Beyond Traditional Talk

Bottom Up Appraoches

To help you work through anxiety, I use a “bottom up approach”

I have been working with bottom up approaches for many years, and whole heartedly believe in their efficacy. Because they have helped me, too. Every therapy I offer is one I have experienced, in the other seat – that of the client.

All bottom up approaches I have studied (EMDR, Brainspotting, SE, Trauma informed yoga, IFS) have required a great deal of personal work and consultation with others more experienced in those methods. Lengthy periods of training, in person sessions and practice sessions with other therapists.

Addressing the sensations as well as emotions and cognitions associated leads to greater self awareness. Leading to better self regulation skills. And resilience. Cultivating deeper emotional processing and healing.

This can include Somatic Experiencing (SE), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Brainspotting, Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Trauma Informed Yoga. Together we will look at the big picture, to see what works for your body. To heal from the bottom up.

Because it is what is going on in your body that matters, not what you think about it.

Have the courage to love yourself and heal from the past.

What is the difference between top down and bottom up approaches?

Therapists are traditionally trained in “top down approaches”, a majority being CBT and talk therapy. These approaches focus on cognitive beliefs and emotions associated with past events.

In comparison, “bottom up approaches” focus on where things truly start in our bodies – our physiological response and sensations. Really what our nervous system is dealing with, minute to minute, when past trauma rears its head. This could be images, sensations, even the urge to move in a certain way.

Our work is beneficial for many people because the focus is on what happens in the deeper parts of the brain (the “bottom”) where memories, survival responses and reflexes are processed. This is where trauma tends to get “stuck”, no matter how much we try to talk our way out of it being there. We do, in fact, utilize aspects of talk therapy. It’s just not the primary means of getting to the root of what is going on.

Let’s embrace growth and change

Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS)

Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) is also a bottom-up approach to treating trauma. IFS works with the subconscious mind to create change by learning about the inner parts of each of us and communicating with those parts. Yes, we all have parts.

And in IFS, “There are no bad parts.” These parts can include parts that are younger (sometimes called exiles) as well as protectors (who help to keep us “safe”). Finally, there is the big “S” Self – the you beyond all the parts. The One that is calm, creative, compassionate, courageous, connected, clear and confident. This therapy has offered many individuals extraordinary insight and connectedness to places in themselves that were once afraid to be seen or be heard.

You deserve to remember what you love, and love what you remember.

Dr. Peter Levine, through his study of mammals (not just humans), pioneered one of these bottom up approaches. Leveraging insights from neuroscience, physiology, and psychology, he acknowledged that the most effective method for addressing emotional distress involved body-focused practices. His therapy, Somatic Experiencing, can be life changing for people who don’t find that talking about the problem helps.

Similarly, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Brainspotting, an offshoot of EMDR with components of Somatic Experiencing weaved in, have offered a great deal of relief to individuals all over the world. As Bessel van der Kolk, MD, an international trauma expert has noted, ‘No matter how much insight and understanding we develop, the rational brain is basically impotent to talk the emotional brain out of its own reality.’

These therapies focus on the emotional brain, not the rational one, to get to the root of the issue. To create safety within you, within your nervous system. Healing at this level leads to a firm foundation for growth and learning, for you and for the rest of your life.

Here is a recent interview I participated in, discussing the impact of Bottom up approaches.

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