The Practice of the Practice Podcast | Where Modern Psychology Meets the Business of Therapy PoP 1206 - Mindfulness: What We Get Wrong with Trauma and the Nervous System with Dr. Frank Anderson, MD
May 15, 2025
Dr. Frank Anderson, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and trauma expert, explores what social media gets wrong about nervous-system regulation. He discusses trauma versus PTSD, relational wounds, the risks of oversimplified neuroscience, and how therapy can restore agency. The conversation also covers informed treatment choices, integrating therapeutic approaches, and making trauma care more accessible.
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Why Nervous System Language Needs More Nuance
- The nervous system is too complex for simplistic claims that people can directly “regulate” or fix it.
- Neuroscience still helps therapists tailor interventions to symptoms, emotions, behaviors, and trauma responses.
Social Media Can Bridge Trauma Care Gaps
- Social media can democratize trauma education while also rewarding people who mistake large followings for expertise.
- Dr. Frank Anderson sees accessible education as essential because psychotherapy remains too expensive and limited to reach everyone who needs help.
Trauma Depends On Experience Not Labels
- Trauma describes what happened and what someone absorbed, while PTSD describes the symptoms and responses that follow.
- Intensity, frequency, duration, perception, temperament, and resilience determine impact more reliably than labels like big T or little t.
