The course gives you an understanding of what happens in the brain and body during and after trauma, why traumatic responses can persist, and how these responses may be influenced through therapeutic intervention.

It begins by exploring what happens neurologically and physiologically when we experience a traumatic event. You’ll examine the roles of key brain structures including the amygdala, hippocampus and hypothalamus, and how they interact with the body’s stress response. You will explore the function of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, and what humans share with other organisms, helping to place the human trauma response within a broader understanding of evolution, survival and biological adaptation.

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It then explores the science of memory and synaptic plasticity (the brain’s ability to change its connections in response to experience and learning). You will examine how traumatic experiences can become strongly encoded, why responses to past events can continue to influence us in the present, and how genetics, learning and survival mechanisms interact.

You’ll take a deeper look at synaptic plasticity and homeostasis, exploring how the brain and body continually adapt and regulate themselves — and how these processes can potentially be influenced through relatively simple therapeutic methodologies.

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The aim is to connect the neuroscience directly to your clinical work: understanding the mechanisms behind trauma so that you can better understand the rationale for ERT and how the approach is intended to support therapeutic change.

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By the end of this part of the training, you won't simply have learned what to do. You'll have a deeper understanding of why ERT is designed to work in the way it does, and the neurological and physiological concepts that underpin the approach.