral markers, such as the neurotransmitters that mediate brain function, can permit quantitative assessment of disease progression with time and drug-mediated effects. In his talk, Dr. Kateb will detail the synergistic approach of characterizing brain anatomic and pathologic changes related to trauma and other degenerative and metabolic offenses to the central nervous system.
In this lecture we will explore the consilient findings of interpersonal neurobiology (IPNB) and how current empirical research can be synthesized in understanding the impact of trauma on the mind, the embodied brain, and relationships and how psychotherapy can harness these insights to enhance psychotherapeutic interventions which have healing impact on the central nervous system. Recent findings in the field of neuroscience can be combined with our understanding of consciousness, cognition, and culture to see how the lack of belonging in various forms of developmental trauma—from abuse to neglect—involve the isolation of the individual from a sense of connection with others. The lack of trust in such a relational field of disconnection can be exacerbated by what researchers call a violation of “epistemic trust,” the ways we turn to our attachment figures to rely on the nature of what is real and true. The research on the impacts of such developmental assaults on secure attachment reveal impediments to the growth of the brain’s interconnectedness—as seen in effects on the hippocampus, the corpus callosum, the prefrontal cortex, and the connectome. (See Brain Mapping with Dr. Babak Koteb) Each of these integrative neural systems, while impaired in trauma, can also be healed and stimulated to grow with interventions such as mind training that involves the focus of attention, the opening of awareness, and the cultivation of compassion and kindness. The lecture will explore each of these aspects of relational and neural integration at the heart of trauma healing.
