A Case Study Illustrating the Effectiveness of Neurosurgery for a Brain Tumour Followed by Intense Neuro-Coaching

Jenny presented to me several years ago with the main complaints of headaches and vertigo. The symptoms had been present for a period of three months and were deteriorating. An MRI scan was performed which revealed a large posterior tumor which was infiltrating the transverse sinus. There was significant compression of the cerebellum. The diagnosis was particularly devastating for Jenny. She was a high level executive and at the age of fifty one had very rarely been ill. The diagnosis as well as the planned surgery necessitated an in-depth discussion to prepare the way for formidable surgery.

During the discussion, Jenny enquired as to what the cause was for the growth of the tumour. I indicated that in the context of the conventional biomedical model there was no specific cause that could be identified. However I indicated that in the sphere of psychoneuro-immunology (PNI) negative neuropsychological influences had been identified which resulted in chronic inflammation in the body together with immune suppression, mediated by a group of chemicals referred to as the pro-inflammatory cytokines. The immune suppression compromised the body’s defences against infections and tumours. The chronic inflammation had also been shown to be the initiating factor in coronary artery disease, diabetes, cancer and some neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease and Motor Neuron Disease. The pro-inflammatory cytokines however not only mediated the chronic inflammation and immune suppression but also interfaced with the neurophysiology of the brain, further aggravating a negative neuropsychological state.

Jenny requested that I summarize the identified neuropsychological states which created the illness risk. I indicated that on the positive resourceful side was a mind state of meaning and purpose while on the negative side was a mind state of hopeless-helplessness which, if persistent for a year or more (in my experience), often gave rise to a medical diagnosis. The concept of hopeless-helpless implies a life situation with low meaning and purpose and the subjective belief that it cannot be changed - an entrapment situation.

Jenny indicated that she indeed devolved into a mind state of hopeless-helpless over the preceding one and a half years in her work environment. Enthusiasm had waned and she no longer derived adequate gratification from her work environment. I enquired about her personal space and here emerged a very troubled picture dating back to her nurture period. At this point I indicated to Jenny that we would need to prioritize the intervention by initially directing our energies towards the planned surgery. Once she had fully recovered from the surgery we could initiate an intense coaching intervention to expose and deal with the negative neuropsychology which had most likely impaired her immunity and allowed the tumour to grow unchecked.

The surgery was difficult in that the tumour turned out to be an aggressive meningioma which had infiltrated the transverse sinus. It had also infiltrated the superficial layers of the cerebellum. The transverse sinus was incised and all tumour removed. The cerebellum was also cleared of all infiltrating tumour. Essentially a total removal was achieved. The surgery was uneventful and Jenny made a full recovery without neurological deficits.

After a period of six weeks we commenced the neuro-coaching intervention. This took the form of neuromodulation (NeuroSurge form of neuro-coaching). Jenny initially completed the online NeuroSurge diagnostic. This formed the basis for the planned intervention. The diagnostic indicated that although Jenny had the motivation and necessary attributes for her work environment, there was a distinct lack of gratification and fulfilment. In addition there were indications of a diminished self-worth. More importantly her personal space was almost devoid of gratification. There was also a strong suggestion that there was a deep seated issue relating to probable nurture deprivation. Jenny indicated that she had been divorced for two years. I responded that our statistics had shown that in a woman, the subjective feeling of hopeless-helplessness in the personal environment had a higher risk for the development of a medical diagnosis than hopeless-helplessness in the work situation. The opposite held true regarding the male of the species. In the male, hopeless-helplessness in the work environment posed the higher risk for the development of a medical diagnosis. I asked Jenny if she felt that her divorce had contributed to her negative mind state. She replied that if anything, her divorce had been a release from an oppressive and unfulfilling marriage. It became clear that we needed to penetrate a lot deeper into the personal space, all the way back to the nurture environment. And it was here that, after several sessions, we uncovered the critical determinants for her high risk mind state.

Her mother had been extremely cold and non-responsive to her emotional needs. Her father had been an alcoholic and very distant. In an attempt to gain maternal recognition she adopted compensatory behaviour such as serving the needs of her mother and later, taking care of younger siblings. However, all to no avail. Her subjective reality that was forged was one characterized by the need for driven compensatory activity. Appended to this however was sadness and distrust which resulted from never having experienced true recognition for her needs as a young child requiring love and nurture. In its essence, the evolving narrative incorporated the damaging theme that she believed she was born never to experience personal gratification. She also believed that she was born to serve the needs of others. This obviously resulted in a low self-esteem.  Her compensatory behaviour drove her always to overcompensate in order to gain recognition. Ultimately this resulted in an extremely successful career but with the nurture baggage of her personal space. The bizarre situation emerged that in a compensatory, successful career she was confidant and for the most part, highly fulfilled. But when she viewed her personal space she experienced the low self-esteem, worthlessness and hopeless-helplessness which was the subjective world of the little girl who had never experienced the love and warmth of nurture. Both worlds co-existed but were un-integrated. In fact when I brought them both into focus for the first time (integration) she felt guilt that she (the successful adult) had experienced gratification and recognition while the sad little girl continued to suffer. Consequently there followed sessions directed at establishing dialogue between the successful woman and the suffering little girl. This intervention however was unsuccessful. The breakthrough only came much later. Jenny in a sudden cathartic moment came to a realization that she did not need to carry the suffering little girl with her any longer. She had given herself permission to savour all that she had become and all her achievements. And so the toxicity of the nurture deprivation evaporated.

On reviewing the possible dynamic which had led to the hopeless-helplessness preceding the diagnosis, Jenny believed that losing meaning and purpose in her compensatory world was lethal in the face of the absence of gratification in her personal space. It became clear therefore that the definitive intervention would need to restore meaning and purpose in the work environment and thereafter apply the gratification derived from a restored work environment to creating a gratifying personal space. Jenny therefore established a personal mission statement as well as strategies required to achieve the relevant goals using the NeuroSurge online self-coaching template (E-Modulate). It was important to ensure that the five core elements known to enhance change, were incorporated viz. meaning and purpose; self-esteem/self-efficacy; reward gratification; achievement; value contribution (to self and the environment). It was important also to maximize on areas of previous achievement and gratification as well as personal strengths and unique attributes. Working within this framework we re-structured her work environment and then transplanted the positive and resourceful attributes from this environment into her personal space. This necessitated expanding the personal mission statement and neutralizing previous limiting beliefs using a process of disputation. Finally, Jenny was coached to be empowered to apply this process to herself on a regular basis and to make changes as required in order to maintain optimal levels of gratification in both her work and personal environments.

Jenny has been followed up now for a period of four years since her surgery. She has effectively re-structured her work and personal environments which have now become integrated. She experiences ongoing gratification from these environments. Her follow up annual MRI scans have shown no recurrent growth of her original tumour.

Further reading:

http://www.neuronostic.com/PromoSurge.pdf

http://www.pninet.com/articles/Surge-app.pdf

http://www.pninet.com/articles/Memory.pdf

                                                             Copyright reserved - Ian Weinberg 2016