Sherrie All – Neuroscience and the Modern Clinician: Connect Science, Research, and Biology to Your Treatment Plans for Anxiety

Description

Handouts

Outline

How Neuroscience Can Enhance Therapy:

What (and Why) Clinicians Need to Know About the Nervous System

• Brain basics – structure and function
  • 12 structures you need to know
  • How the brain organizes
• Key pathways involved in common disorders
  • Pain pathway
  • Reward pathway
  • Fear-stress pathway
• Default Mode and Task Mode Networks
• Impact of relationships on our nervous system
  • Mirror neurons
  • Oxytocin
• Simple explanations and 3-D brain model for clients
• How neurobiology can help you to determine treatment methods and set goals
• ”Our brains” and objectivity in therapy
• Limitations of “brain-based” approaches

Neuroplasticity and the Potential for Change

• Hype vs. the “two-way” street of brain plasticity
• Physical vs. functional change – structural or at the synapse
• The strength of connections
• Timeframes for change
• How neuroplasticity can help you foster change
  • Explaining neuroplasticity to clients

Treatment Strategies and Interventions for Common Disorders (And the Neuroscience Behind Them)

Anxiety

• The neural bases of threat processing
• Key CBT concepts and techniques
• Combining cognitive work with:
  • Mindful awareness of emotions
  • Get physical – how using the body can ease anxiety symptoms
  • Breathing exercises and relaxation training

Depression

• The depressed brain – structural and functional
• The neural interrelationships of depression and anxiety
• Behavioral activation – get active!
• Mindfulness as an adjunctive approach
• Compassion, gratitude and depressive symptoms

Trauma

• Malleability of memory: implications for trauma treatment
• How childhood trauma changes the developmental trajectory of the brain
• Polyvagal Theory, trauma and the body – the research
• Imagery techniques – imaginal exposure
• Grounding and interoception

Stress

• How stress impacts the nervous system
• The adverse effects of long-term stress exposure
• The role of the stress/fear pathway
• CBT-based coping skills for stressful situations

Substance Use Disorders

• Brain areas involved in addiction
• Pleasure and pain pathways
• Prefrontal connections and judgement
• How addiction can change the brain
• Motivational Interviewing
• Contingency management

The Limitations of Neuroscientific Research and Potential Treatment Risks

• fMRI imaging – blood flow vs. neuronal activity
• How only looking at brain activations produces an incomplete picture
• Neuroscientific studies, sample size, and validity
• Animal research – directly applicable to humans?
• Psychotherapeutic techniques – specific limitations and risks

Faculty

Sherrie All, Ph.D. Related seminars and products: 5

Chicago Center for Cognitive Wellness

---

Sherrie All, PhD., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist specializing in neuropsychology, cognitive rehabilitation and brain health. She owns and directs the Chicago Center for Cognitive Wellness (CCCW), a group neuropsychology practice offering assessment and treatment services in cognitive rehabilitation and psychotherapy to people affected by cognitive decline. As a leader in the field of brain health, Dr. All works to educate the public on brain-healthy behaviors and innovating brain health coaching. Her work in this area earned her the 2010 Sharpbrains Innovation Award for Most Innovative Mental Health Program as well as the attention of media outlets such as The New Yorker and Crain’s Chicago Business.

Dr. All trains other professionals in how to implement cognitive rehabilitation interventions into their practice, through continuing education programs, supervision and individual consultations. She shares her detailed understanding of the brain and brain-behavior relationships in an engaging and relatable way. Dr. All’s forthcoming book and current keynote address, “Brain Destiny: Everyday Choices to Lower Your Risk for Dementia and Change Your Life”, offers an entertaining way of promoting a popular understanding of the scientific theory of cognitive reserve to empower people to effectively care for their brains. She has been an invited speaker by the Lifetime Education and Renewal Network (LEARN) of the American Society on Aging (ASA) and speaks regularly on the topics of brain health, cognitive rehabilitation and interventions for early-stage dementia. Dr. All’s research includes examination of functional MRI (fMRI) and electrophysiological (EEG) biomarkers of cognitive deficits.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Sherrie All is the owner of the Chicago Center for Cognitive Wellness. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc.

Non-financial: Sherrie All has no relevant non-financial relationship to disclose.