Master Glossary

A specific eye position that correlates with neural activity of a traumatic memory.

Therapist observes client's reflexive eye responses to locate brainspots.

Client reports where they feel most activation as pointer moves.

Client's eyes naturally find their own position without therapist guidance.

Therapist attunes to both client's internal process and therapeutic relationship.

A foundational layer of the self, deeper than the core self. It is a collection of neural patterns that map the most stable aspects of the organism's physical structure.

The physical tension that arises in response to a stimulus, particularly in the muscles around the eyes, forehead, or base of the skull.

A midbrain structure involved in pain modulation, fear conditioning, and defensive behaviors.

An implosive energy generated in the brainstem in response to alarming stimuli.

The shock response that occurs milliseconds after the orienting response but before the full affective and defensive responses. Mediated by the locus coeruleus. The 'Sh' in the O-Sh-A sequence.

A brainstem nucleus and principal site of norepinephrine synthesis. In close two-way communication with the superior colliculus, it generates the pre-affective shock response when a stimulus is shocking or horrifying.

A midbrain structure involved in orienting to stimuli in the environment, responsible for initiating eye and head movements toward or away from a stimulus. The first brain structure capable of initiating a movement response, linked to the 'collicular self' and the orienting tension that is the entry point for DBR processing.

A neurobiological process where reactivated long-term memories become temporarily labile and can be modified.

Alternating left-right sensory input that facilitates information processing during EMDR therapy.

The theoretical model underlying EMDR, proposing that the brain has an innate information processing system.

Subjective Units of Disturbance - a 0-10 scale used to measure disturbance level.

Validity of Cognition - a 1-7 scale measuring how true a positive cognition feels.

A therapeutic strategy used when processing is blocked.

The emphasis on present-moment awareness and experience.

The meeting point between self and other, or self and environment.

The perceptual process by which certain elements emerge as figure against ground.

A technique where the client speaks to an empty chair representing another person or part.

Unexpressed feelings or unresolved relationships affecting present experience.

The core, undamaged essence characterized by the 8 C's: curiosity, calm, clarity, compassion, confidence, courage, creativity, connectedness.

Sub-personalities that have their own feelings, beliefs, and roles.

Parts that carry the pain, shame, and trauma from past experiences.

Parts that work to protect the system from the pain of exiles.

The process of releasing extreme beliefs and emotions that parts have been carrying.

A form of biofeedback using real-time displays of brain activity.

Brain waves in the 8-12 Hz range, associated with relaxed alertness.

Brain waves in the 12-30 Hz range, associated with active thinking.

Sensorimotor Rhythm - brain waves in the 12-15 Hz range.

A specific neurofeedback training plan targeting particular brain regions.

Stephen Porges' theory that the autonomic nervous system has three hierarchical states ~ ventral vagal (social engagement), sympathetic (fight/flight), and dorsal vagal (shutdown) ~ governed by the vagus nerve.

The nervous system's subconscious detection of safety, danger, or life-threat cues ~ occurring below conscious awareness and driving autonomic state shifts before the thinking brain registers what happened.

The newest evolutionary branch of the vagus nerve, supporting social engagement, connection, calm presence, and the capacity for relational attunement. Associated with prosodic voice, relaxed facial muscles, and steady heart rate.

The oldest evolutionary branch of the vagus nerve, responsible for immobilization, shutdown, collapse, dissociation, and conservation of metabolic resources under perceived life threat.

The fight-or-flight branch of the autonomic nervous system, mobilizing energy for action through increased heart rate, respiration, and muscle tension when danger is detected.

The integrated neural circuit linking the ventral vagus to muscles of the face, head, and throat ~ enabling eye contact, vocal prosody, listening, and facial expression as pathways to co-regulation.

The reciprocal process by which one nervous system helps regulate another through safety cues ~ tone of voice, facial expression, proximity, and attuned presence.

The ventral vagal mechanism that modulates heart rate by applying or releasing vagal tone ~ allowing rapid, flexible shifts between calm and mild activation without triggering full sympathetic mobilization.

When the nervous system misreads safety as danger or danger as safety ~ common in trauma survivors whose detection system was calibrated by chronic threat, leading to hypervigilance or dangerous under-reaction.

Deb Dana's clinical metaphor mapping the three polyvagal states as rungs of a ladder ~ ventral vagal at top (safe/connected), sympathetic in middle (mobilized), dorsal vagal at bottom (collapsed/shut down).

The mindset (set) and environment (setting) for a psychedelic experience.

Making meaning from and incorporating insights from a psychedelic experience.

Temporary loss of the sense of self during psychedelic experiences.

Therapy sessions before medicine session to build rapport and set intentions.

Profound experience characterized by unity, transcendence, and ineffability.

Approaching traumatic material in small, manageable doses to prevent overwhelm.

The natural rhythm of moving between states of activation and calm.

The release of stored survival energy through physical sensations.

Sensation, Image, Behavior, Affect, Meaning - five channels of experience.

The holistic, bodily-felt experience of a situation or issue.

Therapeutic interventions that target the body and autonomic nervous system.

Combining mindfulness with the therapeutic relationship.

Physical capacities and body-based skills that help regulate the nervous system.

Implicit, body-based learning that becomes automatic.