We know that the brain’s integration plays a significant role in our mental health. I’d like to share two strategies for how to integrate our right and left hemispheres as described in The Whole Brain Child by Drs. Siegel and Payne Bryson.
1) Connect & Redirect: Often times, we will respond to emotional reactivity with logic (trying to “fix” the emotion with a solution to the feeling) but based on how the brain works, it’s more effective to connect with emotions BEFORE redirecting behavior.
Ways to connect with the right which provides COMFORT:
touch
tone of voice
facial expressions
empathy
pausing
Ways to connect to the left which helps SOLVE:
solutions
words
planning
logical explanations
boundaries
This approach allows for empathy with a boundary. For example, in our distress of feeling hurt, we may lash out and say something cruel to someone we love. The behavior is not appropriate but correcting it before connecting emotionally may cause more reactivity. Acknowledging the hurt through compassion can then be followed up by holding someone accountable who will likely be more receptive.
2) Name it to Tame It: I’ve written about this previously and educate clients on this strategy often especially for trauma. This strategy integrates the brain as we name our story and experiences. This is why trauma informed therapy contributes to healing; it provides space for clients to name things in a safe, non judgmental environment. We all need a coherent narrative of our experiences. It isn’t necessarily what happened factually but how we made sense of what happened to us. Brain integration can help us understand our experiences in a new way.
Telling your story with the brain:
L Brain- explain, put things in order, and assign words
R Brain--autobiographical info, whole context and emotional info (our sense of self, where our stories receive texture and meaning)
*EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) allows for integration of both hemispheres of the brain and is one of the top modalities for treating trauma.
Our stories should have at least 3 things:
Facts/details (L brain)
Feelings/child’s actual internal experience, emotional meaning (R brain)
Empowerment/strategy/resilience. The happy ending is you survived. You are not the victim to circumstance or yours or rothers’ emotional responses.
When hard things happen, we share our stories.
