Forward-Facing Trauma Therapy: A Therapy for the 21st Century

CPD

Handouts

Speaker

J. Eric Gentry, PhD, LMHC, DAAETS, FAAETS, CCTP Related seminars and products

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J. Eric Gentry, PhD, LMHC, DAAETS, FAAETS, CCTP, is an internationally recognized leader in the study and treatment of traumatic stress and compassion fatigue. His PhD is from Florida State University where he studied with Professor Charles Figley – a pioneer of these two fields. In 1997, he co-developed the Accelerated Recovery Program (ARP) for compassion fatigue – the world’s only evidence-based treatment protocol for compassion fatigue. In 1998, he introduced the Certified Compassion Fatigue Specialist Training and Compassion Fatigue Prevention & Resiliency Training. These two trainings have demonstrated treatment effectiveness for the symptoms of compassion fatigue, and he published these effects in several journals. He has trained over 100,000 health professionals over the past 20 years.

He has written numerous chapters, papers, and peer-reviewed journal articles in the areas of traumatic stress and compassion fatigue. Dr. Gentry is a Master Traumatologist with over 35 years of clinical experience with trauma, Complex PTSD, personality disorders, and dissociation.

He is the president and CEO of The Forward Facing® Institute and owner of Compassion Unlimited – a private psychotherapy, training, and consulting practice – in Phoenix, AZ.
 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. J. Eric Gentry maintains a private practice. He is the owner and President of Forward-Facing Institute, LLC., the CEO of Compassion Unlimited, and the co-director of Community Crisis Support Team. Dr. Gentry has employment relationships with the University of South Florida State, the Florida State University, the Florida Center for Theological Studies, the Argosy University, and the Webster University. He is a consultant and receives compensation. Dr. Gentry is a published author and receives royalties. He receives a speaking honorarium, book royalties, and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. J. Eric Gentry is a member of the American Counseling Association, the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, and others. For a complete list, please contact info@pesi.com.

Outline

• Brief History of Traumatic stress treatment
  1. Traditionally, psychodynamic approaches have been used; These approaches would often retraumatize and demoralize patients, and anxiety increased
  2. PTSD is not an illness, it is an injury – TBI, involving wounded neuronic symmetry
  3. Joseph Wolpe used reciprocal inhibition:  pair exposure in a relaxed muscle-body state, with trauma triggers
  4. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk:  recognized Somatic dissociation:  person is numbed to stress response, projecting, using procedural memory
  5. Interoception is key – addressing the automatic, autonomic nervous system responses
  6. Neuro-cognitive involvement and education is key in Forward Facing trauma therapy
• 4 active ingredients that heal traumas:
  1. Development of a therapeutic relationship with feedback informed therapy – extract from clients what is, and is not working in therapy, and change to deliver more effective therapy
  2. Restructuring, Psychoeducation and self-regulation
  3. Teach and model Relaxation and physiological self-regulation skills; integration and densensitization
  4. Exposure via narrative, for post-traumatic growth and resilience
• Watch for and address:  traumagenesis, reciprocal inhibition, interoception, intentionality
• Interoception (balancing the autonomic nervous system) + self-regulation = trauma resolution
• Teaching clients to use the Relaxation response
  1. Practice self-regulation, skill building
  2. Intention of directing your attention back to your body
  3. Pelvic floor muscle relaxation responses
  4. Body scan, and peripheral vision exercise
  5. Observation and verbal exercises
  6. Describing one’s Covenant for life, and Code of Honor:  trauma as thwarting intention and breaching integrity

Objectives

• Explore the principles and process of traumagenesis—how painful past learning turns into unbearable symptoms in the present
• Explore how to implement the skills of interoception and self-regulation as primary tools for professional resilience
• Explore how to then teach these skills to your clients as primary treatment for all stress symptoms
• Explore how to apply FFTT as a tool for restarting and enhancing adult development in a way that’s useful with all clients

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