Trauma, Memory, Resilience and Consciousness—David Bullard, Ph.D.

Life makes us all susceptible to these painful states of mind. And sometimes memories of suffering and trauma – either which we have experienced directly or vicariously to the pain of others – continue to be powerfully disturbing long afterward, despite our attempts to change them through understandings from meditation, spirituality or psychotherapy.

New advances in trauma therapy and memory research, together with Buddhist perspectives on consciousness, can help us neutralize or greatly diminish the disturbance such memories have held for us.

These passing contents of consciousness can be seen as illusions, similar but in contrast to the “willing suspension of disbelief” we engage in when enjoying movies and theatrical productions. (Those “people” we see on the movie screen are really projections of light or are patterns of pixels from the digital world; the interesting “characters” we are focusing on in a play are actually actors – often with extremely different personalities than those they are portraying).  Memories can be seen as illusory also, with memory research highlighting the “perceptual errors” inherent in them.

In this two-hour seminar, we will explore understandings of consciousness from mindfulness, Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, together with recent research on memory reconsolidation, and will have demonstrations of and opportunity to experience an adaptation of the Flash Technique® for traumatic and disturbing memories, which has been taught internationally in the past three years by Phillip Manfield, Ph.D. and Lewis Engel, Ph.D. to approximately 6,000 EMDR trauma therapists.

Added to this workshop will be insights from in-depth conversations David has had with Tibetan Buddhist scholars Robert Thurman, PhD and Thupten Jinpa, PhD.; senior Zen teachers; UCLA  neuro-psychoanalyst Allan Schore, MD; trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk, MD; and psychedelic researcher and psychologist William (Bill) Richards, PhD of Johns Hopkins Medical University.

“I have had the pleasure of knowing David for several years and admire his ability to bring kindness and humor into his interaction with others with such ease. He is most known for his work with trauma and relationships, where, in addition to his professional expertise as a clinical psychologist, he also brings important Buddhist insights as part of his therapeutic approach. I recommend him as a caring and entertaining teacher.”
– Thupten Jinpa, PhD, Principal Translator to H.H. the Dalai Lama and author of A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives

Dr. David Bullard, Ph.D., has had a private practice of individual psychotherapy and couples therapy in San Francisco since 1976. He is a clinical professor in departments of medicine and psychiatry and a member of the professional advisory group of Spiritual Care Services at the University of California, San Francisco, and is a consultant for the Symptom Management Service (outpatient palliative care) at UCSFs Helen Diller Family Cancer Center.  For the past three years he has been a mentor in the center for psychedelic therapies and research at the California Institute of Integral Studies.  His trauma therapy incorporates advanced training in EMDR and the new Flash Technique®, and he is a certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner®.

David’s latest professional publications are Schore, A.N. & Bullard, D.G. (2019) Allan Schore on the science of the art of psychotherapy: Interview.” In Schore, A.N., Right brain psychotherapy.  New York: Norton; and Bullard, D.G. and Derzko, C.M. (2019). Sexual problems. In Behavioral medicine: A guide for clinical practice, 5th edition (2019). He has previously published interviews for psychotherapy.net with William (Bill) Richards, Ph.D.; Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D. (English translator and editor for H.H. the Dalai Lama); Allan Schore, Ph.D.; Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.; Mark Epstein, M.D.; Ida Gorbis, Ph.D.; George Silberschatz, Ph.D.; and Lonnie Barbach, Ph.D. David also has traveled with, interviewed, and presented with Tibetan Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman, Ph.D.

More information about David can be found at:  https://www.drbullard.com











When: Sat., Feb. 29, 2020 at 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Where: Tibet House US
22 W. 15th St.
212-807-0563
Price: $25
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Life makes us all susceptible to these painful states of mind. And sometimes memories of suffering and trauma – either which we have experienced directly or vicariously to the pain of others – continue to be powerfully disturbing long afterward, despite our attempts to change them through understandings from meditation, spirituality or psychotherapy.

New advances in trauma therapy and memory research, together with Buddhist perspectives on consciousness, can help us neutralize or greatly diminish the disturbance such memories have held for us.

These passing contents of consciousness can be seen as illusions, similar but in contrast to the “willing suspension of disbelief” we engage in when enjoying movies and theatrical productions. (Those “people” we see on the movie screen are really projections of light or are patterns of pixels from the digital world; the interesting “characters” we are focusing on in a play are actually actors – often with extremely different personalities than those they are portraying).  Memories can be seen as illusory also, with memory research highlighting the “perceptual errors” inherent in them.

In this two-hour seminar, we will explore understandings of consciousness from mindfulness, Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, together with recent research on memory reconsolidation, and will have demonstrations of and opportunity to experience an adaptation of the Flash Technique® for traumatic and disturbing memories, which has been taught internationally in the past three years by Phillip Manfield, Ph.D. and Lewis Engel, Ph.D. to approximately 6,000 EMDR trauma therapists.

Added to this workshop will be insights from in-depth conversations David has had with Tibetan Buddhist scholars Robert Thurman, PhD and Thupten Jinpa, PhD.; senior Zen teachers; UCLA  neuro-psychoanalyst Allan Schore, MD; trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk, MD; and psychedelic researcher and psychologist William (Bill) Richards, PhD of Johns Hopkins Medical University.

“I have had the pleasure of knowing David for several years and admire his ability to bring kindness and humor into his interaction with others with such ease. He is most known for his work with trauma and relationships, where, in addition to his professional expertise as a clinical psychologist, he also brings important Buddhist insights as part of his therapeutic approach. I recommend him as a caring and entertaining teacher.”
– Thupten Jinpa, PhD, Principal Translator to H.H. the Dalai Lama and author of A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives

Dr. David Bullard, Ph.D., has had a private practice of individual psychotherapy and couples therapy in San Francisco since 1976. He is a clinical professor in departments of medicine and psychiatry and a member of the professional advisory group of Spiritual Care Services at the University of California, San Francisco, and is a consultant for the Symptom Management Service (outpatient palliative care) at UCSFs Helen Diller Family Cancer Center.  For the past three years he has been a mentor in the center for psychedelic therapies and research at the California Institute of Integral Studies.  His trauma therapy incorporates advanced training in EMDR and the new Flash Technique®, and he is a certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner®.

David’s latest professional publications are Schore, A.N. & Bullard, D.G. (2019) Allan Schore on the science of the art of psychotherapy: Interview.” In Schore, A.N., Right brain psychotherapy.  New York: Norton; and Bullard, D.G. and Derzko, C.M. (2019). Sexual problems. In Behavioral medicine: A guide for clinical practice, 5th edition (2019). He has previously published interviews for psychotherapy.net with William (Bill) Richards, Ph.D.; Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D. (English translator and editor for H.H. the Dalai Lama); Allan Schore, Ph.D.; Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.; Mark Epstein, M.D.; Ida Gorbis, Ph.D.; George Silberschatz, Ph.D.; and Lonnie Barbach, Ph.D. David also has traveled with, interviewed, and presented with Tibetan Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman, Ph.D.

More information about David can be found at:  https://www.drbullard.com

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