ELAINE KORNGOLD, LPC | Brainspotting, IFS, Financial Therapy | Gottman Method, IFIO, Neurodiverse Couples Counseling | ADHD and Autism Counseling | 503-770-0810 | AskCounseling@outlook.com
Countertransference refers to therapists emotional reaction during the session – to what the client is saying or experiencing. When the client is describing their past trauma, the therapist ends up being exposed to various feelings, images, or senses that are … Read more
This article describes addiction as a “ritualized compulsive comfort-seeking”, a normal response to adverse childhood experiences as measured by ACEs Study. “ACEs comes from the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study), groundbreaking research that looked at how 10 types of childhood … Read more
“A major challenge to treatment is that victims of severe complex trauma have trouble disclosing their abuse in verbal form. Current neuroscience helps us appreciate that it is not only cultural taboo about rape and justifiable fears of retribution that … Read more
This article describes brain body communication patterns and how what we feel alters what we see and hear. The three states of the “polyvagal ladder” that we discuss in sessions – top of the ladder (calm and connected), middle of … Read more
“Cortisol is one of the body’s key stress hormones, best known for its role in our ‘flight or fight’ instincts. When we are stressed and on high alert, the adrenal glands produce more cortisol. The hormone then goes to work … Read more
This article describes the impact of psychological injuries on our bodies and the role of psychotherapy in healing trauma. “Your brain really wants to keep you alive. It is a major preoccupation, literally of life and death importance.” “… psychological … Read more
Understanding a person’s natural trauma response helps reframe our narrative and our therapeutic approach. The article below describes a set of questions one can ask that acknowledge that people experiencing trauma, especially developmental or early childhood trauma, did their best … Read more
This article describes how grandparents can create shared memories with their grandchildren. “When we think about what we leave behind as grandparents, we hope we will have transmitted lessons about kindness, justice, strength and confidence, the boundless nature of love.” … Read more
A new study, published in Psychiatry Research, has concluded that psychiatric diagnoses are scientifically worthless as tools to identify discrete mental health disorders. People who receive a diagnosis related to the trauma they experienced survived in the best way they … Read more
How long do we hold the trauma of our ancestors in our bodies? It turns out a lot longer than we thought. “The experiences of your ancestor that lived 14 generations ago are potentially having an effect on your life … Read more