Heather Twitty, MA, LPC attended the International Trauma Conference this year in Boston, MA. Presenters discussed helpful information for parents and caregivers regarding stress during a two day workshop on the Attachment, Self Regulation and Competency (ARC) framework for treatment. The following points may be useful for adults to keep in mind when raising or assisting children.
1. Stress affects the brain at multiple levels and makes it impossible to function at our best.
2. Due to a wide variety of factors people have better or worse abilities to regulate themselves in response to stress. This can be due to biological or environmental factors in one’s past and/or present.
3. People who do not have strong abilities to regulate themselves also have difficulty with parts of their brains that assist with planning, organization, attention, impulsivity, empathy and attachment. The parts of the brain are all linked and all affect each other.
4. It is important to work to improve abilities to regulate oneself in response to stress. For some people this is not only important, but is essential for their personal health and the health of their children.
5. In order to learn to improve regulation one needs
the following:
a. Exposure to other people who truly care about them
b. Experiences of being heard and attuned to
c. Experiences of having a positive and strong attachment
to others
d. Awareness of their own energy levels
e. The ability to verbally identify and express their
internal experiences (thoughts and emotions)
6. Remember, biology (and one’s experiences in life) are not destiny. The brain is changeable for better or worse. Efforts to change your brain/your child’s brain for the better can have a powerfully positive effect.