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Most of us have experienced stress at one time or another in our lives. For trauma survivors it seems that the “stress button” is stuck in the on position, and it doesn’t take much to elicit a strong reaction through thought, feelings, or behavior patterns. So many things seem to increase stress in the survivors life including treatment.

Disruption of functioning is often referred to by clinicians as "patient quality of Life". It doesn’t matter what it is called by clinicians, for the survivor, all the survivor knows is that they want to improve their quality of life or improve their ability to function .

For some, the ability to function has deteriorated so much that they end up being hospitalized. In most hospitals, trauma is not addressed, therefore the trauma survivor leaves the hospital after the “symptoms” are treated, only to find that their ability to function is still disrupted once they get back into “life”.

Many who suffer from trauma, whose problems with functioning are severe, have very little hope that they can regain it back. We believe that it is important when treating trauma survivors, that the patient's treatment plans address functional ability. This gives them hope, and motivation to address some of the deeper pathologies underlying their inability to function.

Mungadze Trauma Programs, believe that traumatic memories are stored in the sensory motor part of the brain in the temporal lobe, where the limbic system is located. The limbic system houses the parts that process information such as the Amygdala, Hippocampus, Thalamus, Hypothalamus, and all related structures.

The problems that trauma survivors have with memory, flashbacks, and sensory overload (commonly referred to as body memories), are all anchored in the temporal lobe. It is the belief in the Mungadze Trauma programs, that these parts of the brain are to be targeted for treatment in order to help alleviate the traumatic responses that make most trauma patients miserable.

Restoration of functioning while the patient goes through therapy, is a big part of what we do. In our program, techniques are used in reversing the activation of the right hemisphere resulting in (many times), an immediate calming of the emotional upsetness of the patient and a gradual return of the functioning abilities. Depending on which type of expression the patient uses, the activation reversal is done through the same type of expression...whether it be drawing, collaging, or color movement in art expression groups.

Psychological Rehabilitation

If abnormalities in the brain are responsible for some of the problems trauma survivors experience, then a big part of therapy for the trauma survivor has got to target those brain abnormalities. Example: Physical rehab that focuses on exercising certain parts of the body is known to affect changes in the nervous system resulting in the restoration of normal functioning of the body parts targeted.

If this is true for physical injury to the body or brain, the same is true for psychological injury and recovery.

The Mungadze Trauma and Addiction Program uses picture collages as a tool to help clients express things they could not express otherwise. As outlined in B Vander Kolk's work (1995), which outlines the same treatment modality. The facts about the limbic system that have been published, and all the research on PTSD, all serves to confirm what the Mungadze Trauma Programs have been incorporating in treatment and using in trainings since the early 1990's.

Traumatic Memories...

Addictions Related to Trauma?

In Kessler’s National study, he indicated that 43% of male survivors , and 27% of female survivors had drug addictions. The study also showed that 88% of male survivors, and 30% of female survivors had alcohol addictions!

I am sure that the statistics have increased with the deployment of the soldiers in Afghanistan, and Iraq, because of combat related stress. The ideal program would be, one who understood the correlation between trauma and addiction. Research on trauma and addictions strongly suggests that substance abuse is more of “self-medicating, rather than addiction. Most survivors will tell you there is “pain” behind the “gain” in their use.

Symptoms Related to Combat Stress

Jerry Mungadze’s clip from New Perspectives

Adult and Adolescent Programs

For the Treatment of Psychological Trauma and all Trauma Related Symptoms

Call 1-888-470-8885 for all inquires regarding inpatient treatment.

Please Call before you go to the Facility.

"...Psychological trauma affects the normal processing of information in the brain resulting in certain abnormalities affecting the lives of trauma victims. The right hemisphere seems to be more closely related to the storage of traumas and the expressions of those traumas, making trauma victims heavily reliant on the right hemisphere for their communication. The right hemisphere seems to use more symbolic language such as art work, collages, different types of images in drawings and colors to express both feelings, thoughts, and behaviors related to trauma and recovery...." Mungadze 2007

Restoration of Functioning

Using Right brain Therapy to restore, and heal

While our patients are working through resolving their traumas containing and managing their symptoms, we help them learn coping skills that help improve their quality of life.

The Mungadze Trauma Programs both Inpatient and Outpatient, consist of groups that are designed using Dr Mungadze’s Trauma Program curriculum, all using his evidence based treatment model. He treats all trauma related disorders and symptoms. He specializes in the treatment of Service members, struggling with PTSD, Trauma, combat related stress, and Trauma based Chemical Dependency.

While Trauma itself is not a disorder, its often the cause of the many problems people bring to treatment. Therefore, paying special attention to these trauma related symptoms, will bring success in treatment for those suffering from trauma. The Mungadze Trauma Programs believe that lf you let unresolved trauma continue while in therapy or inpatient treatment, you will leave many trauma survivors struggling with their trauma related symptoms and disorders .

The relationship between trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and dissociative disorders has well been established in the trauma literature, with top trauma specialist such as Rachel Yehuda, Kolb, and many others. There is growing correlation between trauma and other conditions generally not considered trauma related. Some of these conditions include;

Depression

Borderline Personality Disorder

Anxiety disorders

Addictions

Clinicians familiar with trauma therapy have realized that a lot of people that come to them for treatment, have experienced trauma in their past and some of their problems stem from those traumas. As a result, there is a paradigm shift in some circles of psychotherapy, which is a shift to a "Trauma Model of Treatment".

This model basically takes into account the fact that trauma victims often produce such a complex clinical picture because they often manifest a variety of symptom clusters often seen as independent or separate diagnosis (co-morbidity). And when considered in a trauma model these symptom clusters seem to be symptoms generated by trauma. This is the reason why in the trauma model, the symptoms or problems brought by trauma become the focus in the treatment rather that the diagnosis. Recently there has been a growing awareness of the impact of trauma on the brain and the impact that this disruption in the brain has on human perception and behavior.

Dr Mungadze's whole treatment program (both inpatient and outpatient), pays a great deal of attention to what trauma does to the brain and what the brain does to deal with the trauma as well as try to heal from it.

Dr Mungadze's Curriculum consist of Seven groups.

Each of the Seven groups is solidly based on:

A. The focus of helping trauma patients stabilize acute trauma symptoms

B. Give patients education on trauma related disorders, how to deal with them, and how to live with them

C. There is an emphasis on teaching trauma patients better coping skills once they leave treatment

D. How to manage their trauma responses that can disrupt their lives.

The general principles that our program follows in each of our groups:

1. Each group in this program is very specific therefore we stay within the bounds of the specific group and do not bring ideas or materials that belong to other groups or programs.

2. Each group has lecture materials for our staff, and assignments. Most of our groups are process and psychotherapy. The patients may take notes if they wish in the educational groups.

3. Good therapy is structured by patients talking more that the therapist. Patients leave group with a sense of having made progress in their recovery, not just having heard something cognitively.

4. A good group therapists is one who knows how to use the whole group and its members to achieve therapeutic outcome in group.

5. Our successful groups keep chaos, noise and disruption out of group, so that each group member can get something from each and every group.

Call today to schedule your initial consult with one of our Associates!

1-888-470-8885

For the past 20 years Dr Mungadze has been studying the physiological aspects of trauma, (the relationship between trauma and the brain, particularly the right brain), and has been convinced of the need to focus on working with the human brain to both understand and treat trauma related disorders.

The Mungadze Trauma programs recognizes that dysfunctional behaviors are not easy to stop. Telling patients to stop cutting etc…is not very productive without understanding the reasons for the cutting and the benefits of it