How to Help a Client Come Back into Their Window of Tolerance with Bessel van der Kolk & Ruth Lanius

Transcript

clients who have experienced trauma often have difficulty regulating their emotions so how can we help them learn how to self-regulate well the first thing we need to think about is their window of Tolerance because if they're outside that window it can be difficult for them to make progress in their sessions with us when I think about self-regulation I really think about that optimum window of tolerance write that in a non traumatized client with good self-regulation skills is really quite wide so you know they have a broad window of tolerance and of course you have to be in that window of tolerance to be able to think clearly to have good relationships to plan for the future if you're outside that open window of Tolerance all those abilities I think are very much affected and so when we think about our traumatized clients who have great difficulties with self-regulation I always think of that optimum window of tolerance shrinking right so it's very narrow and usually they're either too hyper aroused or too hypo aroused which prevents them from thinking clearly of being involved in stable relationships for ransom from being really able to function at work because you know they're constantly juggling either hyper aroused or hyper aroused state so I think self-regulation is all about being in that optimum window of tolerance and widening that often window of tolerance through emotional awareness through learning how to regulate your emotions and yeah it's really coming into your body and feeling safe in your body that was dr. Ruth lanius Ruth is a professor of psychiatry and the director of the post traumatic stress disorder Research Unit at the University of Western Ontario and she's just given us an excellent snapshot of the window of tolerance that's a term from dr. dan Siegel and it's an important concept when we're working with trauma and dysregulation now expanding that window of tolerance is critical when we're helping clients learn to self-regulate so what are some practical tools we can use to do this well dr. Bessel Vandercook begins his work as soon as a client walks into his office I mean so I've been somebody walks in my office I look at the way they walk in I look at whether they're able to make eye contact and look at their breathing so one of the first things I do when I see the people is I look at whether they actually are able to live within their rib cages and I may spend the first hour with the new patients helping them to just open up their replication to breathe because as long as that primitive part of your brain is all uptight it's no used to do psychotherapy with them so you start off with the most elementary of arsal systems of the body every session I did that everybody the people have tied they may do Qigong exercises just imagine you have a ball bat he has open up your rib cage calm yourself down I'm a tap with people tap back your pressure points now how does tapping affect people well here's what Bessel has found people become quieted people get into the window of tolerance become more focused alert can actually talk about 6:00 when people appetite I like to say never leave home without a beach ball people have tried to solve beach ball back and forth we get the rhythm going yet activate most elementary secret secondly part of your brain you calm yourself down and become safe to start talking about stuff that may otherwise be too terrifying these breathing and movement exercises can be used for clients who are either hyper or hypo aroused the key thing here is helping people come back into their window of tolerance because when our clients are dysregulated it can be near impossible to do the difficult work of healing now I'd like to hear from you what have you found to be effective in helping clients learn to sell regulate please leave a comment below and thanks for watching [Music] you [Music]