The Female Brain & The Inner Critic

CPD

Faculty

Betsy Holmberg, PhD Related seminars and products

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Betsy Holmberg, PhD, is an award-winning psychologist and author specializing in overthinking and negative self-talk. She writes for Psychology Today and has been featured on radio, television, and podcasts. Before settling into writing and therapy, Betsy ran the global behavioral health service line at McKinsey & Company, a premier consulting firm. She also worked at Harvard and co-authored several peer-reviewed academic journal articles on non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal thoughts. She is trained in EMDR, Cognitive-Behavioral and Dialectical Behavioral therapies. Betsy received her doctorate, master’s and BA in psychology from Duke University.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Betsy Holmberg is an author with New Harbinger Publications and Psychology Today. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Betsy Holmberg has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Additional Info

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Objectives

After the presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Define the core functions of the default mode network (DMN), central executive network (CEN), and salience network (SN) with key brain regions, thought patterns, and roles in mental illness.
2. Identify at least four gender-specific and contextual factors that intensify negative self-talk (e.g., fatigue, stress, hormones, trauma, substance use, social conditioning).
3. Select evidence-based treatment approaches and therapy-adjacent tools for negative self-talk according to client presentation, history, and traits.

Outline

The Neuroscience of Negative Self-Talk

• Overview of thought network architecture: DMN, CEN, and SN)
• Brain regions involved, core functions, and how networks interact
• How network imbalance contributes to depression, anxiety, and suicidality

Gender-Specific Inputs and Risk Pathways

• Female-specific influences on thought networks, including social conditioning, trauma exposure, violence statistics, and income inequality
• External and physiological factors that shape network connectivity and function

Brain “Safety Protocols” and Dysregulation

• How perceived threat deactivates the CEN and activates the DMN
• Common triggers and patterning, with female-specific callouts:
  • Fatigue and insomnia
  • Chronic stress
  • Hormonal shifts
  • Substance use
  • Trauma and relational threat

Evidence-Based Treatments and Network Change

• How CBT, DBT, EMDR, IFS, and hypnosis influence thought networks
• Matching treatment approach to client presentation, history, and traits
• Clinical decision-making through a neurobiological lens

Therapy-Adjacent Tools for Support and Integration

Review of complementary tools (e.g., meditation, binaural beats, shaking)

The neuroscience behind how these tools may support regulation and flexibility

Clear boundaries between evidence-based treatment and adjunctive practices

A New Clinical Paradigm

• Re-evaluating common clinical language around negative self-talk
• Introducing stigma-reducing, neuroscience-informed ways to assess and discuss inner dialogue
• Practical exercises clinicians can share with clients to interrupt negative self-talk in daily life

Target Audience

• Counsellors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Psychiatrists
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Addiction Counsellors
• Other Mental Health Professionals