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| SOMATIC THERAPY TO HEAL TRAUMA To Schedule Your Somatic Therapy Session, contact Thea or call 651-319-2110 scroll down for information on social, collective & historical trama and Thea M. Lee's biography REFERENCE DOCUMENTS: WHAT ARE SYMPTOMPS OF TRAUMA?
When the nervous system is stuck in Fight or Flight, a cluster of symptoms commonly known as “re-living” symptoms appear. They include: anxiety, agitation, jittery feelings, irritability, outbursts of anger, impulsivity - jumpiness, hyper-vigilance
- tension, tightness, pain
- difficulty sleeping or resting, insomnia, nightmares
- flashbacks, recurring thoughts and memories of the event
When the nervous system is stuck in Freeze or Dissociation, a cluster of symptoms commonly known as “avoidant” symptoms appear. They include:
Other symptoms of trauma include: self-harming and harming others; drug abuse, alcohol abuse, promiscuity, cutting, anorexia, bulimia, fighting, stealing, mistreating or abusing others, hate crimes, and violence disconnection between the body and the mind, which is both the cause and the symptom of trauma.
HOW DOES SOMATIC THERAPY HEAL TRAUMA?
“The capacity for joy, pleasure, love and compassion needs to be developed. This is a necessity for healing.” Raja Selvam, Ph.D., SE senior faculty “I have never seen anyone truly become more aware of his or her body without also becoming more compassionate.” Matthew Sanford, yoga teacher, author, paraplegic SE is unique because it has a dual goal of relieving the symptoms of trauma AND increasing people’s resiliency and capacity for experiencing life in its full depth and scope. We are born with the potential to cultivate the ability to suffer, rejoice, love and be loved fully without becoming overwhelmed or developing trauma symptoms. However, stress and trauma during childhood and adolescence often prevents us from thoroughly developing this resiliency. SE works to relieve trauma symptoms AND increase resiliency. “Somatic” means “of the body.” Somatic Experiencing® (SE) is a body-focused approach to understanding and healing the effects of stress and trauma. SE is different from talk therapy, bodywork or energy healing. 8
“Trauma is not in the event itself; rather, trauma resides in the nervous system.” Peter A. Levine, Ph.D., Developer of Somatic Experiencing (R) Dr. Levine developed Somatic Experiencing®, in part, based on his observations of animal behaviors in the wild. His fundamental question was, “Why do wild animals not get traumatized when they face life-threatening situations everyday?” He uncovered that animals and humans have the same nervous system design that allows us to respond to threatening situations by fighting, fleeing, freezing (i.e., “I can’t move,” waiting for the threat to pass) and/or dissociating (i.e., “I blanked out,” “My mind left my body.”) After surviving a stressful event, our nervous system is supposed to de-activate and return to a relaxed state. This de-activation process (i.e., recovery and healing) involves: 1) releasing the excess energy the body produced for making defensive movements; and 2) completing the defensive movements the body prepared for. This is why we often “feel shaky,” tremble, and/or move restlessly after surviving a stressful event. Unfortunately, human beings have a tendency to prevent the de-activation from naturally taking place. It happens when our complex thinking mind takes over with concerns such as “Just get over it,” “It’s my fault,” and being alarmed by and therefore inhibiting sensations of release (e.g., trembling). When the de-activation process is interrupted, our nervous system gets stuck in the survival stage of the stress response cycle. Somatic Therapy works to relieve trauma symptoms and increase resiliency by helping to regulate your body's physiology. READ MORE ABOUT HOW SOMATIC THERAPY CAN HEAL TRAUMA
SOCIAL, COLLECTIVE and HISTORICAL TRAUMAS
From Thea M. Lee: "As an immigrant woman of color who grew up as a member of the oppressed minority group in her country of origin, my understanding of traumas extends beyond personal traumas. We are impacted not only by the events and conditions that happen to us as individuals within our life time. In communities that have experienced collective and historical traumas (e.g., Native American genocide and displacement, slavery, Japanese American internment, colonialism, wars, “ethnic cleansing,” etc.), unfinished stress response cycles are passed down through the generations. We inherit those traumas through our relationships as well as identification with the members of our families and the history of our communities.
Similarly, we are all deeply impacted by the unjust and unequal conditions that still exist in our society (e.g., racism, sexism, homophobia and heterosexism, poverty, religious discrimination, discrimination based on disabilities, etc.). Our nervous system responds to those conditions and instances of prejudice and discrimination as a threat to our survival. This is how lack of equality in our society can cause chronic stress and social traumas in its citizens. It is my belief that all personal traumas occur in the context of collective, historical, and social traumas. Healing of collective, historical, and social traumas must occur on both individual and community levels. As we begin to mend our traumas by allowing the unfinished stress response cycle to complete itself, we feel more whole, empowered, grounded and centered in our body, feel reunited with our sense of self, and feel the inherent connection between all beings."
ABOUT THEA M. LEE, SOMATIC EXPERIENCING PRACTITIONER
"I have a private practice in the Twin Cities specializing in somatic healing of traumas, provider selfcare, and yoga for mind-body awareness. I am also the coordinator for professional SE training in St. Paul. Prior to moving to Minnesota 2.5 years ago, I have worked in settings including a non-profit rape crisis center, a county juvenile hall, and a state prison for women. I describe my SE work as a process of learning life skills in collaboration. The collaboration happens between the client and the practitioner, as well as between the client’s body, mind and heart/soul. I believe that our healing heals our ancestors. I welcome your inquiries about individual sessions, group classes, Circle of Friends/Family format, information sessions, and gentle yoga for trauma symptom regulation. My individual SE sessions are 90 minutes in length and take place at Embodied Health's Seva Studio." To Schedule Your Somatic Therapy Session, contact Thea or call 651-319-2110. | |
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