In this time of amazing expansion of information about the ways humans are wired, we have a newfound awareness of human connection through a neuroscience-informed way of seeing and sensing. The decade of the brain has become the decade of translation as clinicians explore ways to apply what we are learning about the brain to clinical practice. Experiential Neuroscience is a creative, dynamic practice that combines an understanding of parts of the brain and the flow of the autonomic nervous system with layers of experiential practices. This workshop integrates Deb Dana's passion for neuroscience with her curiosity about how to bring science and clinical work together in service for more effective treatment.
This workshop guides participants on a journey through the basic brain systems and into exploration of the autonomic nervous system. Participants will use lecture, illustration, and metaphor to understand the science and then move into an enlivened sense of the science through imagery, music, art, writing, breath work, and movement. Particiapnts will leave the workshop with an understanding of brain form and function and the role of the autonomic nervous system as they learn specific neuroscience-informed practices to guide interactions and skills that can be used both within sessions and between sessions across a variety of clinical settings.
In this workshop participants will first begin to think like a neuroscientist as they explore some basic rules of neuroscience using neuroplasticity, wiring, rewiring, and resourcing of neural networks, and epigenetics. They will then learn to speak like a neuroscientist, getting comfortable with basic neuroanatomy including the triune brain, the experience of the two hemispheres, and the right brain regulatory system. Finally, Participants will explore the human bio-behavioral quest for safety via the autonomic nervous system, Porges' Polyvagal Theory, and the hierarchy of physiological response. Participants will learn through didactics, experiential exercises, and small group discussion which brain systems are impacting patterns of response and how to use this awareness to create change. Guided experiences will help you explore your brain's patterns of responding and connecting. You'll then use this “inside out” way of knowing to consider client responses and create practices appropriate to your clinical setting.