In the September issue of my newsletter, you will learn about training events of interest during the fall season including two upcoming teleseminars. News from the Pain Front explores research related to the "insula," a very small brain structure that may play a very big role in chronic emotional and physical pain as well as in other health issues.

Be well,

I'm glad that so many of you are participating now in our monthly teleseminars. I am finding this format exciting, dynamic, and highly effective as a way of delivering training and creating a sense of community. Here are some recent comments we have received:

"I am learning to feel some hope practicing the methods I have learned with Maggie and her guests. Each teleseminar brings more skills, trust, and faith in the healing process, plus the warmth and caring I feel from the presenters, and of course an increase in my own commitment."

"Thank you so much! The information was great, and great examples made the information easy to apply right away with my clients."

"This was really well organized. I appreciated your focus and ability to keep things moving. The printed guide was very helpful. Obviously you could have done an entire seminar on any one of those questions(!), but this covered a lot of ground. I left feeling much better prepared & inspired for working with people w/chronic pain."

On Monday, September 8, from 7-8 PM Eastern time, you are invited to a free teleseminar on Reversing Pain with Dr. Ruth Buczynski, Director of NICABM (the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine). We will be discussing my work with chronic pain and you can get a preview of my presentations at the December 8-14 conference on Mind Body Medicine in Hilton Head, South Carolina. For more information, visit www.nicabm.com/teleseminar/2008/9/. Also please check out the amazing bonuses that can be yours when you enroll in this dynamic conference -- one of my very favorites in a replenishing beach setting with a huge array of outstanding speakers!

On Monday, September 15, at 9 AM Eastern time and 9 PM (21:00 PM) Hong Kong time, please join me for SE (Somatic Experiencing®) in Hong Kong and China. The call will be for 90 minutes. The first 30 minutes will be an opportunity for the four volunteer assistants and translators who participated in the CHERP (CHinese Earthquake Relief Project) effort in the Chengdu area in early August just before the Olympics to share some of their stories. We will also discuss the beginning SE workshop with Raja Selvam in November in Hong Kong, my workshops in Hong Kong and Shanghai in March, 2009, and answer any questions about level I certification.

The remaining 60 minutes of the seminar will be spent discussing participants' work with SE, and questions and answers related to using Somatic Experiencing® in various work settings and as self-practice. I will also present some teaching points related to our discussion. The cost for this teleseminar is a reduced rate of $25 USD. After basic expenses, the balance of the fees will be sent as a donation to the CHERP fund here. If the timing of the call (check with the world clock at www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/) is difficult for you, or you have schedule conflicts, included in your enrollment fee is 30 days of online access to the audio replay of the call. To listen live, you will have the option of either dialing in by telephone (long-distance telephone charges apply) or logging in online using your web browser (at no additional charge).

This call is for:

• All students who completed the recent SE I class in Hong Kong,
• All students of SE worldwide,
• Anyone who has been introduced to SE and would like to know more about this method of treating trauma and its symptoms, including chronic emotional and physical pain,
• Those who would like to learn about the earthquake relief project and contribute to the donation fund through this call.

There are still openings for the advanced seminar on Ego-State Therapy in Vienna on Monday, September 22. Please contact me directly at mphillips@lmi.net for more information.

September is beautiful in Paris. I'll be teaching Treating Complex Stress Disorders with Mindfulness and Mind-Body Healing in Paris, France on 27-28 September. Please visit download the brochure and to enroll, click on http://ietsp.free.fr/pdf/Inscription_Seminaire.pdf.

Don't forget about the Ego-State Therapy intensive in Rottweil, Germany from 29 September - 3 October. There are still spaces for private sessions and for the workshop events. Please visit www.meg-rottweil.de to learn more, and contact me directly about private sessions at mphillips@lmi.net.

My online class Advances in Energy Psychology sponsored by NICABM begins on September 28. Join me for an exciting 8 weeks designed for newcomers as well as more advanced students, as you expand your skills, help some of your toughest clients succeed, and resolve some of your own challenging personal issues. 32 CE units are provided. For more information and enrollment, please go to www.nicabm.com/?course=ene.

Finally, I will be teaching Multi-Modal Approaches to Healing Post-Traumatic Pain in Heidelberg, Germany on 4-5 October. For more information and registration, visit www.meihei.de or contact Dr. Gunther Schmidt at office@meihei.de.

According to the latest research, the insula is a tiny brain structure that may have a big role in chronic pain and other health issues. The insula reads body states like hunger, addictive urges, and pain. Brain scans show that the insula "lights up" when people crave drugs, feel or anticipate pain, empathize with others, engage in social interactions, and listen to music, among other activities.

Researchers who have studied the insula claim that it integrates mind and body and provides unprecedented insight into the anatomy of human emotions. Of course, it does not act alone; it is believed to be part of multiple, complex circuitry. The insula itself seems to be a kind of receiving station for the physiological states of the entire body. It then generates responses that can keep the body in a state of balance.

The insula was first placed in the spotlight about ten years ago when neuroscientist Antonio Domasio developed his somatic marker hypothesis, the idea that rational thinking cannot be separated from feelings and emotions. All mammals have emotions which are really sensations that provoke motivation. If we feel pain, we react in such a way as to avoid it. If we are hot, we drink water or seek shade.

In the frontal insula, which is hugely expanded in human beings over that of lower animals, simple body states or sensations are transformed into emotions. This appears to be where we sense love and hate, trust and distrust, confidence and shame, empathy and contempt, and so on. Unique cells called VENS, present only in humans and certain large mammals, appear to have a major role in turning sensations and emotions into actions and intentions.

Another task of the insula is to participate in the process of anticipating experiences. An example is that when you get ready to go outside on a cold day, your body anticipates the change and helps to prepare you by pumping more blood and increasing your metabolism.

Functional MRIs have shown strong activation of the parieto-insular cortex during the experience of pain. Further, a lesion that occurs in this area dramatically reduces pain. There is also strong activation at a second site-the caudal part of the anterior cingulate, an area implicated in our emotional behaviors. Pain can therefore be seen as a homeostatic response consisting of a specific physical sensation, represented in the parieto-insular cortex, and an emotional component, represented in the anterior cingulate.

The insula is active in response to all sensations in the body related to its health. From this point of view, there is a substantial evidence for the biological basis of the hypothesis that self-awareness is based on a mental image of the overall homeostatic condition of the body (i.e. how we "feel").

These findings have implications for the reduction of pain in terms of the placebo effect. It appears that placebo may be an example of how the brain modulates its own activity through the effects of belief. In coming years, it may be that we can study more closely the interaction of pain with emotions and other sensations of the body, which may lead us to more sophisticated mind-body solutions. For example, it may be that this research opens up a new possibility: Learning to regulate activity consciously in the insula through the use of fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) biofeedback methods to help control pain, including our anticipation of pain, more effectively without invasive procedures or medication. Exciting times are ahead!

Thanks so much for reading.

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