Dr. Mark Lerner

Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF) The Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF), developed by clinical psychologists Lucy Johnstone and Mary Boyle, offers an alternative to psychiatric diagnostic models. Instead of focusing on mental health "disorders," it examines how social, psychological, and biological factors interact in the context of power dynamics, threats, and meaning-making. Core Principles 1. Power: Explores the role of power in an individual’s life, including its use, misuse, and the impact of systemic inequalities and oppression. 2. Threat: Examines the ways in which power dynamics create threats to a person’s well-being or safety, whether physical, emotional, or social. 3. Meaning: Focuses on how individuals interpret and make sense of their experiences of threats and power, shaped by personal, cultural, and societal narratives. 4. Response: Considers how people respond to threats, which may include distress, coping strategies, and survival mechanisms, rather than viewing them as "symptoms." The framework acknowledges that distress is often a natural reaction to adverse circumstances, emphasizing the need to understand experiences in their broader social and cultural contexts. Key Questions of PTMF These questions are designed to help understand the interconnected dynamics of power, threat, meaning, and response: 1. What has happened to you? Explores the impact of power and adversity in a person's life (e.g., abuse, trauma, systemic oppression). 2. How did it affect you? Identifies the threats posed by these experiences and their impact on physical and emotional well-being. 3. What sense did you make of it? Investigates how the individual interprets and understands these experiences, including personal and cultural narratives. 4. What did you have to do to survive? Examines the person’s responses to threats, including coping strategies, behaviors, and emotional patterns. 5. What are your strengths? Recognizes the individual’s resources, resilience, and ways they have managed to navigate challenges. 6. What is your story? Encourages individuals to craft a coherent narrative that integrates their experiences, strengths, and goals for the future. Applications Therapeutic Contexts: Helps individuals create empowering narratives about their experiences without pathologizing them. Community and Social Justice: Addresses the systemic roots of distress by recognizing the role of societal inequities. Trauma-Informed Care: Shifts focus from "What's wrong with you?" to "What happened to you?" The PTMF emphasizes compassion, context, and collaboration, offering a holistic way to understand and address human distress. Tim HJ Rogers, Coach, Consultant, Change-Manager #ChangeManagement #AdaptToChange #TransformationJourney #EmbraceChange #ChangeLeadership #CoachingForSuccess #CoachMindset #PerformanceCoaching #EmpowermentThroughCoaching #UnlockPotential #MentorshipMatters #MentoringLeaders #SupportAndGuide #MentorMindset #BeTheGuide

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The interplay between trauma defense systems and dissociation and freeze responses significantly contributes to the perpetuation of substance abuse and increases the risk of relapse. Neuroimaging research has revealed valuable insights into the impact of these defense mechanisms on successful psychotherapy or psychoeducation interventions. Without a proper trauma assessment, a thorough understanding of the differences between top trauma modalities and knowledge of what not to do with clients caught in a trauma defense response, we inadvertently fail to practice trauma-focused care. Trauma treatment should be tailored to individual needs, preferences, and learning styles. After assessing a client’s complete narrative, a skilled therapist and mental-health practitioner will be able to determine the appropriate treatment modality. With respect to working with clients experiencing trauma-related freeze and dissociation, several evidence-based modalities will be explored, including Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems, Somatic Experiencing, and others.

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Globally, individuals with mental illness have a greater rate of contact with the law than general populations. This review provides support for disseminating & implementing interventions, for individuals with SMI who have criminal legal involvement. https://hubs.li/Q02rrz4v0

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#DYK that written exposure therapy (WET), otherwise known as written narrative exposure therapy is a brief trauma-focused treatment for #PTSD and can be effectively used in a virtual or telehealth environment? The WET protocol is an evidence-based, trauma-focused treatment which may lead to a clinically significant reduction in PTSD symptoms in five treatment sessions. Find out more. https://lnkd.in/exdbRpmG #PTSDAwarenessMonth | #AskForHelp | #ReachOutGetHelpGetBetter

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Psychosis is an alarming complication that can significantly impact recovery and quality of life. In this blog post, we will delve into the complex link between TBI and psychosis, exploring the risk factors, underlying mechanisms, treatment options, and the importance of early recognition. https://lnkd.in/gNSe_rXu

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Great read from Psychiatric News & the American Psychiatric Association about the Problem of #Psychotropic #Polypharmacy in Youth: https://buff.ly/3TYZ0y7 Prescribing Cascades can happen at any age! Side effects of one psychotropic prescribed to children or adolescents can easily lead to the initiation of another. The potential long-term side effects of antipsychotics (e.g. metabolic, neuromuscular, and cardiovascular) can be concerning, especially if several of these medications are initiated at a young age. There is a growing role for #Deprescribing in pediatric psychiatry. Learn more about #Deprescribing here: https://buff.ly/4evVa7V

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🚨 Trauma warning - PTSD and C-PTSD Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) and PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) share similarities but also have distinct differences, particularly in their causes, symptoms, and treatment approaches. PTSD typically results from a single traumatic event or a series of connected events that are intensely distressing. C-PTSD typically results from prolonged exposure to trauma over months or years, often in situations where the individual has little or no control or means of escape. Symptoms of PTSD can include: 1. Re-Experiencing - Even when the traumatic event or events are no longer occurring in a survivor’s life, these events may still have a lingering effect which often leads survivors to feel that they are experiencing the trauma over and over again. Survivors of traumatic events re-experience trauma in multiple ways through trauma reminders, nightmares, flashbacks, and physical responses. 2. Avoidance - Survivors of trauma who struggle with PTSD may subconsciously use avoidance techniques to steer clear of trauma reminders or situations that might make them think about the trauma. Some of the most common characteristics of avoidance include avoiding people, places, situations, conversations or feelings in order to avoid painful memories. Other examples may include creating distractions with work, hobbies, or substance use. 3. Negative Thoughts And Beliefs - After a traumatic event or series of events, survivors may feel confused, ashamed, fearful, and in shock. When the shock wears off, additional negative thoughts and beliefs may creep in. Too often, those closest to survivors, respond in ways that are not helpful to a survivor’s healing process. These responses may also play into a survivor’s negative thoughts and beliefs, such as dissociation, loss of interest, difficulty experiencing feelings, or feeling distant. Symptoms of C-PTSD can be more pervasive and chronic compared to PTSD, often affecting the individual's daily functioning. If you would like to learn more, head to our website for more resources: https://loom.ly/n418F2w #PTSD #PostTraumaticStressDisorder #TAOS #TheArmyOfSurvivors #AbuseInSports

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QPSR's #KnowYourThinker series— On this day, we remember the death anniversary of psychoanalyst Melanie Klein. She is famously known for her work in child analysis. She was the central figure in development of Object-relations theory. Some of her original contributions to psychoanalysis were the concepts of introjection, splitting "paranoid schizoid" and "depressive" positions, primary envy, guilt and reparation. [ Psychoanalysis, Melanie Klein, Object relations, Child Psychology, Psychoanalyst, Paranoid-schizoid, Depressive, Splitting ]

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❗New Publication Alert - Read the full article in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation’s latest special issue here: https://lnkd.in/gffrCb6Y  👉 Check out the TBI Clinical Practice Guideline: https://lnkd.in/gm5hyMny  

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Understanding Trauma: Its Impact and Recovery https://bit.ly/3R0I9Za

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Moral injury is the emotional pain and functional impairment people can experience after participating in, failing to prevent, or witnessing highly stressful events that transgress their beliefs about right and wrong. In recent years, there has been an explosion of interest in moral injury and its impacts. In this new Trauma Blog, Sonya Norman, Shira Maguen and Brandon Griffin discuss the Moral Injury and Distress Scale (MIDS) and how this scale can be used to identify those with clinically meaningful and impairing moral injury. How will having a method to identify clinically meaningful and impairing moral injury help move the field of moral injury forward? How can the MIDS cut score be used in clinical practice and/or research? What are the potential advantages and disadvantages of adding moral injury to the diagnostic classification systems typically used by mental health professionals (e.g., Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5-Text Revision)? Read the answer to these questions now in the ISTSS Trauma Blog at: https://lnkd.in/dT_6Rhwn Or check the original paper in the Journal of Traumatic Stress: https://lnkd.in/dAgS5AYY

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