Last week, I talked about challenging ourselves to be brave. You shared a lot of beautiful responses and dreams – everything from learning to dance to leaving your agency to open a practice. Your stories and goals are inspiring to me. There’s so much each of us has to contribute to the world, and yet […]
Coping with trauma: Overcoming the strategy that could be worsening symptoms
Why is it that 33% to 53% of HIV-infected people have histories of childhood sexual abuse? Just take a look at the symptoms of childhood sexual abuse – helplessness, low self-esteem, dissociation, denial, self-destructiveness . . . these psychological difficulties that can result from childhood sexual abuse are often related to HIV risk behavior. Studies […]
The Polyvagal Theory: Looking at Trauma through a New Lens
Can trauma haunt the body the same way it haunts memories? According to Stephen Porges, PhD, not only does the body remember a traumatic experience, but it can actually get stuck in the trauma response mode. So even when life becomes safe, the body still perceives danger and its defenses stay engaged. Why does this […]
If I were brave . . .
I was reminiscing recently about our December conference in Hilton Head. We don’t host it anymore, but one moment made a lasting impact on me, and certainly touched many of the practitioners attending, too. It’s a song called If I Were Brave, by Jana Stanfield. Jana, a talented singer/songwriter, performed this inspiring song at a […]
A Trauma Therapy Program for Children in Conflict Zones
If a single traumatic experience can change a person’s life for years to come, what must an average day be like for someone who faces traumatic events on a routine basis? For people affected by war or natural disaster, where entire populations from infants to the elderly have been exposed to so much suffering, what […]