How Therapists can Use the Pupil to Heal Trauma One of the reasons that I left EMDR and started to pursue brainspotting as the primary brain based medicine that I use as a provider was because of pupil dilation. Years ago when I was  just starting out as a therapist I noticed that pupil dilation patterns were a good indicator of how well a patient was processing trauma.  I would use a patient's pupil dilation and movement to see how well EMDR was working. During EMDR patients don’t talk much until the end of...

What is it that Brainspotting is doing in the brain? One of the questions that we get asked the most is how brain based medicine like brainspotting, EMDR, and ETT work in the brain. Like many discoveries before it we know often discover THAT something works and then later have to discover WHY it works. Antipsychotics are a good example of this. For years there was a dopamine theory of schizophrenia hypothesizing that medication effecting dopamine levels were some how stopping psychosis. After a decade of research...

Jungian Thought with a Unique Perspective on Ego Development in Mythology Erich Neumann's "The Origins and History of Consciousness" is a dense and relatively early exploration of Jungian psychology. The book not only delves into the intricate web of myths and archetypes but also introduces a unique concept that sheds light on the evolution of ego consciousness within the human species across time using mythological and religious development. While Neumann's work is ambitious and commendable, it is not perfect. I...

So different from the Midwest, where the possibilities sprawled bright and endless in every direction. He wondered if people in the Himalayas and Andes were affected similarly. Did they live in the passive voice, as if their lives were not really happening but instead were memories fixed and immutable? -The World Made Straight, by Ron Rash The Psychology of Language: In the beginning of the book The World Made Straight a latin professor contemplates if the detachment of living in the mountains of Appalachian...

Unlocking the Mysteries of Aztec Philosophy When Hernán Cortés and his expedition arrived in the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán, in 1519, they were initially received with curiosity and even reverence by the Aztec emperor, Montezuma II.The Aztecs, interpreting the arrival of the Spanish as a potentially significant event, offered gifts and welcomed them with hospitality. In one encounter, Cortés asked Montezuma about his beliefs, inquiring about the Spanish understanding of God. Montezuma's response was cryptic and...