Freedom to Change: Understanding and Reshaping the Stressed Brain
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2025
Pages: 240
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2025
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$50.00 USD
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Every day in America, millions of students go to school after enduring chronic stress. They sit in classrooms filled with so much emotional noise that concentrating and learning become difficult. If only there were a way to quiet their confusion and chaos. FREEDOM TO CHANGE is a guide for teachers, counselors, and parents to understand the impact of early life stress on children and offers practical tools to help alter negative learning trajectories through positive relational learning strategies. Within the pages of this book lie hope and restoration, providing a way to quiet the chaos and create new pathways to thriving.
Dr. Vince Callahan is regarded as a mental health expert, serving the counseling community for over three decades. He is a leading authority on early life stress and its impact on neural development. His groundbreaking research on the brain, particularly how stress affects every aspect of life, makes this book essential reading. Not only does it provide insight into how the brain functions, but it also reveals the reality of how stress alters the brain. The book concludes by offering readers practical tools to transform ingrained neural pathways into positive behaviors.
Chapter One: Introduction to Neural Processing
Chapter Two: The Personal Side of the Brain
Chapter Three: How are Feelings Generated
Chapter Four: Understanding Stress
Chapter Five: The Brain and Chronic Stress
Chapter Six: Defining Stress-Brain Syndrome
Chapter Seven: Understanding the Determining Factors of Early Life Stress
Chapter Eight: The Stressed-Brain Student Profile
Chapter Nine: Misdiagnosing Early Life Stress in Children
Chapter Ten: Specific Classroom Behaviors of the Early-Life-Stressed Student
Chapter Eleven: Introduction to Attachment
Chapter Twelve: Relaxing the Brain Through Secure Attachment
Chapter Thirteen: Attachment in the Classroom
Chapter Fourteen: The Resilient Student
Chapter Fifteen: The Neural Classroom
Chapter Sixteen: What About the Normal Student
Chapter Seventeen: For the Teacher
Chapter Eighteen: Early Life Stress in Adults
Chapter Nineteen: Attachment-Based Parenting
Chapter Twenty: No More Stress
Chapter Twenty-one: What Does it All Mean
Dr. Vince Callahan is a seasoned counselor, educator, and researcher with nearly four decades of experience in understanding and addressing emotional trauma and its impact on individual and family well-being. He began his professional journey after earning his master’s degree from Regent University in 1986, working extensively in in-patient psychiatric hospitals and private practice settings. His early work focused on providing critical mental health care for both children and adults.
Over the next decade, Dr. Callahan expanded his impact by developing and presenting a two-day family conference series that reached audiences across the United States and in seven foreign countries. He also engaged in in-home counseling, authored several books, and made numerous media appearances to advocate for family healing and mental wellness.
In 2007, Dr. Callahan founded a behavioral health company dedicated to serving severely mentally ill adults through intensive community-based treatment services. At the same time, he began his doctoral work at Regent University, earning his Doctor of Education with a focus on the neurological impact of emotional trauma on academic performance. Over the past twelve years, his research has explored the intersection of early life stress, brain development, and learning. One of his key findings emphasizes the importance of creating relational learning environments to support children affected by trauma.
Dr. Callahan brings a faith-based perspective to his counseling, integrating Christian principles with evidence-based psychological practices. His extensive clinical experience—documenting over 30,000 hours of individual and family counseling—reflects his deep commitment to helping others find healing, hope, and personal growth.
Currently, Dr. Callahan serves as an adjunct professor, business consultant, professional development trainer, workshop presenter, and author. He is also the founder and owner of the Florida Institute for Neural Discovery, where he continues his mission of transforming lives through neuroscience-informed care and education.
“I really enjoyed reading your book—it was both engaging and informative! The way you incorporated great statistics and strong analogies made complex concepts easy to understand. I especially liked how you used bold lettering for emphasis; it really helped key points stand out. Your discussion on early life stress and its impact on classroom behavior was particularly insightful, and I appreciated the clear definitions throughout. The alarming statistics and detailed explanations of how chronic stress affects brain size and function due to cortisol overproduction were eye-opening. Overall, it was a compelling and well-structured read! My biggest takeaways as an educator were the connections you made between chronic stress and learning disorders, particularly your discussion on page 102. It really reinforced how deeply stress impacts a child’s ability to learn. I was also fascinated by the section on how stress in utero affects brain development—I had no idea how early these effects could begin. Another point that stood out to me was on page 92, where you explained that many stressed students struggle with group work, yet so many schools rely on collaborative learning. That really made me think about how classroom structures may unintentionally create challenges for these students.”
Robin Dunfee
Every day in America, millions of students go to school after enduring chronic stress. They sit in classrooms filled with so much emotional noise that concentrating and learning become difficult. If only there were a way to quiet their confusion and chaos. FREEDOM TO CHANGE is a guide for teachers, counselors, and parents to understand the impact of early life stress on children and offers practical tools to help alter negative learning trajectories through positive relational learning strategies. Within the pages of this book lie hope and restoration, providing a way to quiet the chaos and create new pathways to thriving.
Dr. Vince Callahan is regarded as a mental health expert, serving the counseling community for over three decades. He is a leading authority on early life stress and its impact on neural development. His groundbreaking research on the brain, particularly how stress affects every aspect of life, makes this book essential reading. Not only does it provide insight into how the brain functions, but it also reveals the reality of how stress alters the brain. The book concludes by offering readers practical tools to transform ingrained neural pathways into positive behaviors.
Chapter One: Introduction to Neural Processing
Chapter Two: The Personal Side of the Brain
Chapter Three: How are Feelings Generated
Chapter Four: Understanding Stress
Chapter Five: The Brain and Chronic Stress
Chapter Six: Defining Stress-Brain Syndrome
Chapter Seven: Understanding the Determining Factors of Early Life Stress
Chapter Eight: The Stressed-Brain Student Profile
Chapter Nine: Misdiagnosing Early Life Stress in Children
Chapter Ten: Specific Classroom Behaviors of the Early-Life-Stressed Student
Chapter Eleven: Introduction to Attachment
Chapter Twelve: Relaxing the Brain Through Secure Attachment
Chapter Thirteen: Attachment in the Classroom
Chapter Fourteen: The Resilient Student
Chapter Fifteen: The Neural Classroom
Chapter Sixteen: What About the Normal Student
Chapter Seventeen: For the Teacher
Chapter Eighteen: Early Life Stress in Adults
Chapter Nineteen: Attachment-Based Parenting
Chapter Twenty: No More Stress
Chapter Twenty-one: What Does it All Mean
Dr. Vince Callahan is a seasoned counselor, educator, and researcher with nearly four decades of experience in understanding and addressing emotional trauma and its impact on individual and family well-being. He began his professional journey after earning his master’s degree from Regent University in 1986, working extensively in in-patient psychiatric hospitals and private practice settings. His early work focused on providing critical mental health care for both children and adults.
Over the next decade, Dr. Callahan expanded his impact by developing and presenting a two-day family conference series that reached audiences across the United States and in seven foreign countries. He also engaged in in-home counseling, authored several books, and made numerous media appearances to advocate for family healing and mental wellness.
In 2007, Dr. Callahan founded a behavioral health company dedicated to serving severely mentally ill adults through intensive community-based treatment services. At the same time, he began his doctoral work at Regent University, earning his Doctor of Education with a focus on the neurological impact of emotional trauma on academic performance. Over the past twelve years, his research has explored the intersection of early life stress, brain development, and learning. One of his key findings emphasizes the importance of creating relational learning environments to support children affected by trauma.
Dr. Callahan brings a faith-based perspective to his counseling, integrating Christian principles with evidence-based psychological practices. His extensive clinical experience—documenting over 30,000 hours of individual and family counseling—reflects his deep commitment to helping others find healing, hope, and personal growth.
Currently, Dr. Callahan serves as an adjunct professor, business consultant, professional development trainer, workshop presenter, and author. He is also the founder and owner of the Florida Institute for Neural Discovery, where he continues his mission of transforming lives through neuroscience-informed care and education.
“I really enjoyed reading your book—it was both engaging and informative! The way you incorporated great statistics and strong analogies made complex concepts easy to understand. I especially liked how you used bold lettering for emphasis; it really helped key points stand out. Your discussion on early life stress and its impact on classroom behavior was particularly insightful, and I appreciated the clear definitions throughout. The alarming statistics and detailed explanations of how chronic stress affects brain size and function due to cortisol overproduction were eye-opening. Overall, it was a compelling and well-structured read! My biggest takeaways as an educator were the connections you made between chronic stress and learning disorders, particularly your discussion on page 102. It really reinforced how deeply stress impacts a child’s ability to learn. I was also fascinated by the section on how stress in utero affects brain development—I had no idea how early these effects could begin. Another point that stood out to me was on page 92, where you explained that many stressed students struggle with group work, yet so many schools rely on collaborative learning. That really made me think about how classroom structures may unintentionally create challenges for these students.”
Robin Dunfee